Slowdive was the perfect name for a band so singularly focused on endless, gliding melodies. Lumped in with the shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain, Slowdive's music was comparatively gentle, shorn of the violent frissons that marked those earlier innovators. After playing with the group, singer-guitarist Neil Halstead went on to form Mojave 3, a band known for its meandering takes on Americana. Today he's chasing even more pastoral wavelengths — but while Halstead may now play an acoustic guitar where he once piled on effects, his sound is still one of sweet release.