Shoegaze for Dummies

Shoegaze is a type of alternative rock characterized by loud distorted guitar riffs, blissful vocals, and its dedicated but small fanbase. The genre began in the late 80s in the United Kingdom and was coined by music critics who attacked bands for “gazing at their shoes” throughout their performances because of their overwhelming use of guitar pedals. Though never catching on in the mainstream, many revolutionary albums were released to dedicated fans up until the mid/late 90s, when grunge in the States and brit-pop in the UK took the spotlight in alternative rock. As a result, labels began twisting the arm of shoegaze bands to adapt to the new sound or be dropped. Some made the change, others did not—and with that came the death of shoegaze. Yet, all things high and spiritual have a second coming, and shoegaze is no exception. 

In the early 2010s, new shoegaze bands began popping up, adding to the already experimental sound. At the same time, the old shoegaze giants (think my bloody valentine, Slowdive, Ride, etc.) began releasing new songs and albums. Today, shoegaze is more alive than ever with the already “out there” sound becoming crazier and crazier. New and old bands are pushing the sound more than ever with influences from other genres like hardcore (similar to punk but faster and more aggressive), slowcore ( known for having bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, and slower tempos), and even electronic (music created with electronic instruments and processing). Below, I made an “introduction to shoegaze” playlist which is meant to have less experimental, more traditional hits to ease into the genre. I hope that this playlist will bring new fans to my favorite genre. 

Note: Some of the songs in the playlist fall more into the category of dream pop, shoegaze’s sibling. Dreampop is less noisy and more focused on the vocals rather than guitar. Nonetheless, these songs have every right to be on this playlist. I hope you give it a listen!