Melancholia
Melancholia is a Spotify-coined label that groups sad, slow and introspective alternative, indie and singer-songwriter music by mood rather than by style.
The word is an old term for deep, lasting sadness, and Spotify uses it for a cluster of artists whose songs share that feeling. Typical tracks are quiet and downbeat, with sparse guitar or piano, hushed vocals and bleak or reflective lyrics. Because it is defined by mood, it cuts across indie rock, folk, slowcore and dream pop instead of naming a scene or an era.
- Family
- Alternative & Indie
- On Spotify
- No longer returned by Spotify’s API
- What it is
- A label Spotify coined
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 19%
About 16,000 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have melancholia among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Melancholia artists
Radiohead
Jeff Buckley
Cocteau Twins
Mazzy Star
Elliott Smith
Bon Iver
The Velvet Underground
Simon & Garfunkel
Nick Drake
Leonard Cohen
The melancholia artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources.