The Official Shoegaze Thread

[Alright_Computer]

The thread for everything related to shoegaze/shoegazer/shoegazing, dream pop, noise pop/rock, space rock, and some kinds of post-rock and ambient music.

What is shoegaze?

From allmusic:

Shoegaze is a genre of late '80s and early '90s British indie rock, named after the bands' motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor while they played. But shoegaze wasn't about visuals -- it was about pure sound. The sound of the music was overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument was distinguishable from the other.

Shoegaze recommendations

Looking to get into shoegaze? Look no further than here, the shoegaze essentials that every self-respecting shoegazer fan should have. All links are full album streams unless stated otherwise.

• My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
• Ride - Nowhere
• Slowdive - Souvlaki
• Verve - A Storm In Heaven
• Lush - Spooky*
• Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy*
• Spiritualized - Lazer Guided Melodies
• Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas*
• M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
• Pale Saints - In Ribbons
• Catherine Wheel - Ferment
• Asobi Seksu - Citrus
• The Telescopes - Taste (missing several tracks, sorry)
• Curve - Doppelganger
• Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription
• Chapterhouse - Whirlpool
• Swervedriver - Mezcal Head

Already into shoegaze a fair amount? Cool then, you're ready to head into the deeper cuts.

• Blind Mr. Jones - Stereo Musicale
• Airiel - Frosted, Melted, Dizzy, Crackled
• Black Tambourine - Complete Recordings (just a few tracks, I couldn't find an album)
• All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors - All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors
• Televise - Songs to Sing in A & E
• A.R. Kane - 69
• Bailter Space - Robot World (No streaming full album link, but you can listen to various tracks here)
• Volplane - 1997-1999 (no link, but you can listen to a few tracks from the album here)
• Soundpool - On High
• A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Scribble Mural Comic Journal
• Kitchens of Distinction - The Death of Cool *
• Autolux - Future Perfect (Turnstile Blues here)
• Bethany Curve - Skies a Crossed Sky
• Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
• 7% Solution - All About Satellites and Spaceships

*Requires a free imeem membership to listen.

Remember that these links are limited to free, legal streams. If you're willing to spend money or break the law then you'll definitely be able to find the missing links.

Other recommended albums

overcookedbacon
Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Women - self-titled
Crocodiles - Summer of Hate

neckermanncj
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - self-titled

Parodygm
The Autumns - The Angel Pool

MrFruitLord
Pyramids - self-titled


Shoegaze album of the week

The High Violets - To Where You Are

This album rules. Energetic dream pop/shoegaze with beautiful breathy vocals from dream pop star Kaitlyn ni Donovan. Shimmery, overdriven, you know, all the stuff you love to have in shoegaze bands. Pretty rockin' and accessible as far as shoegaze goes, but it's hardly a bad album because of that. Give a few of their songs a listen on their myspace, linked above.

Previous albums of the week

Collider - Strobos EP (free download!)
Bleach - Killing Time
Revolver - Cold Water Flat
Swallow - Blow
The Endless - ...And I'm the Queen of the Moon
Astrobrite - Crush
Trespassers William - Different Stars
Tears Run Rings - Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never
Anilore - Still Awake
Sceneslow - October 9 (Free download!)
A Beautiful Machine - self-titled (Free download!)
LSD and the Search For God - self-titled EP
Blind Mr. Jones - Stereo Musicale
The Voices - self-titled
The Daysleepers - Drowned in a Sea of Sound
Love Spirals Downwards - Idylls
A Second of June - The Inside Laws
Wry - She Science
Working for a Nuclear Free City - Businessmen & Ghosts
Ides of Space - Sleeping Fractures
The Vera Violets - Dirty Rainbow
Resplandor - Pleamar
Skywave - Synthstatic
Schroeder's Cat - Schroeder's Cat EP
Warpaint - Exquisite Corpse EP
Voyager One - Monster Zero
Bardo Pond - Lapsed
Pia Fraus - In Solarium
Toma - As We Fall Into Static Our Hearts Sing (Free download!)
Aspen Woods - New World Disorder
The Asteroid No. 4 - These Flowers of Ours



Other relevant links
USL shoegaze request thread
USL Indie/alternative request thread
Indie & Alternative Appreciation/Discussion Thread
Post-rock appreciation thread
USL Post-rock request thread

This is a work in progress. New features and bands will probably be added to the OP somewhat regularly. I'm always open for suggestions to make this thread run smoother and help expose people to some more awesome music.

[afterstasis]

i am a fan of this particular brand of music and find many qualities in many of the bands who are associated with it.

[Zeleii]

i am a fan of this particular brand of music and find many qualities in many of the bands who are associated with it.

You can blame me... I shoulder ALL the blame!\


But from what I've heard I really love the genre it has some really great stuff. Greatest alternative period IMO

[instantdeath999]

Recent surge of popularity= Zeleii splurging over the Silversun Pickups

[Zeleii]

Recent surge of popularity= Zeleii splurging over the Silversun Pickups

Actually I liked SSPU

The other day I played De-Luxe and I thought "Hmn let's Wikipedia them"
(I'm wierd like that I wikipedia bands randomly

And then I saw Shoegaze as the genre I lol'd at first then clicked on it and saw similar artists and read Sonic Youth, SSPU and Smashing Pumpkins and was tempted to delve a little deeper into it and this stuff is REALLY great.

[instantdeath999]

(I'm wierd like that I wikipedia bands randomly

I do that, too. That's actually how I eventually learned about shoegazing... it was when I was getting into the Smashing Pumpkins.

[Zeleii]

I do that, too. That's actually how I eventually learned about shoegazing... it was when I was getting into the Smashing Pumpkins.

I mean it will be just like randomly out of nowhere my brain goes 'HEY LETS WIKIPEDIA (Insert Band)!!!"

So far my favorite shoegaze album so far is probably Souvlaki... It has a great atmosphere and sound to it.

[Alright_Computer]

I've actually been into shoegaze for a while, but I've started liking it more recently. For me, I'd have to say I was introduced to shoegaze by the Verve. I heard Bittersweet Symphony and worked backwards. Then I looked into similar bands on the internet, and voila, I love shoegaze.

[Zeleii]

I've actually been into shoegaze for a while, but I've started liking it more recently. For me, I'd have to say I was introduced to shoegaze by the Verve. I heard Bittersweet Symphony and worked backwards. Then I looked into similar bands on the internet, and voila, I love shoegaze.

I've seen you listen to them a lot on last, might check em out. They any good?

[Alright_Computer]

They're good, yeah. I'd rercommend their first album, A Storm in Heaven, and their self-titled EP for some good psychedelic shoegaze. Each album after that gets more and more mainstream, but they were still influenced by shoegaze until their latest album, Forth, which I would not recommend. Sucks that most people have only heard Bittersweet Symphony, and then mostly because of the lawsuit with the Rolling Stones. They really are a good band.