slowcore – Queen City Sounds and Art

Fan Girl’s Noisy Slowcore Single “Worth It?” is a Song About Emotional Disconnect and Quiet Devatation

Fan Girl released the 8HRS EP (out April 24, 2026) marking its more extended offering since reconvening several years back in the wake of the tragic 2018 death of founding member Jack Wood. The lead single “Worth It?” begins somber with quiet but emotional vocals, a simple piano figure and harmonic drones in the background like distant city lights to accompany the existential sentiments expressed in the song. The song sounds like someone going over a moment of disconnect with a loved one where it feels like it might be through or is in serious danger and our narrator is not ready to just let go and looking for some kind of confirmation. Musically the song begins in a melancholic, slowcore mode but ramps up to a noisier piece in the final quarter to reflect some of the anguish that lead up to the soul weary part in the beginning but perhaps most interesting the last ten seconds or so of the song we hear a sound like static sputtering out from a radio station that is going off broadcasting status for good. It speaks volumes in a way that makes the rest of the song sound hopeful, a quiet bit of devastation that not many bands would attempt. Listen to “Worth It?” on Spotify and follow the Australian band Fan Girl at the links below.

Fan Girl on Facebook

Fan Girl on Instagram

Elegant and Tender Shoegaze Single “Freeze Frame” by Chicago’s Slow Mass is a Masterful Evocation of Processing Heartbreak

The video for Slow Mass’ elegant and tender “Freeze Frame” is a black and white collection of scenes from studio work with the band and it looks like something from another decade. The music itself with its layered rhythms, minimalist aesthetic, great delicacy of feeling and entrancing melodies is reminiscent of something from the later era of Unrest. Musically it has an increasing dynamism reminiscent of one of the early slowcore bands like Codeine and Low. The tension and the tranquility breaks toward the end with surges of guitar distortion and an opening up of the rhythm but it all shifts effortlessly into the quiet and heartbreaking outro. Its a master class of arrangements that work perfectly and smoothly together to deliver the emotional peaks and valleys in a way that makes you feel better in the end if with a touch of the bittersweet. Watch the video for “Freeze Frame” on YouTube and follow Chicago’s Slow Mass at the links below. The band’s new album Low on Foot released May 16, 2025 on Landland Colportage on limited edition colored vinyl and digital formats.

Slow Mass on Instagram

Slow Mass on Facebook

Slow Mass on Bandcamp

Errunhrd’s Ambient Slowcore Single “Don’t Drink Chemicals” Vividly Sketches the Inner Edges of Romantic Dysfunction

The hazy, cycling drone creates a dreamlike resonance throughout Errunhrd’s “Don’t Drink Chemicals.” It and the melancholic vocal processing is fitting for a song about how it feels to be in any kind of relationship that seeks to reign you in and smother your full dimensions as a human in a warped and unsustainable co-dependent dynamic with love engaged in as an act of control and possession. To be in that situation and to perhaps convince yourself that this person is the right one when the whole situation stifles you and prevents both people from developing. Noah Brown’s video for the song is reminiscent of the work of Phil Tippett and the way it is both intimate and haunting, perfect for this song that captures a headspace many people have found themselves within not allowing themselves the knowledge that they can aspire and have for themselves a life that nurtures joy and encourages growth. Yet being able to articulate these feelings means having a greater chance of overcoming the psychological blocks that oppress and repress. Musically it’s like hearing a more ambient, witch house-adjacent iteration of HEALTH and Crystal Castles collaborating on a hypnogogic pop track. Watch the video for “Don’t Drink Chemicals” on YouTube and follow Errunhrd at the links provided. The new Errunhrd album Everything I’ve Ever Known releases May 14, 2025 on all stream platforms and CD.