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The first time I heard shoegaze music, I was about four years old.
Drop Nineteens’ “Delaware” was featured on The Adventures of Pete and Pete, and I was immediately drawn to the track’s gliding guitar tones, melting vocal harmonies, and moodiness. This set the tone for the rest of my life and interest in music.
I’m hoping this article reads in part like a love letter to a genre that changed me, rather than a strict instruction manual—but I promise to dive into the technical side of this genre as well as its ethereal and elusive qualities.
Now, do yourself a favor and throw on some shoegaze music to set the mood. One of my all-time favorites is Moose’s 1991 EP, Jack.
What is shoegaze?
Shoegaze is a genre of music that evolved from a mix of rock and roll, goth, post punk, and twee.
It can be defined sonically by its more common chord voicings, some effect pedals, and its raw and soft-focused vocals—but the most important part of the genre is the feelings that it elicits. Nostalgia, melancholy, and longing are all synonymous with shoegaze. Wrap those feelings in noise and reverb, and you have a basic shoegaze recipe.
Why is it called ‘shoegaze?’
The term ‘shoegaze’ was coined by a music journalist, who after attending a Moose concert noticed that the band was staring at their effects pedals and lyrics on the floor rather than engaging with the audience; they appeared to be gazing at their shoes.
It should be noted that the UK press didn’t take kindly to this more introspective kind of artist, often mocking the genre’s most influential bands. At the time, music outlets were busy praising the up-and-coming rockstar aura of britpop. The act of shoegazing just seemed pretentious and self-indulgent to them in comparison.
The history of shoegaze
Shoegaze started in the UK in the 1980s, but it seems we can’t help but return to it every decade with something new and beautiful to offer. Let’s start from the beginning.
Shoegaze’s origins and pioneers
The exact origin of shoegaze is debated, but we can say the genre was solidified in both Scotland and Ireland in the early to mid-1980s.
The 1982 record Garlands by Cocteau Twins opened a sonic palette for the genre, and even further emphasized its sound with their 1983 follow-up record Head Over Heels, with tracks like “Sugar Hiccup” and “In Our Angelhood.”
In 1985, we have The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy, which underlines the classic ’60s rock and roll influence of the genre, eternalized in the track “Just Like Honey.” In this song, you’ll find everything that defines shoegaze: longing vocals, reverb-soaked drums and bass, and blown-out guitar lines that are both dreamy and understated. It mixes noise and beauty perfectly.
Last but far from least, we have my bloody valentine. Between 1987 – 1989, the band dropped multiple genre-bending releases. There’s Strawberry Wine, in which the title track expands shoegaze to a place alongside twee and Paisley Underground with jangly guitars and haunting archaic pop vocals that you could easily imagine in the same club as bands like Strawberry Alarm Clock. This was followed by releases such as you made me realise and feed me with your kiss, in which they wielded their noise rock and no wave influences into a driving explosive whir.
To this day, my bloody valentine often ends their sets with an extended noise version of “you made me realise” that sometimes escalates to 130 dB.
Though Cocteau Twins, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and my bloody valentine are some of the many early pioneers of the genre, they developed their sound with influences from bands like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., The Birthday Party, and The Cramps.
Characteristics of shoegaze music
There are countless ways to make shoegaze music, but here are some of the most recognizable characteristics of the genre:
- I can’t emphasize enough how common it is for the vocals to be the least focused part of the mix. Shoegaze vocals are ethereal and dreamy, and although we want thoughtful and introspective lyrics, the vocals sit deep in the mix to bring you in close. I don’t mean to say the vocals aren’t important, as that’s far from the truth—just that they’re sometimes meant to be felt rather than served in-your-face like they might be in a more pop mix.
- Understated hooks are another key characteristic. Often, amazing shoegaze tracks have very simplistic lead lines played on guitars, synths, or even a flute. Here are three examples of guitar or synth melodies that are fairly simple but highly effective:
- “Desire Lines” by Lush
- “When You Sleep” by my bloody valentine
- “Winona” by Drop Nineteens (this music video is peak ’90s vibes)
- You don’t have to be a music theory expert by any means to become a shoegazer, but it helps to recognize some of the common chords that are used. Major and minor ninth chords are all over modern and classic shoegaze. Major and minor sevenths and elevenths can also be found everywhere. These chords can help with creating the moody and longing tone we know and love.
Shoegaze bands and artists
I would be doing a massive disservice if I said this was every shoegaze band that ever existed. However, I’ll try my best to list my favorites and those that I think represent a good chunk of the genre as well as each subgenre.
Classic shoegaze albums
Shoegaze classics come from all over and have been around for decades. Here are some of my personal favorites from the golden age of shoegaze, the ’80s and ’90s:
- Loveless by my bloody valentine
- Soulvaki by Slowdive
- Delaware by Drop Nineteens
- Spooky by Lush
- Jack by Moose
- Gold by Starflyer 59
- Mrs. Dolphin by Pale Saints
- Nowhere by Ride
- Whirlpool by Chapterhouse
- Raise by Swervedriver
Modern shoegaze revival
Luckily for us, shoegaze is more popular than ever—here are some modern favorites:
- Wisp
- Whirr
- Nothing
- Wednesday
- julie
- Ringo Deathstarr
- Makeout Reef
- Cloakroom
- DIIV
- Slow Crush
- Winter
- Weekend
- Katie the Pest
Subgenres of shoegaze
Like any great genre, shoegaze has a ton of subgenres. They’re all fairly different, which can make this dense very fast. Although each of these deserves a deep dive, I’m going to try to be as concise as possible.
Japanese shoegaze
With nostalgia ruling all, it makes sense that Japanese artists excelled in shoegaze. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, shoegaze records started making their way overseas, and once the internet and file sharing took off, the scene really exploded. By 2010, there were dozens of solid Japanese shoegaze bands.
Here are a few you should definitely check out:
Ambient shoegaze
Ambient shoegaze has always been one of the harder subgenres to pinpoint. If you took away the driving energy that’s so much of shoegaze and just left the raw and pure ethereal emotion, ambient shoegaze is what would be left.
Here are some notable artists and tracks:
Blackgaze
Blackgaze is shoegaze’s doomer gf. It takes all the dreaminess and emotion of shoegaze and wraps it in a blanket of black metal. I personally believe blackgaze leans more into the metal world overall, but if you’re into ethereal shoegaze and also love heavier sounds, you should certainly dive into this genre.
Here’s a short list of blackgaze to check out:
Dream pop vs. shoegaze
Dream pop and shoegaze overlap a lot. Imagine a venn diagram with tons of shared artists. That said, their roots are different—dream pop grew out of twee and jangle pop, while shoegaze came from noisier places like no wave, post punk, and rock and roll.
Cocteau Twins is the perfect example of a band that sits right in the middle. Shoegaze leans into noise and attitude, while dream pop tends to be slightly less in-your-face. Both can feel like a first crush. Sonically, shoegaze can be a little more rock.
Alongside shoegaze, dream pop is one of my all-time favorite genres. I even made a dream pop pack on Splice if you want to check it out here.
Grunge vs. shoegaze
Grunge and shoegaze share qualities on the surface. They can both have blown-out guitars and big, fuzzy ninth chords, but they come from totally different worlds. It’s kind of funny that they were both born from rainy environments—shoegaze from the UK (mostly Scotland) and grunge from Seattle.
The first grunge artists were a reaction to the flashy glam metal bands dominating the U.S. charts. Early grunge was filthy, sludgy, and gritty, pulling influences from doom metal, punk, and noise rock. Once grunge hit the mainstream, it became polished and more radio-friendly with massive drums, huge guitars, and vocals mixed front-and-center to create rockstars.
To me, shoegaze was just as much of a reaction to pop music of the times while indulging in underground culture and a throwback to the psychedelic era. There was nothing like shoegaze—you can find bits in The Velvet Underground or Sonic Youth, but these are just the earliest incantations of the ideas that were to come.
Post rock vs. shoegaze
Post rock has been around longer than shoegaze, but they share a lot of the same influences and characteristics. Post rock can take its time developing. Songs can be experimental, cinematic experiences. Historically, there are more instrumental post rock bands than instrumental shoegaze bands, which on the plus side helps break down language barriers among fans.
While post rock focuses on slow builds, dynamic shifts, and textures, shoegaze is more immediate. Shoegaze is a wall of sound that pulls you into a dreamy haze, a memory. Post rock is hearing music down an alley and moving closer towards it until you’re overwhelmed with the intensity of the sound—a personal soundtrack making ordinary life feel less mundane.
Nugaze vs nu-gaze
Nugaze was first coined in the early 2000s in regards to one of the many shoegaze revivals happening at the time. The bands that were part of this genre took a lot of elements from classic shoegaze, while also adding elements of indie pop and electronica.
Nu-gaze, on the other hand, is a newer moniker that describes artists who mixed shoegaze with elements of nu metal. The number one band for me that can define this existed long before the concept of nu-gaze, and that is Deftones.
Nugaze examples:
Nu-gaze examples:
How to make shoegaze music
While by no means exhaustive, below are a few techniques you can use to start making your own shoegaze music.
Glide guitar technique
Popularized by Kevin Shields of my bloody valentine, this technique involves the guitarist holding the tremolo arm in their hand while strumming, varying the pitch as they play. I have to also give credit to The Birthday Party, as they absolutely played a hand in developing this style. You can hear this technique on Splice here.
Programmed or live drums
Because goth, hip hop, and rave culture found a place in the hearts of shoegazers, it wasn’t uncommon to find drum machines and samplers within this guitar-heavy genre.
On the live drums side, we’re heading into early and post-britpop territory. Ironically enough, sample culture still bleeds through, as you can hear dozens if not hundreds of variations of an amen break in ’90s shoegaze drums.
Here’s a drum loop that’s inspired by the sample-based shoegaze of the ’90s (tambourine is almost always a must in early shoegaze).
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Never say goodbye
You might be driving and energetic like my bloody valentine or have a lo-fi calm like Grouper. Shoegaze has so many sides to it; that’s why it’s one of my favorite genres. You can do almost anything, as long as there’s feeling (and shameless amounts of reverb)!
It goes without saying that I inevitably missed a ton of shoegaze bands, but hopefully this article gave you a solid starting point to exploring shoegaze music. Thank you for reading, and check out our new Splice Sounds label Noise Honey for shoegaze, slowcore, and other niche and indie genre sample packs.
And lastly, if you make shoegaze music yourself, send it to me on Instagram—I want to hear more!
Explore high-quality and royalty-free shoegaze samples for your own music:
June 12, 2025
