Slowcore Bands
CapnHollis
Five Slowcore Bands That Weren't Really Slowcore
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| Dean and Britta, tonight at the Belmont |
With Luna's Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips conquering the grassy hill at the Belmont Hotel tonight as a part of KXT 91.7's Barefoot at the Belmont Series, for what's being billed as a "Dean Sings Galaxie 500" show, we thought it'd be fun to take a look at five splendid slowcore bands from the past and present that would rather us just leave them alone with all of the slow-talk.
Bedhead
Many articles discussing the seminal Dallas band mention that, predictably, the band wasn't fond of the label, but one short, simple answer in an interview with Matt and Bubba Kadane gave a profound explanation as to why the slowcore tag missed the mark. To be sure, Bedhead and The New Year's catalogs are cohesive, but they're anything but one-dimensional.
See also: How Merle Haggard turned me on to Bedhead
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| Codeine |
As with other great bands of their ilk, the New York-based group that's now touring in support of some remastered reissues don't seem as bitter as other bands when it comes to being lumped into the slowcore bin. Chris Brokaw is pretty nonchalant and even jocularabout the label when compared to other bands.
Low
Many Internet resources trace the term "slowcore" back to Alan Sparhawk and his Minnesotan mates.He knows where and when the term itself was jokingly originated, andhasn't been a fan since. Regardless, their 2011 Sub Pop LP, C'Mon, manages to be simultaneously minimal and lush.
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| Galaxie 500 |
Depending on who you ask, the Dean Wareham-led trio are either slowcore forerunners or simply not slowcore at all. Similar to Bedhead, there are plenty of moments in the band's unfortunately short three-album catalog where they kick in and switch things up quicker than the genre title suggests. Wareham's work with Luna certainly maintained a slower feel while mixing in a greater amount of whimsy. Like the melodic textures of Bedhead, and the majestic poetry of Low, Wareham's open-throated, high-pitched vocal yelping set apart the band. Galaxie 500's Damon Krukowski admits he wasn't a fan of the term after he realized that people were throwing them into the pile posthumously.
Idaho
Perhaps the least heralded of this particular grouping of artists, the still-active Jeff Martin vehicle, which was formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, certainly shares the vibe and mood. As was the case with many other bands of the early-to-mid-'90s, Idaho toured with Low and Red House Painters, so it's easy to see the threads. Martin admits as much, even though he doesn't grasp the connection beyond those rather vague parameters.