| Shoegaze | |
|---|---|
 Shoegaze's name is in reference to how many guitarists in the genre stare downwards at theirguitar pedals | |
| Other names | Shoegazing (initially) |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1980s–early 1990s, United Kingdom |
| Derivative forms | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Blackgaze | |
| Other topics | |
Shoegaze (originallyshoegazing) is asubgenre ofindie andalternative rock characterised by ethereal soundscapes, obscured vocals, and extensive use of guitar effects anddistortion, often producing an immersive "wall of sound". The style originated in the UK, particularly inLondon and the greaterThames Valley region, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The term was coined by music executiveAndy Ross and was later used by the British music press to describe shoegaze bands' motionless stage presence, during which musicians directed their look down toward theireffects pedals.
A British music-press label applied to shoegaze bands and affiliated artists in the early-1990s London club scene was "The Scene That Celebrates Itself". Artists that were associated with the Scene drew primarily fromdream pop bandCocteau Twins, as well as from the sonic template established byMy Bloody Valentine on their 1988 EPYou Made Me Realise and their debut albumIsn't Anything.
The genre reached its peak in 1991 with the release of My Bloody Valentine's second album,Loveless, but was overshadowed by the rise of the Americangrunge scene and the followingBritpop movement. In the 2000s, shoegaze experienced a revival referred to as "nu gaze" or sometimes "second-wave shoegaze". During the 2010s, the offshootblackgaze emerged, while unrelated music styles, such aswitch house, adopted aspects of shoegaze's atmosphere. In the 2020s, the revival was spearheaded byGen Z artists, sometimes referred to as "zoomergaze". Additionally, afusion genre known as "grungegaze," which blends grunge with shoegaze, emerged.
The termshoegaze—originallyshoegazing—was coined byAndy Ross, who was a part-timeSounds contributor and head ofFood Records, the label that promotedBlur.[11] On March 15, 1991, Ross attendedLush's concert atthe Venue inNew Cross with his then assistant Polly Birkbeck, where Blur andMoose also performed as support.[11] According to Birkbeck, Ross jokingly referred to Moose as "shoegazers" after noticing vocalist Russell Yates continuously looking down at his shoes during the set;[11] guitarist Kevin McKillop later explained that Yates was actually reading lyric sheets placed on the floor as he couldn't remember them.[12] According to writer Ryan Pinkard, an erroneous story claimed that Ross introduced the word "shoegazing" in a live review of the concert published inSounds.[12] Polly Birkbeck and Nathaniel Cramp (founder ofSonic Cathedral), whom Pinkard interviewed for his book on shoegaze, confirmed that no such review existed in issues ofSounds from that period.[12]
The earliest confirmed print use of the term appeared in the May 25, 1991, edition ofNME, whereSteve Lamacq, announcingSlowdive's third EPHolding Our Breath, referred to the band as "shoe-gazers".[13] This use predated Ross's recollection in his 2016HuffPost article, in which he stated that he pitched "shoegazing" to Lamacq and fellowNME writer Simon Williams over lunch on October 9, 1991, afterSounds was shut down and he no longer had a publication in which he could promote his "groundbreaking genre".[13][14] According to Pinkard, the appearance of the term in print several months earlier than Ross's conversation with Lamacq and Williams suggested a problem with Ross's timeline, with the most likely explanation being that he "got the dates wrong".[15]
Several musicians and journalists promptly criticized the term. British music journalistPaul Lester stated, "All bands hate labels, but with shoegaze, the sense of derision was factored into the name from the word go".[16] Music journalist Chris Roberts stated that the term was "a throwaway comment in the pub", adding "It's such a lame name, and it doesn't even work as an umbrella term. I mean, loads of bands from other genres look at their feet.Pink Floyd stared at their shoes. Does that make them shoegaze?".[16] MusicianGreg Ackell cited bands such asthe Cure andthe Jesus and Mary Chain as being "pretty fucking still on stage", noting thatthe Velvet Underground showcased "that kind of stoic, backlit presence".[16]
Among first-wave shoegaze bands, "shoegazing" mostly often derisive, even more so than the term "The Scene That Celebrates Itself", coined a few weeks later by Steve Sutherland inMelody Maker on June 8, 1991, in a live review of Moose's concert at theCamden Underworld.[17] In the 2000s, the term "shoegaze" lost its negative connotations after the genre was reassessed amid a revival driven by new listeners discovering the music on the internet.[18]
Shoegaze combines ethereal, swirling vocals with layers of distorted, bent, orflanged guitars[3] to create a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from the others.[1] To achieve this, shoegaze musicians often employ a wide range ofeffects pedals, includingreverb,delay,chorus,tremolo, anddistortion.
According toPitchfork, shoegaze is "above all else" a space for exploring the outer edges of guitar texture, and emotionally it turns inward—it's "music for dreaming".[19] Although shoegaze has at times been used interchangeably withdream pop, the two are distinct.[20]Galaxie 500 founderDean Wareham explained the difference, noting that "shoegaze bands are more of an assault, awall of sound", while dream pop allows "more room for melody and counter-melody, whether on vocals, keyboards, or guitars."[20]
According to Victor Provis the visual style of shoegaze album covers and music videos reflected its music.[21] He wrote that the genre developed "an artistic code based on close-ups of objects, to the point of losing their definition and becoming nothing more than colored, amorphous blotches"; it also often incorporated "fusions of images, projections, color filters, and swirling cameras".[21] Meanwhile,Rolling Stone Australia, when placingLoveless in its "100 Best Album Covers of All Times" list, noted that abstraction was a common visual aesthetic for turn-of-the-1990s shoegaze bands, includingMy Bloody Valentine,Ride,Slowdive, andSwervedriver.[22]Slowdive's memberSimon Scott considered that "Robert Smith, when he was inSiouxsie and the Banshees playing guitar [on the 1983'sNocturne live video], was the coolest as he just stood there and let the music flood out", which was like anti showmanship.[23]
The influences were very '60s, with the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and thePhil Spector "Wall of Sound." I think we were trying to turn that into something from our era that was more violent, more of a sonic assault.
Shoegaze traces its roots toPhil Spector'sWall of Sound technique,[24][25] along with thepsychedelic pop pioneered in the 1960s by bands such asthe Byrds,the Beach Boys, andthe Beatles.[26]Songs such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966) by the Beatles: "Adam Franklin: I feel like the template for shoegaze is probably 'Tomorrow Never Knows' by the Beatles."[24] and "All I Wanna Do" (1970) by the Beach Boys have been retrospectively viewed as early predecessors of the genre.[27] Other influences include the Velvet Underground,the Stooges,MC5, and thegarage rock compilation albumsNuggets andPebbles.[28]
Additionally, writer Vernon Joynson citesDavid Bowie's song "'Heroes'" (1977) written by Bowie andBrian Eno, as showcasing "the type of noisy production with distorted and reverberated guitars and a dreamy hazy atmosphere all of which became key ingredients of shoegaze".[29]Siouxsie and the Banshees andthe Cure are equally formative influences.[30]
As a music genre, shoegaze developed in the 1980s, when a group of Scottish and Irish bands such asCocteau Twins, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and—most notably—My Bloody Valentine reimagined the sound of theelectric guitar, combining contrasting sonic textures with dreamy vocals that challenged the idea of the singer as the central figure of the band.[31]
Emerging from the UK alternative scene with their 1982 debut albumGarlands on4AD, the Scottish trio Cocteau Twins had a substantial influence on the development of shoegaze.[32] Their music featured ethereal, atmospheric guitar textures crafted by guitarist and producerRobin Guthrie, alongsideElizabeth Fraser's distinctive, often unintelligible vocals, which were mixed low in the recordings.[32] Another Scottish group, the Jesus and Mary Chain, is credited as the immediate forerunner of shoegaze.[33] Blending conventionalpop withnoise and guitarfeedback, their 1985 debut albumPsychocandy exerted a major influence on the subsequent shoegaze bands, including My Bloody Valentine, withCreation Records founderAlan McGee noting that the latter "changed their style because of The Jesus and Mary Chain."[34]
Parallel to this, groups such asSpacemen 3 andLoop revived elements of 1960sspace rock in their first albums (Sound of Confusion, 1986;Heaven's End, 1987), exploring minimalist,droning psychedelia over conventional pop structures.[35] According toPeter Kember, Spacemen 3 "could be called a shoegaze band" due to their lack of "stage moves" and focus on their own sound rather than how they were "trying to look".[36]
Across the Atlantic, American indie bands such asSonic Youth,Dinosaur Jr., andHüsker Dü also helped shape shoegaze's guitar language,[37] particularly influencing My Bloody Valentine.[38] In 1988, after several stylistic and lineup changes, the group released their breakthrough third EP,You Made Me Realise, on Creation Records, which showcased frontmanKevin Shields' newfound approach to guitar playing, known as "glide guitar".[39] Later that year, their debut albumIsn't Anything was critically acclaimed[40] and credited with establishing the shoegaze genre.[19]
Other late-1980s British bands such asA.R. Kane,The House of Love,Kitchens of Distinction,Bark Psychosis, andThe Telescopes were also credited with contributing to the sound that would later develop into shoegaze.[41]
Shoegaze began to emerge as a distinct music scene in late 1989 and came into full view in 1990.[42]Ivo Watts-Russell signedLush andPale Saints to his record label4AD after seeing them both perform at the same concert atThe Camden Falcon in April 1989.[43] In September 1989, 4AD released Pale Saints' first EP,Barging Into the Presence of God, followed by Lush's debut mini-albumScar. Both records produced byJohn Fryer—who had previously worked with Cocteau Twins—were well received by the British music press and each reached number 3 on the UK Indie Chart.[42] In December, Pale Saints and Lush played a co-headlining show inLeeds, which received a mixed live review fromMelody Maker.[42]
In 1990,Ride emerged at the forefront of the shoegaze movement. After signing withCreation Records the previous year, the group released three consecutive EPs—Ride,Play, andFall—followed by their debut albumNowhere. Their televised performance of "Drive Blind" onSnub TV, which coincided with the release of their first EP, helped bring the band to wider attention.[44]Melody Maker andNME critics praised Ride's blend of dense guitar textures and melodic songwriting,[44][45] whileNowhere—mixed by producerAlan Moulder after a troubled recording process[46]—became one of the genre's defining works.[19]
In February, Pale Saints released their debut albumThe Comforts of Madness, whichNME described as having "absolutely no stinkers."[47] That same month, Lush issued theMad Love EP, produced by Cocteau Twins'Robin Guthrie, whose mentorship refined the band's once-chaotic sound into a polished, "beautiful, primitive" record, according to aMelody Maker review.[47] In April, Creation released My Bloody Valentine'sGlider EP, including the track "Soon", which reached number 2 on the UK Indie Chart and was later described byBrian Eno as "the vaguest music ever to have been a hit."[48] The label also released debut EPs bySwervedriver (Son of Mustang Ford) andSlowdive (Slowdive EP), the latter earningMelody Maker's "Single of the Week."[49]
Meanwhile,The Boo Radleys released their debut albumIchabod and I on Action Records, which received little attention from the press.[50]Chapterhouse followed with theFreefall andSunburst EPs, while Lush'sSweetness and Light EP demonstrated shoegaze's pop potential despiteMelody Maker's critique of its title track as "sorely over-produced".[49] The year's end also saw Swervedriver'sRave Down EP, which bassist Adi Vines described as "ethereal metal" after it earned praise in a heavy metal magazine.[49]
By the end of 1990, shoegaze had gained significant underground traction.John Peel included three Ride songs on his year-endFestive Fifty list.[51] Ride'sNowhere appeared inMelody Maker's Top 30 albums of 1990 (#20), while My Bloody Valentine'sGlider (#5), Ride'sFall (#7), and Lush'sMad Love (#19) featured in the magazine's year-end singles poll.[51]
One common thread the British music press used to group shoegaze bands together was that many of them came from theThames Valley, a region includingOxford (home to Ride andSwervedriver) andReading (Slowdive andChapterhouse).[52] These groups, along withLush andMoose (both formed inLondon) constituted the core acts of the original shoegaze scene.[53] My Bloody Valentine, however, wasn't part of the scene despite being the progenitors of the genre.[54]
Members of the scene often attended each other's concerts, shared producers and labels (Creation,4AD), and adopted similar approaches to album artwork.[55] Notable meeting places included Syndrome, a weekly indie club onOxford Street, as well as venues such asthe Camden Falcon andthe Borderline.[56] Outside London, the bands often toured together, and when the music press eventually took notice, the scene was quickly named and sensationalized.[56]
The phrase "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" was coined byMelody Maker journalist Steve Sutherland on June 8, 1991, in a review of aMoose concert at theCamden Underworld.[57] He observed that the audience was filled with members of similar bands, includingDamon Albarn fromBlur,Miki Berenyi (Lush), Andrew Sherriff (Chapterhouse), andMark Gardener (Ride).[55] Although Sutherland later noted that the term was intended as a compliment—reflecting his impression that the bands regularly attended each other's performances, which was unusual at the time—it was soon used derisively by the music press.[58]
Beyond the core groups, the scene also included artists such as avant-pop bandStereolab, which frequently exchanged members with Moose,Th' Faith Healers, and earlyBlur.[59] In addition, the press also associatedCatherine Wheel,Curve,Cranes,Silverfish, andPale Saints with the movement, even if they had few or no ties to the London club scene.[60]
In 1991, after winningMelody Maker's end-of-year readers' poll for Best Band, Ride appeared on the magazine's January cover, which proclaimed them "Your Brightest Hope for a Grand New Year."[61] The group's extensive touring and the success of their fourth EP,Today Forever, further elevated their profile and led to an appearance onTop of the Pops.[62] While this moment marked shoegaze's brief entry into mainstream culture, Ride's declining sales soon underscored the genre's limited mass appeal.[63]
Early 1991 saw a wave of several shoegaze releases. In February, Creation Records issued My Bloody Valentine'sTremolo EP, showcasing the band's experimentation with sampling.[61] Two weeks later, the label releasedSlowdive'sMorningrise EP, whichMelody Maker praised for its "mutant orchestral beauty".[64] AlthoughChapterhouse's third EP,Pearl, received a negative review inNME,[65] their debut albumWhirpool became a commercial success.[66] In March,Moose andCurve debuted with theJack andBlindfold EPs respectively, the latter noted for its unusual blend ofdream pop andtechno production.[67] Meanwhile,Kitchens of Distinction released their second albumStrange Free World, which, despite Patrick Fitzgerald's unconventional vocal style for the genre, went on to become a shoegaze classic.[65]
The first half of 1991 also saw releases byMercury Rev (Yerself Is Steam), Catherine Wheel (Painful Thing EP),Pale Saints (Flesh Balloon EP), Slowdive (Holding Our Breath EP), and Swervedriver (Sandblasted EP).Yerself Is Steam represented an early example of shoegaze's influence on Americanindie rock.[66]
July 1991 was marked by the Slough Festival, often described as the "ShoegazeWoodstock." Headlined by Ride and featuring Slowdive, Curve,Revolver, andThousand Yard Stare,[68] the event was attended by members ofLush and Chapterhouse.[66] That summer, Chapterhouse toured extensively, performing at major festivals such asReading and Ein Abend in Wien inRotterdam, where they first shared a stage withNirvana.[69]
The release of Nirvana'sNevermind in September abruptly shifted global attention toward Americangrunge. Slowdive's debut albumJust for a Day, released the same month, received a lukewarm critical reception, marking the first sign of shoegaze's decline.[70] In contrast,Swervedriver's debutRaise received stronger reviews, with Steve Sutherland describing it as "a great road movie for the ears".[71] Lush'sBlack Spring EP also performed well but was overshadowed by lineup changes and exhaustion from relentless touring.[72]
Shoegaze reached its peak in November 1991 with the release ofMy Bloody Valentine'sLoveless. Noted for its innovative production and dense, immersive sound, the album—reportedly costing £270,000 and recorded over two and a half years across nineteen studios—often tops lists of the best shoegaze releases.[73][19] In December 1991, journalistSimon Reynolds introduced shoegaze to American readers as "dream pop" inThe New York Times.[74]
In 1992, shoegaze started to decline in popularity. Part of the growing backlash was linked to the perception that many shoegaze bands came from privileged, middle-class backgrounds.[75]NME reinforced this perception with a satirical column, "Memoirs of a Shoegazing Gentleman," written from the perspective of the fictional Lord Tarquin, who, in diary-like entries, described absurd situations at an elite boarding school supposedly attended by all shoegaze musicians.[76]
I think there was a genuine belief at the beginning that there was something middle class about the [shoegaze] music. I can't really say why, but it wasn't party music, let's say that.
In January 1992, Lush's debut albumSpooky received a lukewarm review fromNME, which described the band as "due for a good kicking" after "a good run of press encouragement."[77] A week later,Creation Records releasedthe Boo Radleys'Everything's Alright Forever.NME hailed the band's confident attitude as a refreshing contrast to 1991's "(complacen)sea of mumbles."[78] Meanwhile, Ride moved beyond their early shoegaze sound, drawing influence from such bands asR.E.M. andMassive Attack on their second albumGoing Blank Again.[79] That year, Creation signed shoegaze bandAdorable, who were ultimately dropped after a string of Top 5 singles and the release of their 1993 debut albumAgainst Perfection.[80] VocalistPete Fijalkowski noted that afterSony partially acquired Creation in 1992, "there was enormous pressure on the label to make every band profitable".[81]
The first half of 1992 also saw the release ofFerment byCatherine Wheel,Doppelgänger byCurve, andIn Ribbons byPale Saints. FollowingFerment, Catherine Wheel adopted a heavier, moremetal-leaning sound on their 1993 albumChrome, later moving toward straightforwardhard rock.[82]. In April 1992, the British music press began turning its attention toward the emergingBritpop movement, withMelody Maker featuring the then-unknownSuede on its cover as "The Best New Band in Britain."[83]
While facing growing hostility at home, shoegaze found renewed support in the US, where audiences were less influenced by the British music press.[84] In June 1992, American shoegaze bandDrop Nineteens released their debut albumDelaware, whichMelody Maker's review ironically described as "the first decent album in a Scene style" to come from "America (Boston, to be precise), so late in the day."[85] Other American bands soon followed with their own debuts, includingLilys'In the Presence of Nothing andMedicine'sShot Forth Self Living in late 1992, andSwirlies'Blonder Tongue Audio Baton in early 1993.[85]
In September 1992,Moose released their debut album...XYZ, produced byMitch Easter, who had previously worked with R.E.M. The album largely departed from the band's earlier shoegaze sound, incorporatingcountry influence.[86] That same month,Melody Maker ran a three-page feature by Paul Lester titled "Whatever Happened to Shoegazing?", which both announced Moose's new album and portrayed the British shoegaze scene as a brief, outdated phenomenon.[87]
A major turning point came in March 1993 withSuede's self-titled debutalbum, which became the fastest-selling debut in British history at the time and marked the rise ofBritpop.[88] The movement accelerated in 1994 with greater successes forBlur'sParklife andOasis'sDefinitely Maybe, presenting a lively, extroverted alternative to bothgrunge and shoegaze.[89] Oasis brought substantial commercial success to Creation Records, and after 1994 the label shifted its focus away from its earlier shoegaze roster.[81]
June 1993 saw the release ofSlowdive's second albumSouvlaki, which was dismissed byMelody Maker's reviewer notoriously writing, "I would rather drown choking in a bath full of porridge than ever listen to it again."[31] That same month, Lush releasedSplit to a lukewarm reaction both critically and commercially.[90] Meanwhile,Swervedriver's second albumMezcal Head had a relative success, especially with the US audiences, where they toured with such bands asSoundgarden andthe Smashing Pumpkins.[91]
After 1994, several shoegaze bands shifted to a Britpop-oriented sound, including Ride (Carnival of Light), Lush (Lovelife), andKitchens of Distinction (Cowboys and Aliens).[81] However, none of these albums maintained the bands' earlier commercial or critical standing, let alone elevated it—with the partial exception of Lush—particularly in contrast tothe Boo Radleys, whose 1995 single "Wake Up Boo!" propelled their albumWake Up! to number 1 on the UK Albums Chart.[92] Meanwhile,Chapterhouse moved towardalternative dance on 1993'sBlood Music,[85] while Slowdive explored minimalistelectronica andpost-rock on 1995'sPygmalion.[92]
In 1995, Creation Records ownerAlan McGee dropped Slowdive a week afterPygmalion was released,[93] andNeil Halstead,Rachel Goswell, and Ian McCutcheon soon formedMojave 3, pursuing a light, melodic blend ofindie folk andAmericana.[94] Swervedriver were dropped while nearing completion of their third album,Ejector Seat Reservation.[95] Ride, facing internal conflict, broke up in 1996 while working on their fourth album,Tarantula.[96] Lush, after achieving their highest chart success withLovelife, ended abruptly the same year following drummerChris Acland's suicide.[97] Meanwhile,My Bloody Valentine went on a two-decade hiatus, despite having signed withIsland Records in 1992 for a reported £250,000.[92]
Christian shoegaze emerged in the early 1990s alongside the rise ofTooth & Nail Records, founded in 1993 by Brandon Ebel to support Christian artists working outside mainstreamCCM conventions.[99] One of the label's first signings wasStarflyer 59, led byJason Martin. Influenced by the idea of combining dreamy melodies with the heavy guitar riffs of bands such asBlack Sabbath andDeep Purple,[100] the band's first three albums—Silver (1994),Gold (1995), andAmericana (1997)—displayed a strong shoegaze orientation. Despite its troubled recording process,Gold became a notable release, later ranking number 41st onPitchfork's "50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time" list.[19]
Throughout the 1990s, Tooth & Nail also supported a few other shoegaze-leaning Christian groups, includingMorella's Forest andVelour 100. These bands expanded the boundaries ofChristian alternative rock, but their experimentation often met with limited commercial success, along with frequent criticism from some conservative Christian audiences.[99] By the late 1990s, many of these groups shifted away from their early shoegaze sounds. Starflyer 59 incorporated brighter, moreindie rock arrangements on albums such asThe Fashion Focus.[101] Morella's Forest moved toward anelectropop sound, whilethe Prayer Chain (signed to Rode Dog Records) disbanded after their 1995 albumMercury. The band's guitarist, Andy Prickett, later pursued non-Christian projects, producing young shoegaze acts such asthe Autumns.[99] In 2001,Lift to Experience made their only album,The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads, a Christian shoegaze album.
Following its decline in the mid-1990s, most former shoegaze musicians moved into other careers, and the term "shoegaze" was often regarded as derogatory.[103] A gradual reassessment began in the early 2000s, driven by new listeners discovering the genre through the internet,[18] including the early social-media platformMySpace.[104]Cinema also helped keep the style in circulation, with American indie films such as 1994'sAmateur and 1997'sJoyride featuring shoegaze music in their soundtracks.[105] DirectorGregg Araki used the genre extensively in his filmography, titlingThe Living End (1992) andNowhere (1997) after releases by the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ride, while 2004'sMysterious Skin featured original music byRobin Guthrie.[106]Meanwhile,Sofia Coppola, inspired byWong Kar-wai'sChungking Express—a film noted for its shoegaze-like visual style and its Cantonese-language covers ofCocteau Twins' andthe Cranberries' songs—recruitedKevin Shields to contribute original music to her Oscar-winningLost in Translation.[105]
In the early 2000s, an international wave of bands taking influence from shoegaze began to take shape with England'sMy Vitriol, Sweden'sthe Radio Dept. and France'sM83. Publications of the time called this "nu gaze". Following the release of their debut EPFinelines (2001), My Vitriol experienced a sudden rise in notoriety, its single "Always: Your Way" entering the UK's top 40 charts, leading them to perform atTop Of The Pops,Glastonbury Festival andReading Festival. The following year the band went on hiatus, leading to the rise in popularity of the Radio Dept. and M83.[107] By 2007, the movement had led to an increased notoriety of contemporary albums by artists includingMaps,Blonde Redhead,Mahogany,Deerhunter,Asobi Seksu, andUlrich Schnauss.[102]
In 2002, German record labelMorr Music releasedBlue Skied an' Clear, a two-discSlowdive tribute album featuring indie electronic artists, many inspired byPygmalion.[105] Among them wasambient techno producerUlrich Schnauss, whose 2003 albumA Strangely Isolated Place drew openly from the sound of Slowdive andChapterhouse.[108] That same year, French electronic duoM83 released their second album,Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, whichPitchfork retrospectively described as "the most original take on shoegaze in years".[19] In 2003,Pitchfork's placedLoveless at number 2 on its updated "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s" list, introducing the album to a new generation of listeners.[109]
2005 saw the emergence ofshitgaze, a musicmicrogenre and scene, whose name referenced shoegaze.[110] The term was coined by Kevin DeBroux of Pink Reason to describe the music of theMidwestern rock bandPsychedelic Horseshit, who he later became the bassist for.[111] Front man Matt Whitehurst stated: I had a test of our first album that I was playing in the car [...] I was saying 'this is the shoegaze song' and he [DeBroux] said 'yeah, but it is a really shit version of shoegaze. It is totally shitgaze.' It was a joke and I put it on MySpace and thenNME wrote an article and made it into a scene."[112][113]
Throughout the 2000s, shoegaze grew increasingly referenced among listeners and new artists, with the term being loosely applied to releases such asJesu'sJesu (2004),Autolux'sFuture Perfect (2004),Asobi Seksu'sCitrus (2006),Blonde Redhead's23 (2007), the self-titled debuts ofA Place to Bury Strangers (2007) andThe Pains of Being Pure at Heart (2009), andA Sunny Day in Glasgow'sAshes Grammar (2009).[114]
In 2006, formerNME sub-editor Nathaniel Cramp established the labelSonic Cathedral, which went on to release shoegaze-oriented work bybdrmm,Whitelands, deary, as well as solo projects fromEmma Anderson, Slowdive'sNeil Halstead, and Ride'sAndy Bell.[115]
In 2007,My Bloody Valentine initiated a wave of reunions among former shoegaze bands by returning to the stage and later releasing their third album,m b v, to critical acclaim.[116]Chapterhouse briefly reformed between 2008 and 2010, whileSwervedriver resumed activity in 2008 and subsequently released new material: 2015'sI Wasn't Born to Lose You and 2019'sFuture Ruins. Ride reunited in 2015, touring internationally and releasing three new albums:Weather Diaries,This Is Not a Safe Place, andInterplay.Lush returned in 2016 for a Europe and the US tour; although internal tensions during the tour led to another split, the reunion produced their final EP,Blind Spot.Drop Nineteens reformed in 2022, releasing their third albumHard Light in 2023. Slowdive's reunion in 2014 was described as the most "triumphant" among other first‑wave bands,[117] and the group subsequently released two successful albums: 2017'sSlowdive and 2023'sEverything Is Alive.
By 2011, a separate shoegaze revival had succeeded nu gaze.Pitchfork called this the "shoegaze revival revival", creditingWhirr,Weekend,No Joy and Young Prisms as its forefront acts,[118] whilethe Guardian creditedDIIV,Cheatahs,Wild Nothing,Younghusband,Echo Lake,Teen andMelody's Echo Chamber.[119] At this time, the term "shoegaze" was applied to an increasingly broad range of artists, from direct stylistic descendants such asBeach House,Nothing,Ringo Deathstarr, andSpirit of the Beehive, to more stylistically distant acts likeDeafheaven, whose black-metal-infused 2013 albumSunbather popularised the sub-genre today known as "blackgaze."[114] Shoegaze scenes also expanded globally, with notable groups including Resplandor (Peru), Gnoomes (Russia),Tokyo Shoegazer (Japan), Flyying Colours (Australia), Echo Ladies (Sweden), and Lucid Express (Hong Kong).[114]
By the early 2020s, writer Ryan Pinkard stated, "TikTok has done forGen Z what MySpace did formillennials in the early 2000s".[120]Stereogum credited the platform with making shoegaze "bigger than ever," while publications such asVice noted that many teenagers were using shoegaze to soundtrack their "bleak, post-COVID world."[121][122] By late 2023,Pitchfork described the year as when "The Shoegaze Revival Hit Its Stride," with the TikTok hashtag #slowdive reaching 235 million views.[123]
A new wave of Gen Z musicians, includingQuannnic,Jane Remover, andWisp, further reshaped the genre by blending shoegaze withemo,alt-pop, andbedroom pop production, resulting in a sound that significantly departed from first-wave shoegaze.[124] In a February 2024 article,Paste magazine writer David Feigelson termed this "hyper-rock", due to its close relation to thehyperpop anddigicore scene.[125] In 2024, in a review ofBeabadoobee's third studio albumThis Is How Tomorrow Moves published inThe Guardian, British music criticKitty Empire stated "Post, for one, takes aTaylor Swift–ish pop song and runs it through a 'zoomergaze' filter – zoomergaze being the latest iteration of My Bloody Valentine's influence as refracted by the internet."[126] In 2025,Dork noted that Wisp was labeled as "the face of 'zoomergaze'" and described her as a leading artist in Gen Z's shoegaze revival.[127]
In 2025,Clash magazine published an article on a style known as "grungegaze" which fused grunge with shoegaze.[128] The genre draws upon thesoft grunge sound ofBalance and Composure,Title Fight,Superheaven,Basement andHigher Power, and has been described as "a foggy, heavy-ish fusion that puts emphasis on dense guitar textures and revivalist signifiers."[128] Notable acts includeNarrow Head, Soul Blind, Modern Color,Glare, Trauma Ray, Leaving Time,Fleshwater, Bleed and ASkySoBlack.[128][129]
In December 2025,Pitchfork published its list of the 100 Best Songs of 2025, stating thatTurnstile's opening title track from their 2025 albumNever Enough "erupts into a triumphant grungegaze anthem that you can easily imagine usurping theFoo Fighters' 'My Hero' as the soundtrack of choice forNFL playoffs bumper montages."[130]
L'ethereal wave (et notamment les Cocteau Twins) a grandement influencé le shoegaze et la dream pop.
While they are often described as shoegaze, the term didn't exist ... but for many, the Jesus and Mary Chain is where the genre broke ground.
Then when Bilinda joined, around that 86-87 period, we were getting into Husker Du, Dinosaur Jr,Sister andEVOL by Sonic Youth…
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