Five Easy Masterpieces: an introduction to shoegaze
In the 1990s, rock music chartered some truly intriguing territory as it returned to the charts following a synth-fuelled 1980s. In the US, Nirvana inspired a generation by popularising Neil Young’s so-called grunge style. Across the Atlantic, bands like Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede led the guitar rock renaissance known as Britpop. Meanwhile, particularly intriguing innovations began to sprout in the shaded margins, namely shoegaze, trip-hop and post-rock.
The more niche subgenres become, the more contentious they seem to be. For example, nobody’s going to argue that Buddy Rich wasn’t a jazz drummer. However, when it comes to shoegaze, some will argue against The Verve’s status as a genre proponent. Indeed, like the guitar textures by which it’s identified, the shoegaze categorisation is somewhat hazy.
To swerve any contention, I will leave The Verve’s A Storm In Heaven and Spiritualized’s Lazer Guided Melodies off this list. Both albums are commonly tagged as masterpieces of the genre, but they are not archetypes of the style. Instead, I quietly point you in their direction while focussing on five essential masterpieces of pure shoegaze.
Likewise, I have, with a lump in my throat, omitted some crucial proto-shoegaze albums. The swirling, effects-ridden subgenre may not have come to fruition had it not been for the sterling work of Spacemen 3 and Cocteau Twins throughout the 1980s and the dark, ethereal beauty of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy.
Tracing this evolutionary trail back far enough, we find Siouxsie and the Banshees’ debut album, The Scream, and the wall of sound textures of John McKay. You can read more about his pivotal influence on the genre here, but for now, let’s get acquainted with shoegaze through five essential masterpieces.
Five shoegaze masterpieces:
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
Few readers will be surprised to see this album as we kick off the list. My Bloody Valentine is the quintessential shoegaze band, and their 1991 masterpiece Loveless is the definitive product. Following the critical and commercial success of Isn’t Anything, which I also highly recommend, bandleader Kevin Shields led his Irish-English cohort to new peaks of audacity.
Shields crafted the record meticulously between 1989 and 1991, allegedly driving Alan McGee’s Creation label close to bankruptcy. When the record was finished, the total cost of production was estimated at £250,000, leading to the band’s dismissal from the label. The damages were only repaired when Oasis released its debut, Definitely Maybe, on the label in 1994. It may not have sold as well as the Gallagher brothers’ Britpop, but I’d take this blurry trove any day of the week.
Slowdive – Souvlaki (1993)
Slowdive was another monumental force in Britain’s shoegaze arsenal. Like My Bloody Valentine, they released an essential debut album, 1991’s Just for a Day, but nothing beats their 1993 follow-up. Like many acts of the shoegaze wave, Slowdive’s creative lead, Neil Halstead, was inspired deeply by acts of the post-punk wave, such as Joy Division and The Cure.
David Bwowie’s experimental Berlin Trilogy was also a pivotal force behind the band’s early creativity. Accordingly, Slowdive contacted Bowie’s Berlin collaborator Brian Eno, asking him to produce Souvlaki. Unfortunately, the former Roxy Music synth operator was tied up, but he agreed to spend several days in the studio with the band, during which he contributed to ‘Sing’ and a cover of one of his own songs, ‘Here She Comes’.
Ride – Nowhere (1990)
Ride became the first band to put Oxford on the map as a leading force in the shoegaze wave. Led by Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, Ride released two immortal masterpieces of the genre in Nowhere and its 1992 follow-up Doing Back Again. Choosing between these two is like choosing a favourite child: they each have their respective merits, and it’s unfair to voice a choice. Therefore, I won’t, but I slide Nowhere forward as the band’s signature release and a perfect starting point for newcomers.
Remarkably, the Ride members were all between 18 and 20 years old when they recorded this triumph. It’s psychedelic, ethereal and layered throughout with dazzling guitar work and distant, harmonious vocals that undulate much like the waves seen on the beautiful album cover. There are many classics on this album, but ‘Vapour Trail’ stands proud as Ride’s signature song. “‘Vapour Trail’, it’s one of the best fifteen-second intros of all time,” The Cure’s Robert Smith, a crucial endorser of the band, once said.
Swervedriver – Raise (1991)
I am acutely aware that four of my five selections are Creation Records. I hope this is a reflection of the label’s heavy hand in the shoegaze genre rather than any unadventurousness on my part. All the same, this list wouldn’t be complete without an entry from Ride’s Oxford neighbours, Swervedriver. Throughout the 1990s, the band populated the centre of a Venn diagram between grunge and shoegaze, but their 1991 debut, Raise, is a fine example of unadulterated shoegaze.
Raise debuted a noisy crash of guitars, but it stands distinct from Nowhere and Loveless thanks to Adam Franklin’s more incisive vocal delivery and a more attacking instrumental approach. A more grunge-infused masterpiece was in store with Mezcal Head arriving two years later, but few can deny the beauty of ‘Rave Down’ and ‘Son of Mustang Ford’.
Bowery Electric – Bowery Electric (1995)
Bowery Electric was a hidden gem, formed in 1993 by Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener, who met as co-workers at Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. Although they only released three studio albums between 1993 and 2000, they demonstrated captivating evolution and dignified artistry. Their most consummate LP was 1996’s Beat, but the self-titled debut and the more pop-orientated trip-hop project Lushlife had plenty to offer.
Today, I’m serving up a tasty and often overlooked dish, the duo’s 1995 debut album. In their later releases, Bowery Electric explored trip-hop stylings with almost danceable rhythms, but early on, they were besotted with the shoegaze movement. Some describe Beat as having shoegaze DNA, but Bowery Electric is a more representative example, with fuzzy guitars and dynamic bass lines to supply structure and momentum.
