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A friend of mine wanted to get into slowcore and as a slowcore nerd myself I was happy to help them out. I made this chart for them and I'm pretty proud of it so I thought I might as well share it with the rest of the internet too.

I organized the chart in multiples different sections/tiers to make it a little prettier.

- THE BASICS -

I really didn't want to overindulge in my picks for this section, so I tried my best to narrow it down to just 5 albums. These are albums I consider to be the most foundational and influential slowcore albums of all time. There were so many others I was tempted to include here, but with limiting myself to just 5, these were my picks:

1. Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989)

2. Codeine - Frigid Stars LP (1990)

3. Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill (1992)

4. Low - I Could Live in Hope (1994)

5. Duster - Stratosphere (1998)

- OTHER CLASSICS -

These were a lot of the albums I was tempted to include in "the basics" section, but couldn't bring myself to do so. I thought that I should just make a section dedicated to these very important slowcore albums that weren't quite top 5 MOST important. These are those albums:

1. Galaxie 500 - Today (1988)

2. Red House Painters - Red House Painters [Rollercoaster] (1993)

3. Bedhead - WhatFunLifeWas (1994)

4. Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995)

5. Mojave 3 - Ask Me Tomorrow (1995)

6. Cat Power - Moon Pix (1998)

- PROTO-SLOWCORE -

To me, a key component of getting into a new genre is at least being aware of the albums that set the groundwork for said genre. I decided I would make an entire section for what I call "proto-slowcore"; albums that predate the earliest "real" slowcore releases by years or even decades, and while may not be considered fully slowcore, still played a massive role in shaping the sound of the genre. These are albums that many slowcore legends often cite as influences that helped them find their style. Once again, there were tons of proto-slowcore records I wasn't able to include here since I only am able to fit 6 items in these sections at most, but here are the 6 that I did pick:

1. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) (pretty much influenced every 'indie' genre in existence, slowcore being a prime example)

2. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate (1971)

3. Neil Young - On the Beach (1974)

4. Brian Eno - Music for Airports (1979)

5. The Cure - Seventeen Seconds (1980)

6. Joy Division - Closer (1980)

- MODERN GREATS -

I felt it would be unfair to not include any modern slowcore releases on this chart, because there are plenty of amazing ones worthy of mentioning. And so, I chose to make the next section to be entirely exclusive to just great modern slowcore albums (2010s and onward). Here are my 6 picks:

1. Giles Corey - Giles Corey (2011)

2. Midwife - Like Author, Like Daughter (2017)

3. MJ Lenderman - MJ Lenderman (2019)

4. Bl4ck M4rket C4rt - Today I Laid Down (2023)

5. Shallowater - There Is a Well (2023)

6. Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You (2025)

- HIDDEN GEMS -

Pretty self-explanatory name, this section are albums that I think deserve far more attention attention than they recieve. I spent somd time deliberating what exactly I'd consider a "hidden gem" and what I wouldn't. I couldn't land on a definite answer, so I did some research to help me find out exactly how popular and recognized some underrated slowcore albums I had in mind are. These are the 6 I ended up choosing:

1. SeaLifePark - SeaLifePark (1999)

2. Trespassers William - Different Stars (2002)

3. 나의머리카락뭉치 - 빨간플러그 (2007)

4. Chauchat - Songs for Scaffolding (2010)

5. Pallow - Blueprints for an Empty Vessel (2017)

6. Flooding - Silhouette Machine (2023)

- HONORABLE MENTIONS -

Now this is the tier where I just let loose and put everything that I felt couldn't quite fit in any of the categories above, but still needed to be mentioned. Whether it be personal favorites or albums that I understand many people would be upset seeing weren't already listed anywhere on the chart at this point. Here are the 20 honorable mention slowcore albums I picked for this final section of the chart:

1. Carissas's Wierd - Songs About Leaving (2002)

2. Carissa's Wierd - Ugly but Honest: 1996 - 1999 (2000)

3. Carissa's Wierd - You Should Be at Home Here (2001)

I had to put all three albums by my personal favorite slowcore band, Carissa's Wierd. They're extremely important to my life and the way that I express myself.

1. Songs: Ohia - Ghost Tropic (2000)

2. Songs: Ohia - Didn't It Rain (2002)

3. Songs: Ohia - The Lioness (2000)

Another huge inspiration in my life. I suspect that some people may not really consider Jason Molina/Songs: Ohia to be "real" slowcore, but I personally think that's baloney. To me he is a perfect example a multifaceted musical legend. Slowcore, alt-country, folk, country rock, whatever you want to label him, he did what he did so passionately and effortlessly. Such a talent, may he rest in peace.

1. Low - The Curtain Hits the Cast (1996)

2. Low - Things We Lost in the Fire (2001)

3. Low - Trust (2002)

The final act with three albums on this tier. Upon making it to this point in the creation of this chart, I realized just how underrepresented Low was throughout it. Considering how insanely important they are to the genre and the fact that they have unequivocally one of the greatest discographies in all of slowcore, I knew that they needed more recognition than what I had given them up to this point. So, I picked my next three favorite Low albums to add here.

1. Bluetile Lounge - Lowercase (1995)

2. Bluetile Lounge - Half-Cut (1998)

Bluetile Lounge is a band I knew I would've caught a lot of flak for if I hadn't mentioned them anywhere on this chart, but that's not the only reason I added them here. I adore Bluetile Lounge as much as the next person, and they had been in mind since the moment I had the idea to make this chart. I just felt they didn't fit in any category that I had already established, and so I knew they'd fit perfectly in this final honorable mentions tier.

1. Duster - Contemporary Movement (2000)

2. Lisa Germano - Geek the Girl (1994)

3. Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter (2022)

4. Matt Elliott - Drinking Songs (2005)

5. Lowercase - The Going Away Present (1999)

6. Acetone - Acetone (1997)

7. Codeine - The White Birch (1994)

8. 静香 - 天界のペルソナ (1994)

9. The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up - It's Winter Here (2001)

Once again... yes, even with 20 of these honorable mentions, there are still more albums I wish I could've included on this list (No One Waved Goodbye by Tacoma Radar, Hier Kommt Der Schwartze Mond by Valium Aggelein, and so on). I just felt like it would get to a point of excessiveness with so many albums listed, plus the fact that I simply couldn't fit much more than 20 and 20 is a good number to stop on.

All in all, what are you're thoughts? Do you like the chart? Do you think I missed the mark on something significant? What would you have added to these categories thar I didn't? Feel free to use this chart if you also wish to get more into the fantastic world of slowcore. Thank you for reading!

I was cleaning out my office and found my paperback copy of the Acetone biography “Hadley Lee Lightcap”. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in this? I got this edition back in 2017, and besides some slight discoloration on the cover and a small dent on back, it’s still in pretty good condition. Feel free to message me with any questions and/or offers, I’m located in the US

Hello everyone, sending a warm hug from the cold south (Santiago, Chile).

I wanted to ask this community for a little help, because you all have a very sensitive ear for these kinds of sounds.

I’ve always made music quietly, kind of in the shadows haha. During the pandemic, I recorded an entire album in just two nights on a cassette 4-track Portastudio at home.

It was never meant to be a big project. It was just a small, intimate recording made during a strange and isolated time. The setup was very simple: guitar, bass, omnichord and an OP-1. No big production, just the sound of the room, the tape hiss, and all the imperfections that came with it.

A few months ago, something unexpected happened: one of the songs started reaching many more people than I ever imagined.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OyAwqaheBY&list=OLAK5uy_lOidA0kL1ftKAs31kq9L2aVumMVJJs2No&index=3

What fascinates me the most is where it started connecting. Most of the listeners are not from Chile, but from the northern hemisphere — especially the US and Europe. I find that really beautiful and strange, because this little recording from Santiago somehow traveled much farther than I expected.

I’ve been wondering why something so rudimentary could resonate. Maybe it’s the tape hiss, maybe the imperfections, maybe the feeling of something handmade in a time where so much music is becoming more polished and influenced by AI.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you hear in it? Why do you think a simple recording can connect with people?

Daniel