Slowcore
Slowcore , sometimes synonymous with sadcore , are names for varieties of indie rock that were mainly in use in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s (but sometimes until today). Both names reflect the character of the music, which is emotionally slow or sad music. Sometimes the content of the text is used to distinguish the two terms. Similar to the term emocore , however, such an assignment is more likely to come from outside. According to an interview with Alan Sparhawk from the band Low , the name comes from a friend of the band, but was originally intended as a joke. A rather derisive alternative name is snorecore .
The music of this genre developed from several influences: There are recognizable references to the later albums of the band Talk Talk , as well as to The Velvet Underground or Brian Eno . As a demarcation to the supposedly bombastic developments in rock genres popular at the time, bands like Low, Red House Painters or Codeine relied on a framework of rather reduced, often gloomy and self-centering melody lines. Their arrangements offered plenty of space for music and text to unfold. The eponymous slowdown of the music was (and is) an often used stylistic device.
The best-known and most influential slowcore albums include Songs for a Blue Guitar by the Red House Painters, Secret Name by Low, The White Birch by Codeine and Year After Year by Idaho . Most recently, the albums by the English band Savoy Grand , which are clearly related to Talk Talk or the solo album by their singer Mark Hollis , brought this variety to life. Other well-known representatives of this genre are Sophia , Dakota Suite , Galaxie 500 , The American Analog Set , Bedhead , Songs: Ohia , Sun Kil Moon , Cowboy Junkies , Mazzy Star , Come or Chokebore . Some songs by solo artists such as Bill Callahan , Cat Power , Lisa Germano , Scout Niblett , Iron & Wine , Robby Maria or Will Oldham can also be assigned to slowcore.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Genre definition at https://www.allmusic.com/style/ma0000012160 (English)
- ↑ Interview with Low, in: Chord Magazine, No. 42, April 2007, p. 44 (English)
- ↑ http://www.furious.com/perfect/snorecore.html - Jeff Penczak, Snorecore- an appreciation, in: Perfect Sound Forever, August 1998 (English)
- ↑ Genre definition at http://de.real.com/music/genre/Slowcore/ (English)
- ↑ Entry under http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=slowcore (English)
- ↑ http://www.plattentests.de/forum.php?topic=10669 - Thread "Best Slow- / Sadcore Band?" in the forum of plattentests.de