Slacker Pop
tagStarted 2012Peak 2014-2019Last big hit still active
Located in 4 routes
Laid-back, lazily melodic pop with a stoned, unhurried cool: jangly chorus-soaked guitars, woozy detuned tones, loose grooves and nasal, half-mumbled crooning. Romantic but goofy, it sounds like it was made on a couch—warm, druggy, slightly out-of-tune charm—pairing easy hooks with a deliberately unbothered, anti-effort attitude.
History
Mac DeMarco's 2012 'goofball' jangle and 'jizz-jazz' tone defined the lane—reverbed guitars, wobbly tape pitch, slacker charm. His ex-touring guitarist Peter Sagar (Homeshake) pushed it toward soft R&B and chillwave, while Jerry Paper and Yellow Days widened the woozy, couch-bound aesthetic that bled into bedroom and lo-fi pop through the 2010s.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://stanforddaily.com/2017/01/29/slacker-rock-revival/
- https://www.passfolk.com/blog/what-music-genre-is-mac-demarco.html
- https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/homeshake-album-guide