Neil Halstead

Neil Halstead's path toward his current incarnation as a dusty-road crooner of gentle reverie has been one long process of elimination. The hallmarks have been there since his shoegazing genesis in Slowdive, where the melancholic nostalgia of his breathy baritone was muddled by fuzz-tone guitars and sheets of white noise. When Slowdive had run its course, Halstead moved on to Mojave 3, where the squall gave way to a more melodic approach and his vocals took center stage amid a template of British and American country and folk influences. Around 2002, Halstead stepped firmly into his own shoes; unfettered by electric instrumentation or band membership, he now aims his considerable talent at the pure craft of songwriting and the synergy of lyrical impact and sympathetic vocal delivery. Whereas Slowdive was whitewash and Mojave 3 was highlight and shadow, Halstead's more interested in painting a picture these days.