Slowcore is probably one of the most frowned-upon genre-tags in existence while also being one of the most moving forms of musical expression. Like any musical genre, slowcore means different things to different people. However, generally agreedupon facets of the sound include slow tempos, minimal instrumentation, and thoughtful (often sad) lyrics. This combination might sound dull on paper, but there's something very engrossing about this combination. Songs with these characteristics seem somehow more personal than they do when they're dressed up with ostentatious instrumentation. Drowned in Sound released an excellent retrospective of slowcore last year, but the retrospective is geared more towards people who already have a predilection for the genre rather than those unfamiliar with it. That's where this list comes in: For those of you uninitiated to, but curious about the slowcore sound, here are five albums to get you started, with one song from each album posted for your listening pleasure (at the bottom of the following page).

Low – Things We Lost in the Fire (2001)

As anyone who has dabbled in the genre could tell you, Low has had a long, illustrious career playing slowcore (though they would probably prefer you didn't refer to their music as such). While their discography is large, Things We Lost in the Fire is a great introduction to the band. Tracks like “Sunflower” and “Dinosaur Act,” serve as stepping stones to the rest of the album, combining the band's trademark dual vocals (courtesy of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker) with slower tempos and slightly fuller, more straightforward rock. But the songs get more minimal and delicate as the album progresses, and occasionally (like on “Laser Beam” and “In Metal”) they feature little more than Parker's vocals over gentle guitar playing. But nowhere on the album are the dual vocals more effective than on the stunning “Medicine Magazine.” Both vocalists sing in perfect harmony backed only by a simple drum beat and restrained piano playing. The result is, like the album as a whole, deeply moving.

Codeine – Frigid Stars (1990)

Codeine formed in the last 1980s and was one of the first bands ever classified as slowcore, with some fans going so far to dub them 'sadcore' (and you thought 'slowcore' was a ridiculous genre name!). The silly-sounding 'sadcore' tag refers mainly to the heavy weight of depression that clearly pulls the band down throughout the album. Frigid Stars opens with “D,” where vocalist Stephen Immerwahr confides in his romantically-linked roommate about not being able to afford rent and not feeling motivated enough to keep house in the meantime: “D for effort, D for intent, D because you pay the rent” goes the first line of the song; “I want you to need me, not to feed me” goes another lyric. This crushing frustration is well paired with Codiene's equally crushing music, where tempos move at glacial paces and while guitars ring and buzz in a manner similar to fellow 90s bands Hum and Nirvana. On “Cave-In,” the band delays the already slow tempo during the chorus for a split-second, as if they're too bummed to even play their own music anymore. Moves like this make the depression almost palpable, and Frigid Stars is easily one of the most affecting albums I've ever heard as a result. The previously described weight of the album might be too much for some to handle at first, but in any case the album serves as a good history lesson for those curious about slowcore's origins.

The New Year – The New Year (2008)

Lyrics in slowcore songs don't always have to be sad. The New Year proved that on their most recent album. The New Year was formed after the demise of 90s slowcore band Bedhead (who share some similarities to Codeine), and while their earlier albums are inhabited by the ghosts of Bedhead, their self-titled album exorcised past demons in favor of more upbeat music and lyrics (not to mention a much cleaner production value). The song title, “MMV” exemplifies this change the most with uplifting piano and funny, touching lyrics like, “There are things some people classify as pleasures/That just before I die I'll have no regrets for having missed/Like camping, and orgies, and places on the body I've never kissed.” Thanks to the happier music and lyrics, The New Year serves as a great introduction to slowcore for those not looking to delve into a depression for forty-five minutes.

Dirty Three – Ocean Songs (1998)

By this point it's hopefully obvious that, like with all genres, there's not really a set formula involved in slowcore. Dirty Three serve as further proof of the wide variety of music that can be dubbed slowcore. This three-piece band (featuring guitar, violin and drums) plays long, fully instrumental songs and as a result is more often compared to bands like Do Make Say Think and Grails than they are to the other bands on this list. But there's a reason why Dirty Three's music falls under the slowcore umbrella, and that reason is Jim White's drumming. As guitar and violin slowly and gradually swell into something larger and all-encompassing, infrequentlystruck drums keep songs grounded in some sort of rhythm. And if Dirty Three's music is akin to being lost in a desert, each slam of the snare drum is sand being kicked up, while looking for respite.

Death Cab for Cutie – We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes (2000)

We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes is perhaps the most dubious selection on the list. How could the band responsible for songs like, “Soul Meets Body” be compared to Low and Codeine? However, Death Cab has always had darker leanings (principle songwriter Ben Gibbard has confessed in the past that sad songs resonate with him more than happy songs) and while their more recent album,Plans and Narrow Stairs sold very well, the band's lyrical content remained very depressing in stark contrast to their sunnier music (see: “No Sunlight,” “Crooked Teeth”). On the other hand, We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes sees the band's music perfectly matching their lyrics. There are some hints at their later, more well-known sound in songs like, “405” and “Company Calls,” but many other songs on the album have slow tempos, while all the songs reek of self-deprecation and defeat, in this case due to the album's protagonist coping with the loss of a much-loved romantic partner. Songs like, “The Employment Pages” and “No Joy in Mudville” are textbook slowcore, with “Company Calls Epilogue” taking the cake (in this case, the wedding cake) with defeatist lyrics like, “You were the one, but I can't/Spit it out when the date's been set.” If anything, Death Cab's involvement in this list shows how influential slowcore could be given more exposure. Here's hoping this personal form of music starts catching on while continuing to grow and expand.