The Loudest Whisper

The word music for many people is associated with fast and intense, and in many senses it is, though with the diversity, and devolution of genres in today's music landscape, many bands strive to do the opposite. Instead of making music that is intense, and boisterous they strive to create a sound that's warm, calming, and that resonates with a quieter, shyer, and usually more emotional crowd. This movement is coined, in our modern music scene, as “slowcore”. Since the genre is relatively new, there are lots of creative liberties taken by artists in the genre, slowcore, though the defining aspects can be characterized as dreamy-fuzzy guitar, minimalist drum and percussion, an atmospheric haze sort of sound, and most often emotionally charged lyrics and music.

Though there is no one  single band that has defined this genre, there have been many artists throughout its lifetime that have contributed and shaped it as a whole. Some of the ones most prevalent to me( because music many times is subjective in a sense that people may believe an artist had more or less impact than they did, or that they were more or less prevalent than they were) were Galaxie 500, sign crush motorist, fairies in our house, and Codeine. These bands (in my opinion) have been some of the most influential in the “slowcore” scene. Galaxie 500, one of the founders of this genre, set a basis for the overall sound of it. Their atmospheric guitar and haze, their fuzzy filter put over their music, and their lyrics saturated with emotional and complex feelings have influenced the genre as a whole. Sign crush motorist,Liam Mccay, has contributed to the prevalence of the music genre, finding many of his fans in gen Z, his heavy hitting lyrics, riddled with emotional depth and poetic sadness, pushes the genre into newer generations. Fairies in our house have also been a driving force in this music scene. His somber sound, dreary atmosphere, and gloomy lyrics drive his music into a special place in this genre. Finally, there's Codeine, not only sticking to original barriers of the genre, but exploring outside of them, exploring shoegaze influences, though keeping the atmosphere and lyrics of slowcore. Like stated earlier in the article music is subjective in many senses though these artists in my research and experience in the genre. These artists have made incredible impacts and are not only pushing the genre but also evolving it.