slow(ish), gloomy, but beautiful
July was exhausting. I give you music to feel tired to. Unintentionally an anti-summer list. Recs welcome but I'm already through the slump and out the other side. |
| 1 |  | Beach House
Depression Cherry
Dream Pop
This will be about as optimistic as this list gets I think. |
| 2 |  | Good Night and Good Morning
Narrowing Type
Ambient, Slowcore
Some of the best music I have recently discovered from either of those genres. |
| 3 |  | Bark Psychosis
Hex
Post-Rock
Music for sleeping dogs. |
| 4 |  | Hana Stretton
Soon
Ambient Folk
Top record for afternoon snoozing, very gentle. |
| 5 |  | Marika Hackman
Big Sigh
Indie Folk/Rock
This has been with me all year. |
| 6 |  | Herhums
To Save Us All
Folk
Not gloomy enough but so peaceful, works well when interspersed with the other choices. One of my favourite reviews I read here so far this year. |
| 7 |  | The Postal Service
Give Up
Indietronica
Nostalgia pick. I hate Gibbard's voice more with time. |
| 8 |  | Fink
Perfect Darkness
Singer-Songwriter
You can do a lot worse in the post-millenium sad-man-with-guitar output, but probably only relevant for aging hipsters. |
| 9 |  | Scott Walker
Scott 3
Baroque Pop
Gloomy in unexpected ways. |
| 10 |  | King Hannah
Tell Me Your Mind and I'll Tell You Mine
Alt Rock
You can sing about any old nonsense if you deliver it with drawling apathy. |
| 11 |  | Trespassers William
Different Stars
Dream Pop
Far too sad to be here but I can't seem to take this out of rotation. |
| 12 |  | Hysterical Love Project
Lashes
Downtempo
Early trip hop vibes, "heroin music" as my partner would say. |
| 13 |  | Jesu
Silver
Shoegaze
Title track nails it. |
| 14 |  | Iress
Sleep Now, In Reverse
Doomgaze
Very brooding, wants to be sexy, might get there in the right hour. |
| 15 |  | Outlander (UK)
Acts of Harm
Post-Metal?
Need to listen again but perfect for this list. |
| 16 |  | Red House Painters
Red House Painters
Slowcore
I remain unsure of this. |
| 17 |  | Low
I Could Live in Hope
Slowcore
I Could Live in Bed |
| 18 |  | Men I Trust
Untourable Album
Bedroom Pop |
| 19 |  | Emma Ruth Rundle
On Dark Horses |
| 20 |  | A Whisper in the Noise
Dry Land
Slowcore, Post-rock |
| 21 |  | Low Roar
Low Roar
I wanted to add "0" but I guess this is the same issue as the Ichiko Aoba album... can't remember if this s/t fits the bill so go listen to 0 instead. |
| 22 |  | Bluetile Lounge
Lowercase
Rec'd by FowlKrietzsche
Slowcore
Oof this puts the slow and the low in slowcore. First couple of listens were a genuine slog as the songs felt torturously drawn out. My ear naturally tends to hinge on vocals during initial plays but here they get regularly swallowed up by that big plodding bass line. I attempted one listen while trying to clean my house which was a disaster. Nah, this only came together when I got to lying on my bed staring at the ceiling, mouth kinda dry wishing I had fetched a drink, head still sore from last night's hangover, my cat loudly purring under my arm. You can drift through varying degrees of sleepstate and come back to consciousness within one song with plenty of time to settle back in before those soul-crushing climaxes. It's like guided meditation. Top choice!
4/5 |
| 23 |  | Saxon Shore
Be a Bright Blue
Rec'd by budgie
Post-Rock
This has pleasing melodies all over and fits the low energy requirement of this list - served it alongside my morning caffeine fix to welcome in Tuesday on a positive note. For me though, this era of post-rock is full of disappointment and here is no exception. Twilight Is Our Advocate Tonight is probably the best track thanks to the 3 minute ambient outro which ends up the best part of the whole album cos the drums everywhere else sound uninspired, create too much dead space and make this an overall subdued affair.
2.5/5 |
| 24 |  | Driftless
Perfect Blue
Rec'd by twlight
Shoegaze, Post-Rock
Not much to say here, this is simply gorgeous. The vocals are doing that shimmery shoegaze thing so well where they come up for breath at the start of each line and then sink beneath a sea of reverb again. The progression of No Guiding Light has me coming back for more. You don't need to break new ground when you have a sound this beautiful.
4/5 |
| 25 |  | 40 Watt Sun
Wider than the Sky
Rec'd by Dedes
Slowcore
So I decided to binge all 3 albums in one sitting and picked out the best one to spend more time with. To me this feels entirely separate to all the other slowcore in this list because of Patrick's vocal and its forward position as the soul-crushing element of the music. He delivers almost an identical level of emotion through every drawn out word. The occasions where he changes up or down gears are few and far between, it's a constant river of plaintive pining which shows his expert levels of vocal control and I now understand why other slowcore acts bury their vocalist between the drums and bass to achieve the same effect. He is very gifted, and for this level of control it means he is probably holding back a big chunk of vocal power. The downside to this is that 40WS can't be something I can listen to regularly - if you bring low energy to this album it will just grind you down into dust.
3.7/5 |
| 26 |  | Shedfromthebody
Amare
Rec'd by Hawks
Doomgaze
This is a lot fresher and varied than the Iress album I placed earlier on the list and it manages to be just as intense despite the more ethereal vocals and reliance on reverb. Atmosphere for days too. I am a sucker for those palpitating kick drums on Coiled as much as I am it's loud-quiet-loud structure. Actually that seems to be a common formula here. So there's an early highlight, along with "Hush" and "Holy Soil". Album's kinda short so the artist begs for further investigation and it does not suffer by staying on repeat a couple of times.
3.9/5 |
| 27 |  | Codeine
The White Birch
Rec'd by naughtcturnal
Slowcore
Loss Leader is instantly a classic holy shit. I feel like I'm getting quite an education on slowcore now. Here the drums are a lot punchier, actually have a variation in energy behind them, and the guitars are more distorted than other slowcore acts. But the way the songs develop as just long dirges, often without big finishing climaxes, makes this a much more depressing listen than, say, the Bluetile Lounge album. This is early slowcore but it's heavier musically than I was expecting. I'm going to play my rating safe for now as I fully expect in a real downer mood this hits hard and will be subject to a bump.
3.5/5 |
| 28 |  | Red House Painters
Down Colorful Hill
Rec'd by naughtcturnal
Slowcore
Coming into this after The White Birch I am struck first by the lack of monotony which drags that one down a bit, the guitar tones here are unexpectedly diverse, the confessional lyric style produces some evocative refrains and those mellow outros scattered throughout the record are where my highlights can be found (24, t/t). Unfortunately, the final two songs did not leave the same impression on me as the first four, but this has been the most memorable experience I have had with RHP so far.
3.5/5 |
| 29 |  | Alora Crucible
Oak Lace Apparition
Rec'd by Calc
Neoclassical New Age
When this is good it's quite unlike anything I've ever heard before (Amidst Ewdendrift, I Destination) but the female vocal tracks really detract from the overall atmosphere and if you removed them you'd also have an hour long album which is far easier to digest. A couple of listens I actually got interrupted and had to leave my music before that lovely climax of I Destination. I took a couple weeks to digest this and in that time I had a few occasions of not knowing what to listen to, so I'd throw this on and it just seemed to immediately hold my attention, calm my mind and transport me to a peaceful place which all too often feels out of reach. This is something quite special that I can see myself going back to regularly.
4/5 |
| 30 |  | Talons'
Rustic Bullshit
Rec'd by cylinder
Singer-Songwriter, Indie Folk
It's impossible to ignore the seamless transitions carrying the 12 tracks of this album across its super short run time. The ambient / field recording elements elevate this far beyond its self-flagellating tone into something with a firm narrative that you can immerse yourself within (headphones essential). So despite the main elements here being against my preferences (vocal style, lyrics, lack of structure) I respect and appreciate what is delivered and by the end I am invested enough to need to see this through to its conclusion. As far as weighing this against the vibe of this list goes, it oversteps into the arena of sheer bleakness and depression but is a rewarding listen overall.
3/5 |
| 31 |  | Draconian
Under a Godless Veil
Rec'd by pizzamachine
Gothic Doom Metal
Not a genre I am overly familiar with. The clean guitar melodies are pretty but the riffs are a bit weak and I think both play in safe territory as the clear highlight here is the duality of the vocals. I actually liked this best during the rare occasions they're in harmony but that seemed to be reserved for big choruses only (Sleepwalkers). The atmosphere was too contrived and those spoken word parts do not help. Burial Fields is a beautiful song yet I felt emotionally inert listening to it. Can't say I hated any part of this so at some point I will spend more time in this genre to try and get it. This does nail the vibe of this list too.
3.3/5 |
| 32 |  | The For Carnation
The For Carnation
Rec'd by Icebloom
Slowcore, Post-rock
Yes yes yes. Phenomenal album, Snoother is kinda snoozer but everything else is immediately replayable. With the opening lines I was reminded of Leonard Cohen, then the bass gets into flow and we're in Mezzanine territory. I was never a great fan of Slint so this is as unlikely and welcome as a highlight rec as I could've received. What an album!
4.5/5 |
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