Shoegaze & Beyond

Distorted guitars that intertwine into droning yet dynamic riffs? Check. Understated vocals that lend melodic underpinnings to an avant wall of sound? Check. Intense concentration, or perhaps inexperienced shyness, resulting in a steadfast, footward stare while playing live? Yep, it's Shoegaze, the musical movement marked by the reverberating washes of sound espoused by such late-'80s/early-'90s British bands as Lush, Ride, and the generally acknowledged progenitors of the movement, My Bloody Valentine. Herewith, the Basics of the genre, from the atmospheric pulsations of MBV's groundbreaking soundscape "Only Shallow" to Blur's more radio-friendly entry, "She's So High."

As Shoegazing grew from an in-crowd new sound to a wildly popular alt trend, it not only gained a tongue-in-cheek nickname ("The Scene that Celebrates Itself"); it expanded to include variations on the theme. As we embark on our Shoegaze Next Steps, bands like Lush ("Light from a Dead Star") and Cocteau Twins ("Lorelei") indulge in the ethereal sounds of dream pop, while M83 tends toward electronica on "Teen Angst," and Jesus and Mary Chain's down-and-dirty take on pop sweetness, "Some Candy Talking," anticipates the rumblings of grunge.

All things must pass, intense musical movements included, but when the first-wave shoegazers finally looked up from their footwear, what they saw was a whole new scene that they themselves had begotten. The proof is in the Deep Cuts — witness the two bands to emerge from the latter-day Shoegaze outfit Slowdive ("When the Sun Hits"): Mojave 3, which takes its slo-mo guitars and dreamland vocals off to an alt-country netherworld with "Love Songs On the Radio," and Televise, which brings its ambient roots to bear on a more straightforward rock sound in "If I Told You."

The beauty of tracing the roots and branches of a musical movement like Shoegaze — the massively influential, primarily British trend of the late '80s and early '90s — is that it reveals the sort of network of influence and evolution that comes around in the grand scheme only rarely. Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Boo Radleys, Lush, Loop, Catherine Wheel — the list of bands that sprang from a common ground of distorted, droning guitars, heavy yet melodic riffs, haunting vocals, and an air of intently detached performativity may be a bit daunting, but when you listen to our Shoegaze Essentials, it all comes together in a picture of vital artistic give-and-take.