A brief history behind one of the most infamous music subculture.
What Is Shoegaze?
Shoegaze has best been described as a sub-genre of rock music, that is believe to have emerged in the late 1980’s in the underground UK rock scene. The genre is defined by its layered distorted guitar based production, its loud and long rifts, and psychedelic sounds of bass and drums. This genre draws some resemblance to the modern alternative-rock sounds.
The genre would get its name by a journalist from Sounds Magazine, who called the underground movement “shoegazing” due to Russell Yates (a guitarist for the band Moose” who would look like he was staring at his shoes while he performed the more complex rock songs. All Music would go on to state:
“”The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed shoegaze by the British press because the band members stared at the stage while they performed”.
The name for the new sugenre would stick, and soon would become one of the most talked about music genres in the underground scene turning into the next decade, which would go on to become the glory years of the new sub-genre.
The Origins Of Shoegaze:
Early influences of shoegaze music dates back to the psychedelic rock movement of the 1960’s, with bands such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Blue Magoons, and Van Morrison. The genre also draws some resemblance to The Beach Boys work in the early 1970’s as well.
Other rock base influences (that involve instruments such as bass and drums) have come from a range of different genres. However most are accredited to originate from bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and Velvet Underground, who were pioneers in turning what was mostly considered at the time to be rock based aspects in music, and create more “distorted and dreamy” based instrumentals that also connected to the pop genre.
The origins of who truly created shoegaze are a little merky, however many believe that the genre would gain its defining sound from the likes of bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.
My Bloody Valentine:
Often quoted as the pioneers of shoegaze is the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. Their debut studio album “Isn’t Anything”, released on November 21st, 1988, marks as the unofficial start of the genre. The album would go on to boom on the UK rock charts and would send the group from up incoming underground artists, into household names across the UK. From both critiques and fans alike, many would praise the band for their more avent-guard and complex guitar heavy instrumentals, and their light but loud chord progression through each song on the album. The album would later go on to be named to many list as being one of the most influential rock albums of all time.
Cocteau Twins:
Another band to be considered a pioneer of the shoegaze movement was the Scottish rock band Concteau Twins. Although the band’s discography is now mostly considered to be dream-pop over shoegaze, their music incorporated many musical aspects found in shoegaze music. The work from guitarists Robin Gunthrie and Simon Raymond, has been credited as musicians to popularized the distorted and referred guitar sounds heard in later trends of shoegaze music. From their albums “Blue Bell Knoll”, “Heaven or Las Vegas”, and “Four-Calendar Cafe” (which all had moderate success in North America), the band was also considered to be pioneers in bring the new sub-genre into the underground scene in the US music scene.
The Jesus and Mary Chain:
The third band to be considered pioneers in the shoegaze movement was the Scottish rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band would go on to influence the genre by also putting it into the mainstream light more due to the controversial lyrics of the bands most popular songs, rather than the instrumentals of the songs itself. However this popularity the band would receive in the early to mid 1990’s would get more people talking about the genre of music. The Jesus and Mary Chain can be accredited as one of the first musical acts to perform shoegaze based music at a major music event, when the group would perform at the 1992 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, Illinois. They would also be the first artists to have a shoegaze album be shortlisted for a Mercury Prize, which also occurred in 1992 with their album “Honey’s Dead”.
The Hight Of Shoegaze:
Shoegaze would experience its short lived peak in the early to mid 1990’s. During the early 1990’s shoegaze was the hottest genre in the underground rock scene in the UK, and areas such as London and Tymes Valley would grow to become the epicentres of the sub-genre. Music clubs such as Syndrome in London would be constantly talked about in the gossip sections of publications and would serve as “the hub” for all record executives looking for new acts to sign.A popular notion about the genre that was heavily reported on in music publications was that unlike other rock based genres (who were still dealing with major band rivalry at the time), many of shoegaze artists were friends with each other and would work on projects together all the time. This shift of unity between the artist is believe to be the beginning of the end for the ugly band rivalries that were and integral part of UK rock music in the 1980’s.
Many of the bands who would perform in the underground shoegaze scene would stay underground or break up soon after the decline in the genre, however their is some notable bands who started their careers performing shoegaze music such as Blur and Stereolab. Bands such as Chapterhouse, Moose, and Lush were arguably the most popular bands during the heigh of shoegaze.
Chapterhouse:
The short lived career of the British rock band Chapterhouse was one that was dominant in the shoegaze culture. The bands two records “Whirlpool” (1991) and “Blood Music” (1993), would become cult classics among shoegaze fans and the former would go on to peak at #23 on the UK charts (being one of the first and only bands to have a shoegaze album hit the top 25). The band would also be one of the only shoegaze artists to perform at Reading Festival.
Moose:
Another popular band during the heigh of shoegaze was the British band Moose. The band would end up going through major lineup changes throughout its 5 year run, however they were always one of the most sought after acts in the underground scene. Being said by publications to be “one of the most entertaining sets week in and week out”. Although they didn't reach the same level of success as some of their other counterparts, they were notable for creating the more friendly culture that was seen in the shoegaze scene.
Lush:
Arguably the most popular band of the shoegaze era was the British band Lush. Members Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson were considered to be some of the best musicians to be apart of the genre. Although the band would change sounds in their later years no one can deny the success that the band did have during the shoegaze era. From being the only band to have a album hit the top 10 on the charts (“Spooky” 1992), being the first artist to have a shoegaze album hit the Billboard charts, and for the countless world tours that the band when on, Lush was truly the “cream of the crop” when it came to shoegaze music.
The decline of the genre:
The decline of the genre would start to come about in the mid 1990’s and by the late 1990’s and early 2000’s the genre would pretty much be dead. Many believe that the reason why the genre died out as quickly as it started, was due to the fact that genres such as Britpop was a lot more popular commercially and many bands converted to the new sound. The underground scene would continue on for as long as possible, but would also eventually come to a halt over the lack of fans to keep the underground scene going.
The trend of shoegaze was even shorter in the US with the genre only really taking off for less than 5 years. In the early 1990’s bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden would kick off a new era of rock music in North America that strayed away from the softer sounds of sheogaze in favour of a more heavy sound.
Other genres have come in gone in the couple of decades since the heigh of shoegaze that were inspired by the former genre such as Nu Gaze and Blackgaze, however those genres have yet to pick up much noise and notice from underground scenes outside of the genres origins.
The lasting impact of the genre:
Although the popularity of the genre was short and sweet the impact of the genre is ever lasting. Many of Uk rock bands would get their start in the genre and have gone on to become worldwide acts. The genre would also go on to influence the change of more ugly spots in “rock culture” that was a sore spot to the genre in the previous decade. The genre has also gone on to produce many of bands where women was at the forefront, with more times than not, having the lead singers / guitarist being women. Which are all some of the many things that the shoegaze influenced in the music industry.
Authors Notes:
All material from this article was taken from the internet to be used for education purposes, none is that of my own.
