Editing Shoegaze

{{Short description|Genre of alternative rock music}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Shoegaze
| stylistic_origins = *[[Indie rock]]<ref name="all_music"/>
*[[alternative rock]]<ref name="ReynoldsNYT" />
*[[neo-psychedelia]]<ref name="xlr8r" />
*[[psychedelic music|psychedelia]]<ref name="xlr8r"/>
*[[noise pop]]<ref name="P4K review">{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16605-isnt-anything-reissue-loveless-reissue-eps-1988-1991/|title=My Bloody Valentine: Isn't Anything / Loveless / EPs 1988–1991|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=11 May 2012|access-date=17 April 2015|last=Richardson|first=Mark|archive-date=17 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417141303/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16605-isnt-anything-reissue-loveless-reissue-eps-1988-1991/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/noise-pop-ma0000012156|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602055716/http://www.allmusic.com/style/noise-pop-ma0000012156|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 June 2012|title=Noise Pop : Significant Albums, Artists and Songs, Most Viewed: AllMusic|website=[[AllMusic]] |date=2 June 2012}}</ref>
*[[dream pop]]<ref name="The A.V. Club" /><ref name="xlr8r" /> 
*[[punk rock]]<ref>https://recordingarts.com/evolution-of-shoegaze-a-symphony-in-a-whirl-of-sound/</ref><ref>https://www.stereogum.com/2156923/nothing-deafheaven-heavy-music-to-shoegaze-pipeline/columns/sounding-board/</ref>
*[[post-punk]]<ref name="The A.V. Club">{{cite news|title=Where to start with the enigmatic music known as shoegaze|author=Heller, Jason|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/where-to-start-with-the-enigmatic-music-known-as-s-84889|access-date=9 August 2016|archive-date=30 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030024131/http://www.avclub.com/article/where-to-start-with-the-enigmatic-music-known-as-s-84889|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[ethereal wave]]<ref>Olivier Bernard: ''Anthologie de l'ambient'', Camion Blanc, 2013, {{ISBN|2-357-794151}}<br />"L'ethereal wave (et notamment les Cocteau Twins) a grandement influencé le shoegaze et la dream pop... L'ethereal wave s'est développée à partir du gothic rock, et tire ses origines principalement de la musique de Siouxsie and the Banshees (les Cocteau Twins s'en sont fortement inspirés, ce qui se ressent dans leur premier album Garlands, sorti en 1982). Le genre s'est développé surtout autour des années 1983-1984, avec l'émergence de trois formations majeures: Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil et Dead Can Dance... Les labels principaux promouvant le genre sont 4AD et Projekt Records".</ref>
*[[garage rock]]<ref name="xlr8r" />
*[[space rock]]<ref name="space rock">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/space-rock-ma0000012255|title=Space Rock : Allmusic|website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=5 March 2019|archive-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329215305/https://www.allmusic.com/style/space-rock-ma0000012255|url-status=live}}</ref>
| fusiongenres      = [[Blackgaze]]
| local_scenes      = 
| other_topics      = * [[List of shoegaze bands]]
* [[ambient music|ambient]]
* [[ethereal wave]]
* [[post-rock]]
* [[noise rock]]
* [[post-metal]]
* [[space rock]]
* [[grunge]]
* [[Britpop]]
| cultural_origins  = Late 1980s, Ireland and United Kingdom
| derivatives       = * [[Chillwave]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Despres|first1=Sean|title=Whatever you do, don't call it 'chillwave'|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2010/06/18/music/whatever-you-do-dont-call-it-chillwave/#.WCIn36M-Iy4|website=Japan Times|date=18 June 2010 |access-date=8 November 2016|archive-date=9 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109074518/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2010/06/18/music/whatever-you-do-dont-call-it-chillwave/#.WCIn36M-Iy4|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* [[nu gaze]]
* [[witch house (genre)|witch house]]<ref name="lindsaycam">{{cite web |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/translator-witch_house |title=The Translator - Witch House |last=Lindsay |first=Cam |publisher=Exclaim.ca |date=31 January 2011 |access-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>
}}

'''Shoegaze''' (originally called '''shoegazing''' and sometimes conflated with [[dream pop]])<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rothman |first=Joshua |title=T. S. Eliot Would Have Liked Beach House |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/t-s-eliot-would-have-liked-beach-house |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=28 August 2015 |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305065517/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/t-s-eliot-would-have-liked-beach-house |url-status=live }}</ref> is a subgenre of [[indie rock|indie]] and [[alternative rock]] characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar [[distortion (music)|distortion]] and effects, [[audio feedback|feedback]], and overwhelming volume.<ref name="all_music"/><ref name="auto">Pete Prown / Harvey P. Newquist: "One faction came to be known as dream-pop or "shoegazers" (for their habit of looking at the ground while playing the guitars on stage). They were musicians who played trancelike, ethereal music that was composed of numerous guitars playing heavy droning chords wrapped in echo effects and phase shifters.", Hal Leonard 1997, {{ISBN|0-7935-4042-9}}</ref> It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among [[neo-psychedelic]] groups<ref name="ReynoldsNYT">{{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |date=1 December 1991 |title=Pop View; 'Dream-Pop' Bands Define the Times in Britain |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/arts/pop-view-dream-pop-bands-define-the-times-in-britain.html?pagewanted=1 |url-status=live |access-date=7 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902043640/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/arts/pop-view-dream-pop-bands-define-the-times-in-britain.html?pagewanted=1 |archive-date=2 September 2020}}</ref> who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state.<ref name="all_music">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/d2680|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217194914/http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/d2680 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 February 2011  |title=Explore: Shoegaze &#124; AllMusic |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=17 February 2011 |access-date=9 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="guardian" /> The name comes from the heavy use of [[effects pedals]], as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during such concerts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/arts/music/shoegaze-slowdive-ride.html/ |title=Shoegaze, the Sound of Protest Shrouded in Guitar Fuzz, Returns |date=14 August 2017 |website=New York Times |access-date=17 December 2019 |archive-date=18 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218003247/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/arts/music/shoegaze-slowdive-ride.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] and their 1991 album ''[[Loveless (album)|Loveless]]'' are widely regarded as defining the genre.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sanders |first1=Shane |title=Shoegaze: The dreamlike guitar-driven genre defined by My Bloody Valentine and Ride |url=https://gazette.gibson.com/history/shoegaze-the-dreamlike-guitar-driven-genre-defined-by-my-bloody-valentine-and-ride/#:~:text=Loveless%20by%20My%20Bloody%20Valentine,a%20touchstone%20for%20the%20genre. |website=Gibson Gazette |access-date=26 October 2024}}</ref><ref name="The Rankings of Albums">{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Stacy |title=The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=5 |website=Pitchfork |date=24 October 2016 |publisher=2018 Conde Nast |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-date=22 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122101203/http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=5 |url-status=live }}</ref> A loose label given to the shoegaze bands and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was "the scene that celebrates itself".<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Guinness who's who of indie and new wave music |date=1992 |publisher=Guinness |isbn=978-0-85112-579-4 |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |series=Guinness who's who of popular music series |location=Enfield, Middlesex}}</ref> Most shoegaze artists drew from the template set by My Bloody Valentine on their late 1980s recordings, as well as bands such as [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]] and [[Cocteau Twins]].<ref name="all_music" />

In the early 1990s, shoegaze was sidelined by American [[grunge]] and early [[Britpop]] acts, resulting in relatively unknown bands breaking up or reinventing their style altogether.<ref name="all_music"/> Since the late 2010s, a renewed interest in the genre has been noted, namely among [[nu gaze]] and [[blackgaze]] bands.

==Characteristics==
{{listen|
 |filename    = Soon.ogg
 |title       = "Soon"
 |description = "Soon", from the 1991 album ''[[Loveless (My Bloody Valentine album)|Loveless]]'' by [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]], features a dance-oriented beat behind three tracks of [[Kevin Shields]]' "[[glide guitar]]".}}

Shoegaze genre combines ethereal, swirling vocals with layers of [[guitar distortion|distorted]], bent, or [[flanging|flanged]] guitars,<ref name="xlr8r">Patrick Sisson, "[http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/01/vapour-trails-revisiting-shoegaz Vapour Trails: Revisiting Shoegaze] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022112538/http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/01/vapour-trails-revisiting-shoegaz |date=October 22, 2014 }}", XLR8R no. 123, December 2008</ref> creating a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from another.<ref name="all_music" /> The genre was typically "overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars."<ref name="all_music" /> According to ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', "emotionally, shoegaze turns its focus inward. The extreme noise eliminates the possibility of socializing while the music is playing, leaving each member of the audience alone with their thoughts. It's music for dreaming."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pitchfork |date=2016-10-24 |title=The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>

Early UK shoegaze was heavily influenced by American bands such as [[Dinosaur Jr.]], [[Hüsker Dü|Husker Du]] and [[Sonic Youth]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Earles |first=Andrew |title=Gimme Indie Rock |publisher=Voyager Press |year=2014 |pages=189}}</ref> 

==Etymology==
{{See also|Dream pop}}
[[File:Pleasure Centre.jpg|thumb|Shoegaze's name is in reference to how many guitarists in the genre stare downwards at their pedals.]]
According to ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', shoegaze is "a particularly unusual genre in that its name describes neither a sound nor a connection to music history."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pitchfork |date=2016-10-24 |title=The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/ |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref>

In a 2016 article for ''[[HuffPost]]'' [[Andy Ross (music executive)|Andy Ross]] claimed he coined the term "shoegazing" at a show on 3 September 1991 which featured [[Chapterhouse (band)|Chapterhouse]], [[Slowdive]] and [[Moose (band)|Moose]], because the bands' members seemed to be in "a state of trance by the footwear lurking semi-motionless beneath their low-slung guitars".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andy-ross/shoegaze_b_9892330.html | title=Shoegazing – the Coining of a Genre |website=[[HuffPost]] | date=11 May 2016}}</ref> Alternatively, ''The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music'' (1992) claimed that the first use of the name was in a concert review for Moose, published by ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'', in which the author referenced how singer Russell Yates read lyrics taped to the floor throughout the gig.<ref>{{cite book |last= Larkin |first= Colin |title= The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music |year= 1992 |page= 188|publisher= Square One|isbn= 0-85112-579-4}}</ref> 

According to [[AllMusic]]: "The shatteringly loud, droning [[neo-psychedelia]] the band performed was dubbed shoegaze by the British press because the band members stared at the floor while they performed".<ref name="all_music" /> The term was also used by the British music press to describe [[dream pop]] bands.<ref name="Wice">{{cite book |last1=Wice |first1=Nathaniel |last2=Daly |first2=Steven |url=https://archive.org/details/altcultureatozgu00wice/page/68/mode/2up |title=Alt. Culture: An A-to-Z Guide to the '90s – Underground, Online, and Over-the-Counter |location=New York |publisher=[[Harper Perennial]] |year=1995 |page=69 |isbn=978-0-06-273383-2 |url-access=registration |quote=The dream pop bands were lionized by the capricious British music press, which later took to dismissing them as 'shoegazers' for their affectless stage presence.}}</ref> [[Slowdive]]'s [[Simon Scott (drummer)|Simon Scott]] found the term relevant:

{{Blockquote|I always thought [[Robert Smith (singer)|Robert Smith]], when he was in [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] playing guitar [on the 1983's ''[[Nocturne (Siouxsie and the Banshees album)|Nocturne]]'' live video], was the coolest as he just stood there and let the music flood out. That anti showmanship was perfect so I never really understood why people began to use "shoegaze" as a negative term. I think if Slowdive didn't stand there looking at what pedal was about to go on and off we'd have been shite. [...] I am glad we were static and concentrated on playing well. Now it is a positive term.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dom |last=Gourlay |url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136609-shoegaze-week--dis-talks-to-simon-scott-about-his-time-in-slowdive |title=Shoegaze Week DIS Talks To Simon Scott About His Time In Slowdive |website=[[Drowned in Sound]] |date=23 April 2009 |access-date=10 September 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906045449/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4136609-shoegaze-week--dis-talks-to-simon-scott-about-his-time-in-slowdive}}</ref>}}

However, to some, the term was considered a [[pejorative]], especially by a part of the English weekly music press who considered the movement as ineffectual, and it was disliked by many of the groups it purported to describe.<ref name="xlr8r" /> [[Lush (band)|Lush]]{{'}}s singer [[Miki Berenyi]] explained: {{blockquote|Shoegazing was originally a slag-off term. My partner [K.J. 'Moose' McKillop], who was the guitarist in Moose, claims that it was originally leveled at his band. Apparently the journo was referring to the bank of effects pedals he had strewn across the stage that he had to keep staring at in order to operate. And then it just became a generic term for all those bands that had a big, sweeping, effects-laden sound, but all stood resolutely still on stage.<ref name="xlr8r" />}} [[Ride (band)|Ride]]'s [[Mark Gardener]] had another take on his group's static presentation: "We didn't want to use the stage as a platform for [[Egotism|ego]]... We presented ourselves as normal people, as a band who wanted their fans to think they could do that too."<ref name="guardian" />

==History==
[[File:Cocteau Twins 1986.jpg|thumb|right|Scottish band [[Cocteau Twins]] (pictured in 1986), helped define what would become known as shoegaze, credited by ''[[The Guardian]]'' with the development of "a sound that would become the gold standard for enigmatic, ethereal indie-pop"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raggett |first1=Ned |title=Cocteau Twins – 10 of the best |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/feb/24/cocteau-twins-10-of-the-best |website=The Guardian |access-date=11 April 2024 |date=24 February 2016}}</ref>]]
===Origins and precursors===
[[File:My Bloody Valentine-2.jpg|thumb|right|alt=My Bloody Valentine|[[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] performing live in 2008]]

"[[All I Wanna Do (The Beach Boys song)|All I Wanna Do]]", a song from [[the Beach Boys]]' 1970 album ''[[Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)|Sunflower]]'', was retrospectively viewed as a precursor to shoegaze, and was one of many influences on both the shoegaze and [[dream pop]] scenes of the early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macauley |first=Hefner |date=18 July 2000 |title=The Beach Boys: Sunflower/Surf's Up |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/11665-sunflowersurfs-up/ |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=Pitchfork Media Inc |archive-date=8 September 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908012154/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/11665-sunflowersurfs-up/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cameron |first=Katie |date=8 August 2018 |title=The Eight Best Beach Boys' Albums |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/the-beach-boys/8-best-beach-boys-albums |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Music |first=Future |date=3 June 2021 |title=The beginner's guide to: chillwave |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/beginners-guide-chillwave |access-date=19 May 2023 |website=Musicradar}}</ref>

[[Post-punk]] acts [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] and [[The Cure]] were formative influences on shoegaze.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Bonner |first=Michael |date=3 November 2017 |title=Going Blank Again: a history of shoegaze |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/going-blank-history-shoegaze-102240/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226160209/https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/going-blank-history-shoegaze-102240/ |archive-date=26 December 2020 |access-date=26 September 2020 |website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]}}</ref> Slowdive named themselves after the Siouxsie and the Banshees [[Slowdive (song)|song of the same name]] and took inspiration from the group at their beginnings, while their contemporaries [[Lush (band)|Lush]] were originally called "The Baby Machines", a line from a [[Siouxsie Sioux]] lyric.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tyler |first=Kieron |date=17 January 2016 |title=Reissue CDs Weekly: Still in a Dream - A Story of Shoegaze |url=http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/reissue-cds-weekly-still-dream-story-shoegaze |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406130852/http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/reissue-cds-weekly-still-dream-story-shoegaze |archive-date=6 April 2017 |access-date=17 December 2016 |publisher=theartsdesk.com}}</ref> During early and mid 1980s, the English [[alternative rock]] and [[neo-psychedelia]] scenes produced several bands whose exploration of sounds and textures would impact shoegaze.<ref name=":2" /> Those bands included [[the House of Love]], [[Spacemen 3]], and [[Loop (band)|Loop]], the latter two of whom were notable influences on shoegazers Ride and Slowdive.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Trunick |first=Austin |date=November 18, 2013 |title=Ride on "Nowhere": Mark Gardener and Andy Bell on 1990's Shoegaze Classic |url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/ride_on_nowhere_mark_gardener_and_andy_bell |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201055400/https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/ride_on_nowhere_mark_gardener_and_andy_bell |archive-date=December 1, 2023 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |website=Under the Radar}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Trunick |first=Austin |date=August 12, 2014 |title=Slowdive - Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell on the Bands That Inspired Them |url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/slowdive_-_neil_halstead_and_rachel_goswell_on_the_bands_that_inspired_them |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218162051/https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/slowdive_-_neil_halstead_and_rachel_goswell_on_the_bands_that_inspired_them |archive-date=February 18, 2024 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |website=Under the Radar}}</ref>

American underground bands [[Sonic Youth]], [[Dinosaur Jr.]], and [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]] were also cited by various shoegaze bands as touchstones for their respective sounds.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Parkes |first=Taylor |date=May 10, 2012 |title="Not Doing Things Is Soul Destroying" - Kevin Shields Of MBV Interviewed |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/08745-kevin-shields-interview-mbv-my-bloody-valentine |access-date=May 11, 2024 |website=The Quietus}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ackell |first=Greg |date=2022 |title=JERKSTM / DROP NINETEENS |url=https://jerks-store.com/pages/drop-nineteens |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129144011/https://jerks-store.com/pages/drop-nineteens |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |website=jerks-store.com}}</ref> Proto-punk band [[the Velvet Underground]] also proved very influential for many shoegaze acts.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="Exclaim! Sound Of Confusion article">[http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid2=779&fid1=32739 Exclaim! Sound of Confusion article on Shoegaze] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122052031/http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid2=779&fid1=32739|date=22 January 2009}}. Retrieved 22 September 2008.</ref> 

According to [[AllMusic]], most bands drew from the music of [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] as a template for the genre, as well as groups such as [[Cocteau Twins]] and [[the Jesus and Mary Chain]].<ref name="all_music" /> British dream pop duo [[A.R. Kane]] have also been credited with producing a template for the genre in the late 1980s.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/19/ar-kane-rudy-tambala|title=AR Kane: how to invent shoegaze without really trying|first=Rob|last=Fitzpatrick|date=19 September 2012|website=Theguardian.com|access-date=31 July 2017|archive-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731225613/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/19/ar-kane-rudy-tambala|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Simon & Schuster: ''The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock'', p.49, Fireside, March 1997, {{ISBN|0684814374}}</ref> My Bloody Valentine's ''[[Loveless (album)|Loveless]]'' is referred to as the genre's defining album .<ref name="The Rankings of Albums">{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Stacy |title=The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=5 |website=Pitchfork |date=24 October 2016 |publisher=2018 Conde Nast |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-date=22 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122101203/http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9966-the-50-best-shoegaze-albums-of-all-time/?page=5 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

After garnering some local popularity with their 1987 twee/noise pop single, "[[Sunny Sundae Smile]]", My Bloody Valentine started to move their sound more and more into experimentation with noise and complex series of effect pedals—as seen in their 1988 breakthrough: the ''[[You Made Me Realise]]'' EP and album ''[[Isn't Anything]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Strong |first= Martin C. |title= The Great Alternative & Indie Discography |url= https://archive.org/details/greatalternative0000stro |url-access= registration |year= 1999 |page= [https://archive.org/details/greatalternative0000stro/page/427 427]|publisher= Canongate|isbn= 0-86241-913-1|quote="The full extent of their pioneering guitar manipulation – responsible for a whole scene of "shoegaze" musical admirers, stand up Ride, Moose, Lush etc., etc., ..."}}</ref> Michael Azerrad's book ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]'' cited an early 1990s [[Dinosaur Jr.]] tour of the United Kingdom as a key influence.<ref>Azerrad, Michael (2001). Our Band Could Be Your Life. Back Bay. pp. 366. {{ISBN|978-0-316-78753-6}}.</ref>

Whereas contemporary alternative rock movements of the time period were extremely male-dominated (Britpop, grunge), My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, Cocteau Twins, Pale Saints, [[Curve (band)|Curve]] and many other popular shoegaze acts had at least one prominent female musician who contributed key vocal elements and/or integral writing components to the music. In the 2014 film ''[[Beautiful_Noise_(film)|Beautiful Noise]]'', Kevin Shields noted that there were as many women as men in the shoegaze community.<ref>{{cite AV media| people = Eric Green | title = Beautiful Noise| medium = film| publisher = HypFilms| location = United States| date = 2014}}</ref>

===The Scene That Celebrates Itself===
The Scene That Celebrates Itself was the social and [[indie music scene|musical scene]] in the early 1990s within London and the [[Thames Valley]] area. The term was coined by ''[[Melody Maker]]''{{'}} [[Steve Sutherland (DJ)|Steve Sutherland]] in 1990 in a near-contemptuous gesture, focusing on how bands involved in the scene, rather than engaging in traditional rivalries, were often seen at each other's gigs, sometimes playing in each other's bands, and drinking together.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |title=The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music |year= 1992 |publisher=Guinness Publishing |isbn=0-85112-579-4 }}</ref>

Bands lumped into the 'scene' by the press included several of the bands that were branded with the shoegazing label, such as [[Chapterhouse (band)|Chapterhouse]], [[Lush (band)|Lush]], [[Moose (band)|Moose]] and other (mainly [[indie (music)|indie]]) bands such as [[Blur (band)|Blur]] (prior to the release of their single "[[Popscene]]"), [[Thousand Yard Stare (band)|Thousand Yard Stare]], [[See See Rider (band)|See See Rider]] and [[Stereolab]].<ref name="Larkin" /><ref name="HH">{{Cite web |url=http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/1763 |title=Review of Slowdive's ''Souvlaki'' by Jason Parkes |access-date=19 September 2020 |archive-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014032118/http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/1763 |url-status=live }}</ref> A prime example were Moose, who often swapped members with other bands on a given night. Moose's Russell Yates and Stereolab guitarist [[Tim Gane]] would often trade places, while "Moose" McKillop often played with See See Rider.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/columns/brown/030417.shtml |title=PopMatters {{!}} Columns {{!}} The Attic or The Underground {{!}} Do You Remember?<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=22 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108205056/http://www.popmatters.com/music/columns/brown/030417.shtml |archive-date=8 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Gane and his Stereolab colleague [[Lætitia Sadier]] even played on the 1991 session by Moose for [[John Peel]]'s [[BBC Radio 1]] show.<ref name="KIP">"[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1990s/1991/Apr16moose/ Peel Sessions: 16 April 1991 - Moose] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211061020/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1990s/1991/Apr16moose |date=11 February 2019 }}", ''Keeping It Peel'', [[BBC]]</ref>

The bands, producers and journalists of the time would gather in London and their activities would be chronicled in the gossip pages of the music papers ''[[NME]]'' and ''Melody Maker''. The most famous club and focal point was Syndrome, which was located on [[Oxford Street]] and ran weekly on Wednesday nights. The ''NME'', in particular, embraced the scene, and the unity of the bands was probably advantageous to their careers, because when one band had a successful record, the other bands could share the publicity. The scene was extremely small and revolved around fewer than 20 individuals.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

The first stirrings of recognition came when indie writer [[Steve Lamacq]] referred to Ride in an ''NME'' review as "[[the House of Love]] with chainsaws".

The shoegaze genre label was quite often misapplied. As key bands such as Slowdive, [[Chapterhouse (band)|Chapterhouse]] and Ride emerged from the [[Thames Valley]], [[Swervedriver]] found themselves labelled shoegazers on account of their own Thames Valley origins, despite their more pronounced Hüsker Dü-meets-[[The Stooges|Stooges]] stylings.<ref name="melody_maker">Lester, Paul (12 September 1992). "Whatever Happened to Shoegaze?" ''Melody Maker'', p.6. Retrieved 12 April 2007 from Proquest Research Library.</ref>

===Decline===
The coining of the term "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" was in many ways the beginning of the end for the first wave of shoegazers. The bands became perceived by critics as over-privileged, self-indulgent, and middle-class.<ref name="xlr8r" /> This perception was in sharp contrast with both the bands who formed the wave of newly commercialized [[grunge]] music which was making its way across the Atlantic, as well as those bands who formed the foundation of Britpop, such as [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]], [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], [[Blur (band)|Blur]] and [[Suede (band)|Suede]].<ref name="guardian" /> [[Britpop]] also offered intelligible lyrics, often about the trials and tribulations of working-class life; this was a stark contrast to the "vocals as an instrument" approach of shoegaze, which often prized the melodic contribution of vocals over their lyrical depth.

Many shoegaze bands would either disband or change their sound during the mid-1990s. Ride disbanded before the release of their fourth album, ''[[Tarantula (Ride album)|Tarantula]]'', which would shift to a more contemporary alternative rock sound. Slowdive's third album, ''[[Pygmalion (album)|Pygmalion]]'', would shift to a more experimental sound that was stylistically closer to [[post-rock]] than shoegaze. Slowdive would be dropped from Creation Records just a week after ''Pygmalion''{{'}}s release,<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 April 2017 |title=Slowdive on Their First Album in 22 Years and Why Shoegaze Came Back |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1484-slowdive-on-their-first-album-in-22-years-and-why-shoegaze-came-back/ |access-date=2 July 2022 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref> and ''Tarantula'' would also be deleted from their catalogue a week after its release.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Ride - Weather Diaries album review: The Skinny |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/ride-weather-diaries |access-date=2 July 2022 |magazine=[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]]}}</ref>

Lush's final album, ''[[Lovelife (album)|Lovelife]]'', was an abrupt shift from shoegaze to Britpop, which alienated many fans; the 1996 suicide of their drummer [[Chris Acland]] signaled Lush's dissolution. Following a long gap from My Bloody Valentine since ''Loveless'', aside from their 2008 reunion tour, the band released ''[[m b v (album)|m b v]]'' in February 2013. Shields explained their silence by noting, "I never could be bothered to make another record unless I was really excited by it."<ref name="pf.JAN2007.MBV">{{cite web| title=Kevin Shields: MBV Will "100%" Make Another Album| url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/40473/Kevin_Shields_MBV_Will_100_Make_Another_Album#40473| website=Pitchforkmedia.com| access-date=16 January 2007| archive-date=6 March 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306120405/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/40473/Kevin_Shields_MBV_Will_100_Make_Another_Album#40473| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Post-movement directions===
{{See also|Nu gaze|Blackgaze}}
[[File:Deafheaven @ A Colossal Weekend 2017 42.jpg|thumb|right|[[Deafheaven]] brought blackgaze, a [[black metal]] and shoegaze fusion genre, to prominence with the 2013 album ''[[Sunbather (album)|Sunbather]]''.]]
Several former members of shoegaze bands later moved towards dream pop, post-rock, and the more electronica-based [[trip hop]].<ref name="guardian" /> [[Neil Halstead]], [[Rachel Goswell]], and Ian McCutcheon of Slowdive would form [[Mojave 3]], while guitarist [[Christian Savill]] would form [[Monster Movie (band)|Monster Movie]]. [[Adam Franklin]] of Swervedriver released [[lo-fi music|lo-fi]] albums under the moniker [[Toshack Highway]].<ref>Stevens, Andrew (11 July 2007). "Leave Them All Behind: The 3:AM Guide to 'Shoegaze' and British Indie Music in the 1990s" ''[[3:AM Magazine]]''. Retrieved 17 March 2013.</ref> The use of [[electronic dance music|electronic dance]] and [[ambient music|ambient]] elements by bands such as Slowdive and [[Seefeel]] paved the way for later developments in post-rock and [[electronica]].<ref name="xlr8r" />

While shoegaze briefly flared and then faded out in the UK, the bands of the initial wave had an immense impact on the development of regional underground and college rock scenes in the US.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gregg Araki's films are giving the US a crash course in Shoegaze |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/06/gregg-araki-kaboom-shoegazing |date=5 August 2011 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=4 April 2020 |location=London |first=Phelim |last=O'Neill |archive-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319062857/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/aug/06/gregg-araki-kaboom-shoegazing |url-status=live}}</ref> In particular, a Lush and Ride tour of the US in 1991<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lightfromadeadstar.org/Gigography/Index.htm |title=Lush Gigography |access-date=4 April 2020 |first=Miki |last=Berenyi |archive-date=22 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222132222/http://www.lightfromadeadstar.org/Gigography/Index.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> directly inspired the spawning of American shoegaze groups including [[Drop Nineteens]], Half String<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vendetta |first1=Ben |title=Half String Interview |journal=Vendetta Magazine |date=Spring 1997 |issue=8 |url=http://www.silbermedia.com/qrd/thieves/vhalfs.htm |access-date=4 April 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001022105/http://www.silbermedia.com/qrd/thieves/vhalfs.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> and Ozean.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lamoreaux|first1=Jason T.|date=9 January 2017|title=An Interview with Ozean|url=https://somewherecold.net/2017/01/09/an-interview-with-ozean/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110075100/https://somewherecold.net/2017/01/09/an-interview-with-ozean/|archive-date=10 January 2017|access-date=4 April 2020|website=[[Somewherecold Records|Somewherecold]]}}</ref> Columnist Emma Sailor of KRUI in Iowa City opines:

{{Blockquote|The insularity and introversion of British shoegaze was an intention[al] backlash against their country's mainstream. But when the shoegaze sound was exported to America, it arrived unattached from the cultural context that originally prompted its gloomy moods.

The result? American indie bands gave shoegaze an entirely new image. Where the sound once was tightly linked with introversion, it was now attached to summery, outward looking songs with a focus on celebrating youth.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sailor |first1=Emma |title=My Forgotten Favorite: American Shoegaze |url=http://krui.fm/2018/02/13/forgotten-favorite-american-shoegaze/ |website=KRUI |date=13 February 2018 |publisher=University of Iowa |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103080736/http://krui.fm/2018/02/13/forgotten-favorite-american-shoegaze/ |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

About DC-based [[Velocity Girl]]'s 1991 single "My Forgotten Favorite", Sailor goes on to note, "Could anything be more different—and yet so similar—to [Slowdive]? The hazy [production] and dreamy, high pitched female vocals are there, but the outlook is entirely different." Other notable American shoegaze influenced bands of the early-to mid-1990s included [[Lilys]], [[Swirlies]], The Veldt, and [[Medicine (band)|Medicine]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Shoegaze Music Artists |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/shoegaze-ma0000004454/artists |website=AllMusic |publisher=AllMusic, Netaktion LLC |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308092910/https://www.allmusic.com/style/shoegaze-ma0000004454/artists |url-status=live}}</ref>

A resurgence of the genre began in the late 1990s (particularly in the United States) and the early 2000s, that helped usher in what is now referred to as the "nu gaze" era.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |title=Diamond gazers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jul/27/popandrock |date=27 July 2007 |work=[[The Guardian|Guardian]] |access-date=13 May 2012 |location=London |first=Jude |last=Rogers |archive-date=7 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307045900/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jul/27/popandrock |url-status=live}}</ref> Also various heavy metal acts were inspired by shoegaze, which contributed to the emergence of "[[post-metal]]" and "metalgaze" styles.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jacobs|first=Koen|title=Metal Gaze – From My Bloody Valentine To Nadja via SunnO)))|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/00376-in-extremis-metal-gaze|work=[[The Quietus]]|access-date=6 June 2012|date=4 September 2008|quote=...the recent trend for combining metal's sense of threat with the immersive idyll of shoegazing is undeniable, and only one aspect of the ongoing cross-pollination taking place in extreme music. For his part, r views the 'metalgaze' movement as less entropic than cyclical.|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312103910/http://thequietus.com/articles/00376-in-extremis-metal-gaze|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Burgin|first=Leah|title=Metalgaze gets confused with monotony on Pelican's latest disc|work=[[The Michigan Daily]]|url=https://www.michigandaily.com/content/pelican-review|publisher=[[University of Michigan]]|access-date=17 April 2012|date=5 December 2015|archive-date=28 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328131219/http://www.michigandaily.com/content/pelican-review|url-status=live}}</ref> Particularly in the mid-2000s, French [[black metal]] acts [[Alcest]] and [[Amesoeurs]] began incorporating shoegaze elements into their sound, pioneering the [[blackgaze]] genre.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zina |first=Natalie |url=http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/translator-blackgaze |title=The Translator Blackgaze |website=Exclaim.ca |date=26 February 2014 |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123501/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/translator-blackgaze |url-status=live}}</ref>

In eastern Asia the genre has become increasingly popular with bands such as Cocteau Twins influencing the creation of new "art school" shoegaze.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haman |first=Brian |date=13 September 2017 |title='A language we use to say sentimental things': how shoegaze took over Asia |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/13/how-shoegaze-took-over-asia |access-date=30 May 2022 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Bands like [[Tokyo Shoegazer]] and [[For Tracy Hyde]] have increasingly adopted western elements, with some bands combining Indie music with shoegaze and psychedelic rock.<ref>{{Citation |title=Emerging Artists 2022 |last=Wahab |first=Ynez |date=28 January 2022 |url=https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/18-emerging-asian-artists-2022-carpet-golf-audrey-nuna-petit-brabancon-noa-mal-sunflower-tape-machine-chaleeda-forceparkbois-priya-ragu-warren-hue-collar-houg-yune-pinku-loner-soft-pine-idgitaf-ozi-adora-mistress-of-the-darkroom |publication-date=28 January 2022}}</ref> Further, since the late 2010s, some artists began prominently incorporating [[emo]] themes into shoegaze, with albums like [[Sputnik (artist)|Weatherday]]{{'}}s ''[[Come In (Weatherday album)|Come In]]'' (2019) and [[Parannoul]]{{'}}s ''[[To See the Next Part of the Dream]]'' (2021) being examples.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2171355/five-pebbles-forgetmenot/music/|title=Stream Weatherday's New EP As Five Pebbles, forgetmenot|first=Chris|last=Deville|date=20 December 2021|access-date=4 July 2022|work=[[Stereogum]]}}</ref><ref name="Pitchfork">{{Cite web|last=Cohen|first=Ian|date=25 March 2021|title=파란노을 (Parannoul) - To See the Next Part of the Dream (album review)|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/parannoul-to-see-the-next-part-of-the-dream/|access-date=4 July 2022|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref>

In the early 2020s, shoegaze became popular among [[Generation Z]] people and on [[TikTok]], with artists such as [[Jane Remover]], [[Novulent]],<ref name=":3" /> [[Quannnic]], and [[Wisp (musician)|Wisp]] becoming popular. Multiple outlets described this as shoegaze's "revival" or "resurrection".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Philip |date=2023-12-14 |title=The Shoegaze Revival Hit Its Stride in 2023 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/the-shoegaze-revival-hit-its-stride-in-2023/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Enis |first=Eli |date=2023-12-18 |title=TikTok Has Made Shoegaze Bigger Than Ever |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2245469/tiktok-has-made-shoegaze-bigger-than-ever/columns/sounding-board/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=[[Stereogum]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Toner |first=Paul |date=2021-04-27 |title=Gen Z Are Resurrecting Shoegaze for Their 'Bleak, Post-COVID World' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gen-z-shoegaze-comeback/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=He |first=Kristen S. |date=2024-03-21 |title=Only Tomorrow: The Resurrection And Rewriting Of Shoegaze History |url=https://junkee.com/longform/shoegaze-tiktok-resurgence |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=[[Junkee]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Irish band [[Fontaines D.C.]] have commented on shoegaze influences in their sound, particularly My Bloody Valentine, their fourth album [[Romance (Fontaines D.C. album)|Romance]] was particularly noted for this sound by reviewers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-23 |title=Fontaines D.C.: “I feel like post-punk doesn't really represent us as a band right now.” |url=https://www.whiteboardjournal.com/ideas/music/fontaines-d-c-i-feel-like-post-punk-doesnt-really-represent-us-as-a-band-right-now/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Whiteboard Journal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=2024-08-15 |title=Fontaines DC: Romance review – arenas await, but on the band’s own strange terms |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/aug/15/fontaines-dc-romance-review-xl-recordings |access-date=2025-03-31 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Album review: Fontaines D.C. achieves boldest sound ever on 'Romance' |url=https://www.thelantern.com/2024/08/album-review-fontaines-d-c-achieves-boldest-sound-ever-on-romance/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=www.thelantern.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|1990s}}
* [[Beautiful Noise (film)|''Beautiful Noise'' (film)]]
* [[List of shoegaze bands]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Shoegazing}}

{{Alternative rock}}
{{Psychedelic music}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Shoegaze| ]]
[[Category:1990s neologisms]]
[[Category:Rock music genres]]
[[Category:British styles of music]]
[[Category:Neo-psychedelia]]