Emerging in the late 1980s in Ireland and the United Kingdom and reaching its peak in 1991, the genre got its name from the fact that the musicians stood still on stage, looking down at their effect pedals. The reason why it died down quickly and was poorly received by the critics can be attributed to the rise of Britpop in the UK music scene on one hand, and American grunge on the other, leading to it being overshadowed and underappreciated.
Shoegaze started to resurface in the mid-2010s in online music communities where it finally got the appreciation it deserved and proved to be a noteworthy genre. Thus being said, let’s have a look at four representative albums.
My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
Considered to be the album that shaped shoegaze, it put together all the quintessential elements of the genre: distorted guitars, heavy use of effects such as tremolo, reverb and delay, and breathy vocals that often feel like they blend into the melodies. Kevin Shields, vocalist and lead guitarist of the band, stated that he wanted the vocals to feel like an additional instrument, rather than a focus in the song.
The lyrics of the songs are quite simple, yet poetic, and they center around romantic and sexual themes. I consider it to be a no-skip record due to the specific dreamy and enchanting atmosphere it creates, but a few of the album’s highlights are “Only Shallow”, “When You Sleep”, “To Here Knows Where” and “Sometimes”.
Slowdive, Souvlaki
Inspired by the work of My Bloody Valentine, Souvlaki came to be after much struggle as the guitarists and vocalist of the band, Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead, had just broken up. In shoegaze fashion, the album features the typical dreamy sound alongside soothing vocals, but it’s filled with melancholy, it is gloomy at times, containing the feelings of heartbreak.
Nonetheless, it is a beautiful listening experience, with some of the most popular songs being “Alison” and “When the Sun Hits”. It is also worth mentioning that the album was poorly received at its release in 1993 and pushed the band to make a noticeable shift in their sound, leaning towards ambient music with their next release.
Ride, Nowhere
With a quite eerie sound and pretty lengthy songs, Ride’s Nowhere is another essential shoegaze album. Released in 1990, it encompasses the staple elements of the genre, while also creating a sound unique to the band. The album’s most representative song is undoubtedly “Vapour Trail”, which to this day is one of the group’s best songs.
Lush, Spooky
Although presently Lush is the least popular of the bunch, during shoegaze’s prime time the group had been talked about greatly and their contribution to the genre was notable. Featuring 12 tracks that deal with themes of love, youth and femininity, Spooky is a fun, interesting listen, with memorable songs such as “For Love” and “Superblast!”
To conclude, shoegaze is a quite unique and fairly complex genre which shaped the early 90s UK music scene, so it is great to see that after more than 2 decades it finally receives its merits, and the fact the albums still hold to this day and are deemed as masterpieces by critics truly shows that the genre was ahead of its time.
