Slowcore is a sub-genre of alternative rock music defined by a uniformly slow tempo, minimalist arrangements and bleak, often depressive lyrical themes.

Slowcore was an outgrowth of the late-80s indie scene. Its progenitors, including American Music Club and Galaxie 500, drew equal inspiration from the stark, acoustic arrangements on Nick Drake's Pink Moon and the cold, quiet rock of The Velvet Underground's self-titled third album.

Galaxie 500 would later influence Codeine, whose skeletal, glacial sound became the first pure example of slowcore. They would also give birth to the genre's more abrasive, heavier strand, which contrasted with the folk-inflected music produced by descendants of American Music Club.

Examples of the American slowcore scene include Carissa's Wierd, Idaho,former Carissa's Wierd guitarist Jenn Ghetto's recordings under the name S, and San Francisco favorites Red House Painters.

Some notable Asian groups include Sugar Plant of Japan and 잠 of Korea.

Subsequent purveyors of the slowcore sound incorporated elements of folk, country, psychedelia, math-rock and post rock, but the genre all but fizzled out as the 90s drew to a close. Perhaps there just weren't enough beats.