AMG Review of Just for a Day

Nitsuh Abebe
All Music Guide

Just for a Day is Slowdive's first album, and it shows; when one listens to the magnificent sound of Souvlaki or the brilliant experimentation of Pygmalion, it becomes clear that Just for a Day was only a step toward the greatness they would later achieve. Its sound is quite like Souvlaki's -- swelling waves of flanged guitars, layers of wispy vocals floating in and out of the mix, and sweet lazy pop songs -- but the production sometimes turns the band's plush, sweet sound into the sort of cheap and cheesy pleasantness one might expect from a new age artist. A few tracks hint at the sound that would be fully achieved on Souvlaki ("Celia's Dream," "Erik's Song"), and the album as a whole must have sounded wonderful before anyone knew what great things the band was capable of -- but Just for a Day is really Slowdive in their infancy.