hangth3dj
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Last Active 03-21-22 4:50 pm
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04.17.24 Sleepy Slowcore Mornings02.25.22 Top Metal Albums 2021
12.10.21 Top Metal Albums 2020

Sleepy Slowcore Mornings

A genre I've been on the outskirts of for a little while - enjoying an album here and there but never fully diving right in. With mornings often grey & dreary at this time of year (and in the UK), it seemed to be the perfect time to delve in and spin a few whilst I start my working day with emails, coffee & staring out of the window. The list contains albums I've heard recommended in various lists & threads on this site and ones I've stumbled across more randomly. Some new, some classics and nothing in any particular order. I'm not a music reviewer, but I thought I'd give each album a 'sound off' type of comment. I will update as more sleepy mornings occur.
1Red House Painters
Red House Painters

I have given this a few spins now, hoping for it to reveal its secrets to me. The first left me thinking it was decent enough, but nothing overly special. Things have slowly been warming up since then, but not to a massive extent. I feel this could definitely use a little trimming here and there but, for the most part, I like the meandering journeys. The guitar occasionally has that tone & shimmer that reminds me a little of The Smiths or perhaps The Cure. This keeps the sound of several tracks feeling a little more positive & upbeat (relatively speaking) than the sombre, longing lyrics suggest.

I do not like the seemingly never-ending 'na na nas' in the latter on both Katy Song & Funhouse (plus whatever the vocals in the last 5 or so minutes of Mother are) - it distracts me from the development of the music beneath. Good songs, don’t get me wrong, but it just drags on to their detriment. The second half of the album (New Jersey-onwards) loses some lustre for me as well.

3.1
2Idaho
Year After Year

This one is hitting the spot a little more – has a little bit of dirge and a fuzzy quality to it. Maybe a couple of grunge influences here and there? Jeff’s baritone takes a little getting used to in some songs as it occasionally creates a drone-like quality, but it really adds to the melancholic atmosphere. The songs rarely build into any sort of crescendo (although Here To Go really does explode), but they are composed & concise enough not to outstay their welcome or meander into nothingness.

4.0
3deathcrash
Return

I’ve had this playing on a few mornings now. I enjoy the soft, almost whispered vocals, which float above the meandering song structures. It’s peaceful & contemplative with just a few nicely timed metallic crashes to prevent the record from drifting away into nothingness. A little more immediacy might help in one or two places as this is a meaty album with few gear changes. I’ve heard more than a few voices say this offers the slowcore genre nothing new and faithfully copies the sound of several of the bigger names with advancing anything, but I’ve come across this with fresh ears before getting to some of the ‘big hitters’. Consequently, I really like it and just instils further anticipation for this journey.

3.8
440 Watt Sun
Perfect Light

This is the album that alerted me to the wonders of slowcore. It actually started when a first heard ‘Stages’ from their previous album on a random playlist. It stuck with me over the years and prompted me to check this album when I saw it pop up on the sput new releases page back in early 2022.

I am so glad I did – WHAT AN ALBUM. Since hearing this for the first time, 40 Watt Sun has made it into my top 5 bands on Spotify Unwrapped, I’ve seen Patrick live three times and I own two of their albums on vinyl. It’s soft, pensive and achingly beautiful – my absolute go-to if I’m looking for something stripped back and melancholic.

4.9
5Songs: Ohia
The Lioness

It's a gorgeous sunny morning and I'm weirdly full of beans, so no need for slowcore this morning. However, it gives me the perfect opportunity to discuss this album, which I've heard a hundred times. It was actually Patrick (40 Watt Sun) who did a live cover of Lioness at one of his gigs that had my partner & I frantically searching Google & YouTube for the song after the show as we missed the name & artist when he introduced it.

Anyway we found it, we loved the original song and we loved the album so much I ended up importing a vinyl copy of it from Canada for that extra fuzzy warmth only vinyl can give you (slowcore was made for vinyl). It’s melancholic, it’s sombre, it’s beautiful…it’s perfect. No further notes required.

5.0
6deathcrash
Less

In a similar vein to their debut effort, but with only 7 tracks across a 38 minute run time, it’s a more concise effort. I will say though that the opener, Pirouette, is the first track I’ve heard by these guys where I was like “hurry up with this intro and get to the good stuff already.” I don’t like it quite as much as Return, but it’s still a good one.

3.6
7Slint
Spiderland

This one definitely has a different overall vibe – very grungy in places (Nosferatu Man) and actually a little unsettling at times (Don, Aman). It’s dark in a slightly creepy, unnerving way, rather than sad & melancholic. Washer, however, is almost exactly what I’m after on these sleepy mornings – excellent track. Quite an array of influences in a short 6 track run which is difficult to pull off, with the grunge off the first two tracks not really appearing again until the end of the final track. As a whole album, it may take a little while to fully click for me (I would imagine the high praise for this album is warranted), but there’s a lot here that I enjoy.

3.7
8Duster
Stratosphere

Interesting spacey vibes going on here, which is pretty cool. Whilst hardly upbeat, the pacing of the album with shorter song lengths & interludes keeps things fairly tight & interesting. Rhythmic and hypnotic with a dirgey, lo-fi vibe at times, enhanced by the airy vocals being buried somewhat in the mix. This is what this list is about – fitted the grey, miserable morning weather, yet transported me away from it a little bit.

4.1
9Rex
C

Definitely a lot of overt folk and even country influences peppered throughout this. Vocals are quite low and a little monotone, but generally fit nicely. The title track in particular wonderful and I can see this growing on me with repeated listens. The only main complaint I had on first pass was that New Son goes on a bit too long as it doesn’t really go anywhere, evolve or add anything different with the extended runtime.

3.8
10Duster
Together

I really enjoyed this and was exactly the vibe I was looking for on yet another dreary morning. Great to see these guys have still got it. Things fell away ever so slightly in the second half on the first listen, but the whole thing clicked second time around. Right now, I like it more than Stratosphere which, I can imagine, will come as quite a bold statement. Expect to see Duster on this list again.

4.4
11Codeine
The White Birch

This is wonderfully downbeat & dirgey. Lethargic, almost plodding in places but still retains the power to crash into action at any moment. The vocals vary between airy and melancholic to flat and hopeless.

4.2
12Bedhead
WhatFunLifeWas

I wasn’t sure on this one initially – the vocals are very monotone which take a bit of getting used to and I didn’t really like Foaming Love or To The Ground, which really took me out of the album. I still don’t particularly like those songs, but I’ve dialled into the vocals and am starting to really enjoy this. For some reason, Haywire gave me some Goddamnit (Alkaline Trio) vibes in the guitar tone, which I couldn’t get out of my head.

3.7
13Low
I Could Live in Hope

Now this is very much clicking with me on the first listen. It’s sleepy, solemn & achingly beautiful in places. Loving the dual vocals for some added variety & dynamism.

Will definitely return to this and provide more musings, right now I'm just sinking right in.


4.4
14Low
Hey What

THIS IS NOT SLOWCORE.

Sadly, it appears that Low have all but abandoned their slowcore roots, morphing into some sort of glitchy, noisy (at times) electronic/experimental act. That’s not to say I don’t like it though, it’s just not what I was looking for on one of these sleepy mornings. The dual vocal melodies are still there and they are still more than capable of creating that melancholic atmosphere that works so well.

Also, just found out that Mimi died about 18 months ago, bummer.

N/A
15The For Carnation
The For Carnation

This album seemingly takes the creepy, unnerving elements of Spiderland and dials them up a few notches. It’s moody, it’s unsettling and, in all honesty, it’s a little dull & monotone as a result. I can appreciate the vibe & general atmosphere the band is trying to create, it’s just not really what I’m looking for I don’t think. Moonbeams is probably the standout track here.

In another time & another place, this may have the potential to take hold a bit more, but there’s plenty ahead of it on the list of re-visiting.

2.7
16Songs: Ohia
Axxess and Ace

There are slightly uplifting, upbeat (relatively speaking) moments on this album which is a surprise. Songs such as Hot Black Silk, Love and Work & Captain Badass (that almost jaunty opening bassline) hint at a slightly brighter approach, but then songs such as Love Leaves Its Abusers, Redhead & Come Back To Your Man really drive home exactly what this album is all about, even if there are moments of a juxtaposition

Another achingly beautiful composition from the maestro that was Jason Molina.

4.5
17Bluetile Lounge
Lowercase

Well this is about as sleepy as it gets. Slow, meandering & seemingly drifting endlessly into a sea of bittersweet melancholy. The musical compositions are somewhat reminiscent of 40 Watt Sun’s stripped back, sparse arrangements on Perfect Light some 25+ years later but, rather than being contrasted with quite powerful, emotive vocals, here the vocals are soft, slightly ethereal and pushed back into the mix a little bit.

This is not to say that the record isn’t capable of louder, more powerful moments, it’s just that these are very slow to build and are carefully woven into the songs, making everything seem very natural and flowing. Ultimately it does feel that the album lacks of a bit of dynamic range, but I would also argue that this represents the signature sound for this list.

4.1
18Good Night and Good Morning
Narrowing Type

A very laid back, minimalist album here. Sparse & ambient vibes going on with an almost spacey feel at times. Vocals are wavy and ethereal, drifting over the stripped back atmospheres. It might be a little too minimalist & ambient for my personal tastes, but is still a nice background album to listen to.

3.1
19Songs: Ohia
Ghost Tropic

So far, this is probably my least favourite of the three Songs: Ohia albums I’ve heard…but that’s not to say it’s bad, not by a long shot. It is definitely a different stylistic approach with instrumentation and tweeting birds providing a jungle/tropic-like atmosphere and there’s even a wild west twang to the guitar in places. It feels quite sparse and less emotive, but creates a distinct mood.

3.8
2040 Watt Sun
Wider than the Sky

As mentioned in the previous 40 Watt Sun entry, Stages is where it all started, popping up on some random metal playlist from Spotify back in 2016 or something like that. Whatever I was doing, I was NOT looking for 16-minute slowcore epics (probably becoming a djentleman for the first time). It did enough to keep the band name in the memory, but never checked out the full album.

Mistakes were made back then, but I’ve rectified them now. A wonderful album that gets many, many repeats.

4.7
21Galaxie 500
On Fire

Unfortunately, most of this is going in one ear and out the other. It’s not bad as such, it’s just not really capturing my attention in any way and I’m finding the majority of the vocals high-pitched and a little grating.

Decomposing Trees was a very nice left turn with some upbeat sax going on, but things generally go back to as they were before. Just not my vibe.

2.6
22Mojave 3
Ask Me Tomorrow

Enjoyed the first two songs a reasonable amount, but things really clicked with Tomorrow’s Taken – what a gloriously downbeat song that it. The dream pop and alt-country vibes are largely very welcome here, uplifting the album here and there to provide some contrast. Dual male/female vocals are almost always welcome as well.

4.0
23Mogwai
Come On Die Young

As an instrumental post-rock album with slowcore leanings that clocks in at over an hour, you know this one is going to take some patience and repeat listens to fully unlock. It started off pretty well, lost me a bit in the middle but came back to me once Ex-Cowboy came on – an early highlight of the album thus far. Christmas Steps was pretty good as well.

3.5
24Carissa's Wierd
Songs About Leaving

I’ll be honest, I was extremely unsure after the first minute or so of the opening track, You Should be Hated Here. Luckily, that was the only time I had that feeling for the next 44ish minutes. It clicked before the opener was done and the rest of the album was stunning. Something about the sorrow in the violins, the desperation pervasive throughout, the melancholic beauty of the piano, the personal favourite dual male/female vocals…everything fell into place pushed this straight to the upper echelons of this slowcore list. A bleak & emotive listen (even by slowcore standards), but I clearly lap this sort of stuff up for breakfast.

4.7
25Duster
Contemporary Movement

For some reason, I’m finding it hard to find the words to describe this album. Simultaneously, I’m also compelled to compare it very closely to Stratosphere. The spacey vibe is definitely dialled down, along with a slight uptick in…brightness? Wrong word. Slightly less melancholy? Maybe. It’s still got a few good gut punches (The Breakup Suite) but, overall, it sounds like there’s an extra half-beat in several tracks, moving things along a bit, just lifting the dirge ever so slightly. I still find this album incredibly easy to get lost in and it still evokes a lovely atmosphere, even if it’s not quite as focused as Stratosphere. I’ll probably go back to the aforementioned later and completely disagree with everything I’ve said, oh well.

4.0
26Duster
In Dreams

This took a couple of spins to fully click. At first I was left a little underwhelmed as nothing immediately stood out and grabbed me like all their previous releases. However, once I got stuck into the atmosphere and the subtleties of the record, it all began to fall into place. Everything here is pretty much classic Duster, maybe just missing a couple of those wow moments. Still a very strong record.

3.8
27Carissa's Wierd
Ugly But Honest: 1996-1999

It only took me until about halfway through the second track to know this was going to be another stellar album by this band. This will also be getting many, many repeats. As beautifully sombre & depression as Songs About Leaving, but with a little more roughness and variety.

4.4
28Duster
Duster

A little uneven on the first listen. Some songs (Chocolate and Mint, Ghoulish) stood out right away, others just washed right over me. It’s still classic Duster and it feels like they’ve never been gone. The whole thing is drenched in a lovely, warm fuzz although the vocals are a bit too buried at times, even by the band’s standards. It didn’t take too long to break into this to be honest, by the end of the second & third spins, most songs had found their place, with the softer, slower side of things really taking hold.

3.9
29Songs: Ohia
Didn't It Rain

Another brilliant album from the magician that is Jason Molina. Some country twangs added to his folky, slowcore mix here, along with some nice female vocals. The whole album feels very spacious, meandering through the runtime at it’s own pace, allowing everything to breathe. Not as immediately hitting as some of his other albums, but songs such as Ring The Bell are already working their way in.

4.2
30Magnolia Electric Co
Magnolia Electric Co

This release marks a departure in sound for Jason. It essentially takes the sound of Didn’t It Rain and flips it on its head, becoming a predominantly country album with some slowcore flourishes. Whilst still adjacent in sound and some similar vibes going, I guess it doesn’t belong in this list all that much. I can see why this album is held in such high regard though, wonderful textures throughout and Jason’s voice being on point again, along with some very able guests to provide contrast.

4.0
31Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter
Reckless Burning

This one caught my attention pretty much from the first couple of notes. The title track starts things off wonderfully, but the country elements quickly become stronger and stronger until we hit full blown country by the third track (Lonely Still). The slowcore influences appear now and again throughout the album, but this is very much a country album. This is not a bad thing by any means but, like the Magnolia Electric Co s/t added recently, it doesn’t neatly fit into this list.

I’ve returned to this a few times since first listening and have bumped my rating accordingly, really nice album which has really grown on me.

4.1
3240 Watt Sun
Little Weight

I’ve spent quite a lot of time with this now, having purchased it on vinyl as soon as it was released. I’ve found it quite difficult to put into words what I think about this – I think it will probably end up with a 5 from me, but it’s not quite there yet. The Undivided Truth is up there (along with Reveal) as one of my favourite ever 40 Watt Sun tracks and I feel like Patrick has fused the beauty of Perfect Light with the instrumentation of Wider Than The Sky. There’s a bit more crunch to the guitars and the cymbals splash & crash to re-expand the stripped down, almost serene palate of the previous album. It’s still slowcore, it’s still got that drawn-out, almost hypnotic repetition dotted throughout the songs and Patrick’s voice sounds as good as it ever has.

4.7
33Teethe
Teethe

A random album I stumbled upon today going through my ‘liked songs’ on Spotify. Definitely sounds like something that auto played after a Duster album finished or something. It fits snugly in with everything else on this list, despite being from the fresh age of 2020. Their only release to date, this is filled with softly sung/spoken male & female vocals enveloped in a fuzzy haze. All very classic. Whilst the pace never really lifts and things just float about at times, the songs stay short and sharp around the 3-minute mark.

3.8
34Idaho
This Way Out

A little more upbeat on a few songs here, straying more into straight indie rock which, personally, doesn’t quite fit with the vocal delivery. Still a lot to enjoy here though and things do slowdown in the second half of the record.

3.4
35Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter
Oh, My Girl

The new obsession with Jesse continues here. The overall sound is more consistent than their debut album, but it takes a little time to get going and the (relative) variation is missed. Tell The Boys and Winter Hunter grabbed me the most on the first couple of spins.

4.0
36Rex
3

Another lovely country-fied slowcore album from Rex, just has a couple too many instrumental songs for me.

3.6
37Idaho
Lapse

Got partially intrigued as to what Idaho sound like in 2024, being one of the few 90’s slowcore acts still trudging along. There’s a defined clarity to the record – no hazy dirge or lo-fi qualities here. We do still get a very pensive and sombre track-list though – it all feels very subdued, but in a good way. There’s a wistful, almost nostalgic atmosphere to the whole thing.

3.5
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