Classics: Shoegaze
Words: Christian Crider

Shoegaze has an almost amorphous quality as a genre. As a subset of music, shoegaze has been around since the early 80s and is often characterized by fuzzy, distorted guitars and breathy vocals. Although most artists within the genre are heavily influenced by British dream-pop, the name was taken from the early adopters’ tendency to stare at the ground while playing – as dramatic as that may sound. Though the genre fizzled slightly in the mid to late 90s, it has resurfaced several times over the last decade.

My Bloody Valentine
Loveless
1991, Creation Records

The second album from My Bloody Valentine, Loveless is shoegaze in its most raw, visceral form. Each song on this album helped to define the genre, while providing the best possible example for future artists whose sounds would echo Loveless. “Only Shallow’s” crunchy, upbeat riffs opened the door to contemporary bands such as Autolux. The band broke up after their success with Loveless, leaving fans wanting more distorted walls of sound and dreamy vocals. But despair not! In 2007, My Bloody Valentine announced their reunion, and will be playing sold-out shows at the London music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties in June.


Slowdive
Souvlaki
1993, Creation Records

British group Slowdive was influenced by their label mates My Bloody Valentine. However, Slowdive took a more ambient approach to shoegaze on their second album, Souvlaki. Heavily distorted guitar effects coupled with slow progressions washed in reverb allowed for a drastically different interpretation of the genre. “Souvlaki Space Station” is a glaring example of Slowdive’s musical prowess, its almost sci-fi soundscape seemingly defies gravity as it radiates throughout the track. Slowdive went defunct after they were dropped from Creation Records because they failed to deliver a cash-winning pop record. However, its key members went on to form the more folk-oriented band, Mojave 3, whose most recent release was 2006’s Puzzles Like You.