Madison, Wisconsin natives turned Chicago mainstays, Slow Pulp fuse hooky grunge, moody shoegaze, and intimate lo-fi into critically praised indie rock.
MOODS · hooky grunge · moody shoegaze · intimate lo-fi · emotionally potent · midwestern indie · quietly intense · atmospheric · wistful · textured · understated · raw · evocative
BIOGRAPHY
Slow Pulp formed in Madison, Wisconsin, when childhood friends Henry Stoehr (guitar), Alex Leeds (bass), and Teddy Mathews (drums) decided to start a band. Emily Massey later joined the group, first appearing on 2017's EP2, and the band is now based in Chicago, Illinois.
After debut EP1 (2015), EP2 (2017), and Big Day (2019), Slow Pulp released their full-length debut, Moveys, in 2020 to widespread critical acclaim. Their second album, Yard, followed in September 2023 and was hailed as one of the best indie rock records of that year. In 2024 the band opened for The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie's co-headlining tour and played Lollapalooza in Chicago. A third album, Melodie, was announced in 2026 for release via Anti-.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Critics have consistently struggled to pin down Slow Pulp's sound, a genre-blurring mix of hooky grunge, shoegaze haze, and lo-fi intimacy that resists tidy categorization. Moveys earned broad critical praise, and its follow-up, Yard, was described as quieter, more even-keeled, and more emotionally potent, marking a clear creative leap. That momentum carried the band onto major stages, opening for The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie and performing at Lollapalooza, cementing their place among the more compelling voices in contemporary Midwestern indie rock.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
