Ultimately, sadcore is more about a feeling than a specific sound, and, as you probably guessed from the name, that feeling is not exactly a bright, uplifting one. Some trace its origins back to the gloomy glower of British bands like The Smiths or even The Cure, but sadcore didn’t really cohere as a genre (movement would imply too much action on the part of its melancholia-afflicted practitioners) until U.S. indie bands like Galaxie 500 came along in the late ‘80s. Though virtually none of the artists to whom the tag has been applied would ever actually own up to coming under the sadcore banner, over the years the description has been applied to everything from the lacerating self-effacement of alt-rock heroes American Music Club to the muted musings of Cat Power. But whichever way you slice it, sadcore is the sound indie obsessives turn to when the sunny side of things doesn’t strike you quite right.
