Total Slacker
Hazy, chorus-drenched garage rock that feels like a sun-faded Polaroid. Lo-fi melodies for late nights in Brooklyn basements and nostalgic afternoon drifts.
Hazy, chorus-drenched garage rock that feels like a sun-faded Polaroid. Lo-fi melodies for late nights in Brooklyn basements and nostalgic afternoon drifts.
Total Slacker captures the specific, slightly ironic melancholy of the early 2010s Brooklyn DIY scene. Their sound is a thick soup of 90s alternative influences, filtered through a layer of tape hiss and heavy chorus pedals. It is music that feels both urgent and profoundly lazy, balancing jagged garage-rock energy with the shimmering, washed-out textures of shoegaze.
What sets them apart is Tucker Rountree's deadpan vocal delivery and a lyrical obsession with the mundane artifacts of 80s and 90s pop culture. They manage to make songs about video stores and crystal necklaces feel like profound existential statements. The guitars often swirl in a psychedelic haze, but there is always a sharp, melodic hook buried under the fuzz to keep the songs grounded.
Start with their debut LP 'Thrashin' to hear the band at their most raw and energetic. It perfectly encapsulates the 'slacker' ethos with its gritty production and catchy, irreverent songwriting. For a more polished but equally dreamy experience, move on to 'Slip Away', where the band leans harder into their psychedelic and shoegaze tendencies.
Total Slacker is an American band from Brooklyn, New York. In their first year as a group, they released two singles on independent record labels both in the U.S. and Europe and played over 100 shows in New York, garnering the attention of press and international radio play. \ Total Slacker's first drummer was Ross Condon, the younger brother to Zach Condon of the band, Beirut. In January 2011, their single "Crystal Necklace" reached #36 on Pitchfork's Top 50 songs from 2010 readers poll. On March 14, 2011, the band's single "Crystal Necklace" was released on London based record label Fierce Panda, a compilation cassette tape with bands Dum Dum Girls, Twin Sister, Beach Fossils, Real Estate and Weekends. On July 26, 2011 Total Slacker debuted on BBC Radio for Tom Ravenscroft /Jon Hillcock's program in London. On August 10, 2011 the single "Video Store Rental Guy" was featured in Kai Neville's surf film: Lost Atlas, and covered in Surfing Magazine On September 27, 2011,Pitchfork Media reviewed their debut LP "Thrashin", released in London on Marshall Teller Records. On October 30, 2011 Total Slacker made a cameo on MTV's new show "Weird Vibes" On November 9, 2011 Front man Tucker Rountree was interviewed on NBC.com about their debut LP "Thrashin" and the recent occupy wall street protests. On December 7, 2011 VH1 interviewed the band for WTF Wednesday's O Music awards. On October 1, 2012, Total Slacker announced that their second drummer, Terence Connor, was killed in a hit-and-run accident while biking. Soon after this, Zoë Brecher, a recent Skidmore College graduate, joined the band. On August 19, 2016 they released their third studio album Parallels.
Shares garage rock, shoegaze, indie rock (subgenres); lo fi, reverb heavy, bedroom production (production style)
Shares garage rock, shoegaze, indie rock (subgenres); lo fi, reverb heavy, noise textured (production style)
Shares lo fi, reverb heavy, bedroom production (production style); garage rock, shoegaze (subgenres)
Shares garage rock, indie rock (subgenres); basement show, urban night, summer (atmosphere)
Shares lo fi, tape saturation, bedroom production (production style); deadpan, breathy, gentle (vocal style)
Shares lo fi, reverb heavy, tape saturation (production style); garage rock, shoegaze, indie rock (subgenres)
Shares deadpan, breathy, gentle (vocal style); nostalgic, playful, restless (moods)
Shares lo fi, bedroom production, reverb heavy (production style); garage rock, shoegaze, indie rock (subgenres)
Shares lo fi, tape saturation, noise textured (production style); garage rock, indie rock (subgenres)
Shares lo fi, reverb heavy, tape saturation (production style); garage rock, shoegaze (subgenres)
Shares nostalgic, shoegaze, garage rock, electric guitar (signature)
Shares nostalgic, shoegaze, garage rock, electric guitar (signature)
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