The slowness is what turned people’s heads when Frigid Stars was first released, back before ‘slowcore’ was a thing, and I guess it’s still notable, but listening back, there are far more important things about Frigid Stars. There’s the discipline in the album – it is incredibly difficult to play rock music this austere. There’s the unrelenting tone – it’s myopic in the best way. There’re the hints at interpersonal cataclysm in the lyrics, something unspoken but sensed. Ultimately, though, there’s the overarching feeling of necessity, that these songs somehow needed to find their way into the world. That three people sculpted such a severe, but deeply moving world from such minimal components feels more remarkable now we’ve heard countless bands try to do the same and fail dismally.