Shoegazing

For close to the last ten years, my music of choice has been shoegazing music, or as it is more simply referred to as shoegaze. When I mention shoegaze, it is usually met with blank, inquisitive stares.

Shoegaze was first used to describe music bands in the late 1980s. The main identifying element of shoegaze music is the heavy usage of guitar effects. The term shoegaze is derived from musicians, on stage, looking down at their guitar foot pedals, appearing to be gazing at their shoes. The shoegaze movement is said to have reached its peak in the early 1990s and ended in the mid 1990s, with a reemergence of the genre of music in the early 2010s, identified as nu gaze.

The guitar effects produce sounds of distortion and droning, with reverb, delay and echo, often producing noisy guitars sounds. The other element of shoegaze that is often identified with shoegaze is vocals that carry a melody beneath the wash of layered guitars, forming and undulating wall of sound, with a melding of vocals and instruments. A related genre of music is dream pop and is often cited as an inspiration for shoegaze. Dream pop uses ethereal or dreamy vocals that can also be an element of shoegaze music.

Progressive Rock and Ambient

In hindsight, there is little wonder that I had been attracted to shoegaze music, as I was drawn to rock music and ambient music that incorporated these same elements in their music. Progressive rock bands from the 1960s and 1970s experimented heavily with instruments to get different sounds. Jimi Hendrix is a quintessential pioneer in electric guitar effects and popularized them to be a mainstream rock sound. Peter Townsend, of The Who, is also well known for droning sounds, reverb and other noises from synthesizers and electric guitars. A hallmark album for the band and widely regarded as one of greatest albums of the 1970s is Who’s Next. Around the same time, in the early 1970s, Pink Floyd released Meddle, which included the track One of These Days. This is a masterpiece work with an echoing bass guitar and a vibrating, screeching slide guitar.

In the mid-1980s, U2 turned to Brian Eno to infuse some creativity into the band’s anthem rock sound. Reluctantly, Brian Eno agreed to produce the The Unforgettable Fire, bringing with him engineer Daniel Lanois. Elvis Presley and America creates a dreamy wave that washes over the listener and is heavy on the ambient sound, with lyrics that are indistinguishable, making Bono’s voice an instrument, which is a common in shoegaze music. Along with Elvis Presley and America, there are several other atmospheric pieces on the album, which includes 4th of July and The Unforgettable Fire. I could go on mentioning others, such as Peter Gabriel, but I have sidetracked too much from shoegaze already.

With progressive rock and ambient music as a background for my taste in music, I fell upon shoegaze through ambient and dream pop. A key link between the two was pianist Harold Budd. Harold Budd collaborated with Brian Eno, on The Plateaux of Mirror and The Pearl. Budd has a distinctive piano playing style of soft sustained notes that creates atmospheric soundscapes. It was this atmospheric, sustained note style that led me closer to the sustained note, reverb sound of shoegaze.

Dream Pop

Harold Budd also collaborated on several albums with ambient guitarist, Robin Guthrie, who was a member of the prominent dream pop group Cocteau Twins. From the Cocteau Twins and other dream pop groups, I discovered shoegaze. Some of these dream pop groups include: This Mortal Coil, Autumn’s Grey Solace, Stereolab, Lush, Bel Canto, Claire Voyant, and Piano Magic.

Dream pop and specifically the group the Cocteau Twins have been said to have influenced shoegaze. Many of the first shoegaze groups that I encountered where of the dream pop segment of shoegaze, such as Slowdive and Love Spirals Downwards.

Shoegaze

Dream pop and ambient create ethereal or dreamy soundscapes. Vocals are often subdued or breathy that blends liltingly with the dreamy sounding music. What sets shoegaze apart from dream pop is that shoegaze has a harsher guitar sound, sometimes bordering on noise. Love Spirals Downwards had beautiful ethereal vocals, often accompanied by minimalist dreamy instrumentation. Sidhe on Ardor is composed with overlapping ethereal vocals.

My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless album is often cited as a definitive shoegaze album. Pitchfork ranked Loveless as the number two album of the 1990s. On I Only Said, My Bloody Valentine mixes the drone of deep guitars in the background, high-pitched guitar effects and subdued vocals, which acts as another layer of instruments. Along with My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive is often mentioned as one of the shoegaze defining bands. My Bloody Valentine is on one end of the spectrum with noisy, experimental guitar effects and Slowdive is on the other end of the spectrum with dreamy ambient pop, reverb and echo. There is definitely a split among shoegazing listeners as to which groups exemplify shoegazing.

With Souvlaki Space Station, Slowdive creates a melodious sound from feedback reverb. Souvlaki is regarded as Slowdive’s best album and often cited with Loveless and Ride’s Nowhere as the top three Shoegaze albums. It is no wonder, as Brian Eno co-produced the album, contributing his synthesizer playing on two of the tracks, Sing and Here She Comes, and co-writing Sing. I find it interesting and not all too surprising that many of the bands I prefer have had some connection with Brian Eno. Standouts on the album are 40 Days, Alison and Machine Gun.

The album Pygmalion, which followed Souvlaki, was their final album, and continued their forays into ambient infused dream pop and shoegaze. In many ways, it is a more complete album of straight up ambient shoegaze, discarding their pop sound of some of their previous works. Pygmalion includes several instrumental tracks, non-verbal vocal tracks and tracks with indistinguishable lyrics.

Drive Blind from Ride’s self titled first EP is another great example of shoegaze at its finest. The guitar effects on their early EPs set them apart from some of Ride’s later more pop sounding works. Smile is a collection of these early EPs and is worthwhile to have as a part of one’s shoegaze library. Drive Blind starts with a high-pitched guitar to be accompanied by a deep, driving guitar undertone.

Many shoegaze bands dissolved or moved into other areas of music. Several members of Slowdive went on to form Majave 3, which leaned towards country and folk influences, while others formed the dream pop band Monster Movie. Lush switched to a Britpop sound. The Verve moved towards a more traditional rock sound. Although, shoegaze is said to have dissolved in the mid 1990s, with shoegaze bands moving on, there were some bands that emerged to carry on the shoegaze sound.

On such band was the Santa Cruz band Bethany Curve, who formed in 1994 and is still recording. Their second album Gold, released in 1998 is considered to be their best recording. Some of their tracks also have a space rock influence.

Resurgence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that led to the nu gaze of the late 2000s. Even though, the reemergence of shoegaze was called nu gaze, no one uses that term and shoegaze is generally used for both eras of shoegaze.

Scarling. is a band that carried on the noise pop shoegaze with fast paced driving distorted guitars. The lead vocals of Jessicka are typically not subdued as shoegaze, even noisy shoegaze, was in the past. Jessicka’s vocals, although pleasing, are loud and at times screaming, which with the lyrics brings a darker tone to shoegaze. Noteworthy tracks: Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole, Crispin Glover, Can’t (Halloween Valentine), Stapled to the Mattress, We Are the Music Makers and So Long, Scarecrow.

Amusement Parks on Fire is another noise pop shoegaze band, with harmonizing vocals instead of the loud vocals of Scarling. and the constant drone of guitars that is throughout most of their works. Venus in Cancer. Wiper.

Highspire’s Your Everything is a nice collection of dream pop shoegaze. A gentle waves of distorted guitars, fused with vocals, washes over the listener: Skies You Climb, Shattered, Slowbeat, Love Me or Leave Me and Sunraindown.

      Stay - Ariel

Other bands, among other, that are carrying on the shoegaze sound include: Malory, A Shoreline Dream, Blind Mr. Jones and Ariel.

Shoegaze Influenced

Although, M83 is classified as a shoegaze band, I would not classify all their music as strictly shoegaze. Much of their music does not use the guitar effects that is the trademark of shoegaze. At times there is a use of synthesizers, to create a similar shoegaze sound. M83 is closer related to electronic ambient and dream pop than shoegaze. Don’t Save Us from the Flames is one piece that is shoegaze.

The same could be said for Ulrich Schnauss, who is often listed among shoegaze bands, but it would be difficult to say his music is shoegaze. He was influenced by My Bloody Valentine and shoegaze music and has worked with A Shoreline Dream, but his music is more on the lines of electronic ambient, than strict shoegaze.

For those, who have never heard shoegaze, this should give you enough of a sample to get an idea of the varied shoegaze sound from ambient, dream pop to noise pop, darkwave. All of these bands are available on Spotify and Grooveshark, so give them a listen and purchase what you like.