GigMaven

OK. Since yesterday, I’ve been having more fun than expected listening to these bands, dubbed “Glow-fi.” I wanted to visit some of the descriptions that have popped up of the genre, of the feelings that this music supposedly elicits, and I also wanted to highlight some favorite tracks.

Here’s a pretty comprehensive description of the genre from Pitchfork’s Marc Hogan, taken from his review of Neon Indian’s Psychic Chasms:

“The sound has many names, but none of them seem to fit just right. Dream-beat, chillwave, glo-fi, hypnagogic pop, even hipster-gogic pop– all are imperfect phrases for describing a psychedelic music that’s generally one or all of the following: synth-based, homemade-sounding, 80s-referencing, cassette-oriented, sun-baked, laid-back, warped, hazy, emotionally distant, slightly out of focus.”

Pretty specific list, eh?

I definitely agree with Hogan, that most Glow-fi music I’ve heard has at least one of these qualities…but instead of running around in hermeneutic circles, couldn’t we just say that Glow-fi is music that has grown out of the indie rock tradition, but has grown more familiar, very familiar with at-home computer music techniques? Well that’s what I think.

But not to overgeneralize, because I hear a ton of interesting influences in the following tracks.

Neon Indian – “6669 ‘I don’t know if you know’”

I’m thinking that Neon Indian is the most warped, worn, warm, and cassette-sounding of all of these.

Washed Out – “Belong”

The intro beat to this one sounds like it could have come from Flying Lotus or J Dilla.

Small Black – “Despicable Dogs”

This one might be best-in-class for glow-fi songs. Check out the super-old-school drum machine beat.

Memory Tapes – “Green Knight”

With this one, note the sneaker-on-basketball-court sample around 1:05

Toro y Moi – “You Hid”

Did I say that the Washed Out track could have come from J Dilla? Well, this one too.