Shoegaze

I know that there was an old thread on this but it's ancient so I thought that I'd start a new one.

I loved this genre in the early 90's Ride, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Lush, Swervedriver and the like, but it died a death and I haven't really given it a lot of thought since then.

Alcest have recently revived the style and got me interested again and I know that there are a few fans on here so i thought that I'd start a thread to see if folks had any recommendations for new bands.

I'm gonna kick things off with these guys from Switzerland




No record yet but this is great!

Ride is one of my favorite bands. Nowhere would be a top five deserted island disc for me. They were such an incredible live band too. I generally like a lot of the groups in this genre but I have to say the godfathers of the scene My Bloody Valentine just never did a thing for me. And I've continually tried with them.

I have no clue about the newer groups. And my guess is they would only make me want to hear the older ones. I did pick up a couple of Blonde Redhead discs. I suppose they fall under the nu-gaze moniker. They were very spotting discs but had enough to keep me listening.




But like I said I prefer the classics. These were some of my unsung favorites from the time.





Wish I had picked up that Drop Nineteens disc when it wasn't going for so much.

Starflyer 59 is some good Shoegaze from what I have heard in this genre I like it but gotta be in the mood for it

I really like My Bloody Valentine, but I can't honestly say I've ever listened any other "pure" shoegaze. Most of what I listen to in this genre is the black metal influenced stuff, like Alcest and Les Discrets.

So this music blog I frequent was singing the praises of these guys. MIght have to look into getting some. Apparently they have a new one coming out.



And thanks to the glory of the youtube side bar you discover other great things

I was always interested in this genre, but never really got around to check it out...What bands/albums/songs would you recommend to a newcomer to the genre? Not necessarily what are considered the all-time essentials, but sth. that a fan of old-school rock (yeah, not really close genres, I know) could find somewhat accessible.

When the mood hits me, I LOVE me some Shoegaze...

TheGreatDuck wrote:

I was always interested in this genre, but never really got around to check it out...What bands/albums/songs would you recommend to a newcomer to the genre? Not necessarily what are considered the all-time essentials, but sth. that a fan of old-school rock (yeah, not really close genres, I know) could find somewhat accessible.

I'll give you a few of my favorites, some of whom it could be argued were not shoegaze (Lush, Cocteau Twins) but hey, this is my thread and I say that these songs are!

First up this amazing song











And probably my recommendation for a metal fan is the awesome Alcest and this brilliant record!!

For a newcomer I'd say start with Ride. They are sonically strong and their songs tend to have a more typical structure to them. They also have great moments of catchiness. I think most rock fans would like them if given a chance. I'm somewhat tempted to even suggest seeking out their live stuff first but the Nowhere album is an awesome starting point.

Got lucky this weekend and found that Drop Nineteens disc for real cheap. Before this thread I'd forgotten it was on my want list. So thank you Boris!

Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between 'shoegaze' and 'shoelook' or 'shoestare'?

Back in my late high school/college days, two of my favorite bands were Swervedriver and Catherine Wheel. Swervedriver's Raise and Mezcal Head and Catherine Wheel's Ferment and Chrome are shoegaze essentials, IMO.

Shoegaze died very quickly. I don't pay a lot of attention to new music, so I don't know if there are any new bands that fit that bill. I don't really know if there is music considered "alternative" like back in the 1990s anymore. I used to discover new music like this on MTV's 120 Minutes. Is that show even on anymore?

This song got me into the genre (I have the official video; I guess no one uploading on Youtube does):



And this song blew me away back then and still does today:

www.sombrance.com


Sombrance is good stuff too (and theres some free downloads)

Catherine Wheel are incredible. No idea why they didn't become huge in that era. The lead singer is Bruce Dickinson's nephew for those unaware.

Funny thing about "shoegaze" was for a long time in my circle of friends we called it "swirling music". The other thing was every shoegaze show I ever attended nobody was just staring at their shoes - they were rocking out.

Yeah, I'd completely forgotten about Catherine Wheel, they were great. For some reason they never had the 'cool' factor that Ride or Curve had in the press, but the music was first class.

Can't believe these guys weren't mentioned yet.  Shoegaze is usually thought to be British bands, but there were some killer American bands working at it too.

Was just rocking to Swervedriver's Raise today.  Really brilliant record.  Just sonically perfect.

Man that Catherine Wheel is some good stuff.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

Man that Catherine Wheel is some good stuff.

I was going to say the same thing. I'm going to have to check them out some more.

Yep, checking out more right now, this band is exactly what you do with a Fender guitar.

Thought that I'd post this because I really like Catherine Wheel and I absolutely LOVE Tanya Donelly  (not restraining order kind of love, but pretty close!

You can download Last Leaf Down's last E.P for free here

http://www.lastleafdown.ch/Present/Last_Leaf_Down-Escaping_Lights.zip

I really recommend that you do!

How many of us LOVE Tanya Donelly!  She will stand forever as my last celebrity crush.  And Belly should have been huge.  Not only were their two albums great but they smoked live.  And Donelly in hot pants and a tank top was quite the sight!
And if you have ever read Kirstin Hersh's book Tonya is also the coolest person in the world.

Happy Days the album that song is from is IMO a classic of the era.

jstate wrote:

How many of us LOVE Tanya Donelly!  She will stand forever as my last celebrity crush.  And Belly should have been huge.  Not only were their two albums great but they smoked live.  And Donelly in hot pants and a tank top was quite the sight!
And if you have ever read Kirstin Hersh's book Tonya is also the coolest person in the world.

Happy Days the album that song is from is IMO a classic of the era.

I agree with all of this, particularly the hot pants bit!

Heard this band for the first time about half an hour ago. Have since listened to everything they have on YouTube and ordered the vinyl! Maybe not out and out shoegaze but great! I love this and every other song that I've heard from these girls:D 

The Last Leaf Down record is nearly there and sounding awesome.



Definitely my second most anticipated album by a bunch of gloomy Swiss guys this year!