Shoegaze is a genre of late '80s and early '90s British indie rock, named after the bands' motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor while they played. But shoegaze wasn't about visuals -- it was about pure sound. The sound of the music was overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument was distinguishable from the other. Most shoegaze groups worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with their early EPs and their first full-length album, Isn't Anything, but Dinosaur Jr., the Jesus & Mary Chain, and the Cocteau Twins were also major influences. Bands that followed -- most notably Ride, Lush, Chapterhouse, and the Boo Radleys -- added their own stylistic flourishes. Ride veered close to '60s psychedelia, while Lush alternated between straight pop and the dream pop of the Cocteau Twins. Almost none of the shoegazers were dynamic performers or interesting interviews, which prevented them from breaking through into the crucial U.S. market. In 1992 -- after the groups had dominated the British music press and indie charts for about three years -- the shoegaze groups were swept aside by the twin tides of American grunge and Suede, the band to initiate the wave of Britpop that ruled British music during the mid-'90s. Some shoegazers broke up within a few years (Chapterhouse, Ride), while other groups -- such as the Boo Radleys and Lush -- evolved with the times and were able to sustain careers into the late '90s.
One of the giants/pioneers of the genre, Slowdive, took a two-decade break before releasing their excellent self-titled album in 2017. This in-studio performance on KEXP in Seattle is incredible.
Here are a couple of Shoegaze compilations I threw together.
Re: Shoegaze
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:08 am
by RolanK
Pitchfork has Mercury Rev Yerself Is Steam on their list of top 50 Shoegaze albums. Never thought of them as Shoegaze before. I have to admit I am familiar with very few of the albums on that list.
Re: Shoegaze
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:56 am
by chuckrh
An oft overlooked classic of the genre:
I'm pretty huge on My Bloody Valentine, too. I saw them in 2013 & You Made Me Realize might've been the loudest music I've ever heard. It was literally like standing next to a running jet engine. Sort of settled the encore question nicely as people just stood there in stunned silence at the end of it & sort of stumbled out of the venue. I wouldn't be surprised if it triggered the infamous brown note for some.
Pitchfork has Mercury Rev Yerself Is Steam on their list of top 50 Shoegaze albums. Never thought of them as Shoegaze before. I have to admit I am familiar with very few of the albums on that list.
I'm not sure they are a true shoegaze band in the sense of Slowdive or Ride, but there are elements of that sound in their music. I rarely see Smashing Pumpkins classified as a shoegaze band, but they definitely incorporate that sound in their music.
Re: Shoegaze
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:38 am
by cortez the killer
My holy trinity of shoegaze bands is Ride, Swervedriver and Slowdive.
Re: Shoegaze
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:41 am
by cortez the killer
The old Maxell tape ad epitomizes what listening to shoegaze looks like. I imagine that's exactly what he's doing.
By 1994 when I was 16, all these bands had been written off in the UK and literally noone was listening to them. You couldnt find them on the radio or in the music papers or anywhere else. Pre internet days. Ride were roundly mocked by everyone for their attempts to go Britpop.
And so, up until last year, Id only really heard My Bloody Valentine and Ride's embarrassing Carnival of Light album. And Mazzy Star and Cocteau twins but people seem to brand them "dream pop" (not that labels should matter).
Slowdive and the early Ride albums are a bit of a revelation and have dated far better than most British guitar bands from around that time.
By 1994 when I was 16, all these bands had been written off in the UK and literally noone was listening to them. You couldnt find them on the radio or in the music papers or anywhere else. Pre internet days. Ride were roundly mocked by everyone for their attempts to go Britpop.
And so, up until last year, Id only really heard My Bloody Valentine and Ride's embarrassing Carnival of Light album. And Mazzy Star and Cocteau twins but people seem to brand them "dream pop" (not that labels should matter).
Slowdive and the early Ride albums are a bit of a revelation and have dated far better than most British guitar bands from around that time.
You should download the above. It's excellent & the price is right!
By 1994 when I was 16, all these bands had been written off in the UK and literally noone was listening to them. You couldnt find them on the radio or in the music papers or anywhere else. Pre internet days. Ride were roundly mocked by everyone for their attempts to go Britpop.
And so, up until last year, Id only really heard My Bloody Valentine and Ride's embarrassing Carnival of Light album. And Mazzy Star and Cocteau twins but people seem to brand them "dream pop" (not that labels should matter).
Slowdive and the early Ride albums are a bit of a revelation and have dated far better than most British guitar bands from around that time.
You should download the above. It's excellent & the price is right!
Another thing I've noticed about shoegaze is that fans are FULL of recommendations!
A lifelong regret was not seeing MBV prior to 2008. it's not like i didn't have the chance, and i certainly was familiar w/ them and owned a few of their records and CDs too.
A lifelong regret was not seeing MBV prior to 2008. it's not like i didn't have the chance, and i certainly was familiar w/ them and owned a few of their records and CDs too.
ALWAYS GO TO THE SHOW.
I forget the year I saw them but "YMR" was literally like standing next to a running jet engine. & having worked in aerospace for over a decade I know what that's like. People just stood there in stunned silence when it was over & started staggering out of the club like zombies. Kind of settled the encore question nicely, haha. Kevin Shields also adds some lovely mayhem to 1 of my favorite live albums "Primal Scream Live in Japan". Hopefully we'll get some new MBV next year.
Re: Shoegaze
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:15 pm
by tinnitus photography
totally agree. i've seen more than my share of live shows and nothing has compared to the noise holocaust section of You Made Me Realise, it was disorienting and hallucinogenic. I had nothing to compare it to at the time i saw them play Kutsher's, but the next time i saw them was at House of Blues and i was up in the balcony and farther away from the PA onslaught. Kutsher's also had no limitations on sound volume.
