The Slow Show

Manchester-based indie outfit the Slow Show craft dramatic, textural rock reminiscent of the National and fellow British band Elbow. Singer/guitarist Rob Goodwin assembled the group in 2010 alongside lead guitarist Joel Byrne-McCullough, keyboardist Frederik 't Kindt, bassist James Longden, and drummer Chris Hough. Seasoned musicians already versed in studio work, they soon secured regular slots across the European touring circuit, where they honed their craft and built a devoted audience. After issuing two early EPs through the German imprint Haldern Pop, the band devoted several years to perfecting their first full-length effort, which surfaced as 2015's White Water. That release earned widespread critical praise and drew stylistic parallels to Tindersticks and Leonard Cohen, anchored by Goodwin's rumbling baritone and the ensemble's taste for moody, atmospheric arrangements. Their second album, Dream Darling, followed the next year.

Once that record appeared, the Slow Show spent several more years sharpening their signature approach. Drawing on relationships forged during prior sessions at Manchester's Blueprint studio, they enlisted an array of regional musicians whose input enriched the band's characteristically dense instrumental textures. On the lyrical front, Goodwin turned to literature, naming Karl Ove Knausgard's writings as the chief catalyst for his evolving compositional method. The band resurfaced in 2019 with the spring single "Sharp Scratch," followed by the autumn arrival of their third album, Lust and Learn.