Often recognized retrospectively as one of the pioneering dream pop and slowcore groups, Galaxie 500 was an American trio consisting of guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareham, bassist and vocalist Naomi Yang and drummer Damon Krukowski.

The three initially met at the Dalton School in New York in 1981, and all attended Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1986, Wareham along with Krukowski were a part of Speedy & the Castanets, a punk band which abruptly disbanded because their bass player had a religious conversion. The pair continued to make music, and later hired Yang who had no prior musical experience. It was then the band had a solid lineup and officially named themselves Galaxie 500, which was inspired by a friend’s car of the same name. The group were inspired by The Modern Lovers and Velvet Underground, and played their songs in music clubs around Boston and New York City.

In 1988, Galaxie 500 met with the legendary underground producer Kramer, and worked on their debut album, Today. Despite Kramer not doing much other than adding tons of reverb to the band’s songs, the band reportedly learned a lot from his techniques. The group released two more studio albums before disbanding in 1991 due to Wareham’s wish to not go on tour and the creative differences between the members.

Wareham continues to release music and formed the band Luna, while Krukowski and Yang formed Magic Hour.