Shoegaze season: 10 fuzzy albums to soundtrack your autumn
In the wake of a last-ditch September heatwave, another summer is slipping through our fingers. The weather is shifting from sun to showers, and the trees are assuming a warmer hue – autumn is just visible over the horizon. The season’s colder days and darker nights can often bring with them an unavoidable melancholy, but it also provides the optimal environment for fuzzy listening thanks to shoegaze.
Autumn truly is shoegaze season. Blurry and distorted guitar-driven soundscapes provide the perfect accompaniment for months characterised by crunchy leaves and a desire to hibernate. There’s perhaps no other comfort as soothing or as seasonal as losing yourself in Kevin Shields’ warped tones or Rachel Goswell’s soft vocals.
If you’re looking to shift your listening habits from the euphoric sounds of summer to accommodate a more subdued season, we’ve collated ten of our favourite shoegaze records to soundtrack the next few months.
From iconic seminal shoegaze records by genre-defining bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive to the artists leading the modern shoegaze revival, find ten fuzzy albums to soundtrack your autumn below.
10 iconic shoegaze albums:
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
It’s impossible to mention shoegaze without giving a nod to My Bloody Valentine. To not include Loveless on this list would be regarded as blasphemy. The Irish-English band remain the most essential group in the history of the genre. It wouldn’t be a stretch to state that every shoegaze outfit since 1991 has emulated their production in some way.
Loveless pioneered the fuzzy distortion that came to characterise the subgenre through Shields’ glide guitar experimentation and endlessly dazey, layered soundscapes. Though it reportedly contributed to the bankruptcy of Creation Records due to its high costs and poor commercial reception, the record has since become a cult favourite and an enduring staple in the genre. It’s also a worthy sonic staple for this time of the year.
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas
Just one year before My Bloody Valentine delivered Loveless, Scottish band Cocteau Twins preempted their fuzzy, dreamy sound with Heaven or Las Vegas. Though it fits more into the dream-pop category, lacking the dissonance that often characterises shoegaze, the 1990 record is undeniably autumnal.
From the swirling reds of the album cover to Cocteau Twins’ heavenly instrumentals, the album personifies the blurriness of autumn. The record is only enhanced by Elizabeth Fraser’s soprano vocals and incomprehensible lyrics, which have become the band’s defining characteristic. Heaven or Las Vegas provides the perfect ambient fuzz for the coming months.
Slowdive – Souvlaki
Perhaps the only band to rival My Bloody Valentine for their overwhelming contributions to the genre is Slowdive, who forged a slightly softer shoegaze sound. Led by dual vocalists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead, with guitars that blend the soft and sweet with distorted dissonance, Slowdive are a band with perfect balance.
Like Loveless, their second studio record, Souvlaki, was a particularly formative release within the genre. From the tentative guitars and cold isolation of ‘Here She Comes’ to the explosive soundscape of ‘When the Sun Hits’, Souvlaki is another shoegaze classic worthy of a feature on any autumnal playlist.
Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I Might See
Though perhaps more hazy than fuzzy, Mazzy Star is an autumn essential. With lyrics just as intimate as the instrumentals that surround them, their sound incorporated dream-pop, alternative rock, and even psychedelic influences.
Their biggest hit ‘Fade Into You’ is exemplary of their soothing sound, dominated by Hope Sandoval’s polished vocals and a swaying tambourine. The album ‘Fade Into You’ is taken from is full of these ethereal atmospherics. Highlights from their 1993 record, So Tonight That I Might See, include the simple but gorgeous ‘Five String Serenade’ and the subdued ‘Into Dust’.
Galaxie 500 – On Fire
Though they never obtained the same level of fame or reputation as some of their peers, the impact of Galaxie 500 was monumental. The trio lasted only four years, from 1987 to 1991, but in that short time, their slow, dreamy sound carved a long-lasting influence. A swathe of considerable names in cult alternative scenes have referenced them in their music, from Liz Phair to Xiu Xiu.
Galaxie 500 released just three records during their four-year stint, the second of which was titled On Fire. From the album’s orange-hued artwork alone, it’s obvious that this is an album to be heard during autumn. Featuring hazy covers of George Harrison’s ‘Isn’t It a Pity’ and New Order’s ‘Ceremony’ amongst some stunning originals, On Fire is the perfect soundtrack for clear autumn nights.
Blonde Redhead – 23
Blonde Redhead are one of many musical victims of internet culture. Their track ‘For the Damaged Coda’ was featured in an episode of Rick and Morty and consequently became an online meme, often overshadowing their excellent catalogue. Their discography blends dream pop, indie, shoegaze, and everything in between, but it always sounds polished.
Their seventh record, 23, was released in 2007 and is a masterful demonstration of this. The title track features optimistic piano tones layered with Kazu Makino’s airy vocals, a soundscape sure to ease the transition into the colder weather, while the urgent ‘Spring and by Summer Fall’ is aptly titled.
Sweet Trip – You Will Never Know Why
Teetering on the edge between the alternative and electronic scenes, Sweet Trip struck the perfect balance on their 2009 record, You Will Never Know Why. Following from their slightly heavier offering, Velocity : Design : Comfort in 2003, the record gave in further to indie while retaining elements of their previous sound.
‘Your World Is Eternally Complete’ is the perfect comfort track for cooler, darker days, as vocalist Valerie Cooper declares, “Baby, it’s time for you to face the weather, open your eyes as long as you’re together… you’re all you need, you’re all you have”. The album is pervaded by this soft optimism, soundtracked by fuzzy indie pop. Essential autumn listening.
Parannoul – To See the Next Part of the Dream
Moving further into the modern shoegaze revival that is yet to release its grip on alternative scenes, South Korean artist Parannoul fuses the heavy distortion of the genre’s seminal sound with emo influences. The anonymous musician released their second studio record, To See the Next Part of the Dream, via Bandcamp in 2021 to a near-immediate cult following.
True to its name, the album feels like a dream. ‘Beautiful World’ combines bleeping tones with caustic interludes of noise. ‘White Ceiling’ wakes listeners from their dream with an alarm clock sound, preempting a ten-minute epic of wistful tones and unrelenting percussion. The whole record is a masterpiece and one with just the right of fuzz and melancholy for the autumn months.
Just Mustard – Heart Under
Just Mustard could be the best band to emerge from the shoegaze revival. They secured their place in the scene in 2018 with their debut record, Wednesday, an album which seemed almost impossible to top. Against all odds, the band returned with Heart Under in 2022, pushing their sound into apocalyptic territory with soundscapes that are equal parts terrifying and transcendental.
With whirring soundscapes and uncanny vocals provided by Katie Ball, the Irish band pushed the shoegaze genre into darker territory, incorporating elements of noise rock. A fitting accompaniment for eerie autumn evenings, Heart Under is ghostly and gloomy, atmospheric and industrial.
Bdrmm – I Don’t Know
If you’re trying to find the influence of My Bloody Valentine on the modern iteration of shoegaze, look no further than Bdrmm. The Hull-based band pairs vulnerable yet vague lyrics with wide, intimidating instrumentation to create a sound that is at once ambitious and intimate.
On their most recent offering, I Don’t Know, nostalgia for the 1990s shoegaze scene came to the forefront on ‘Pulling Stitches’, which could be mistaken for a My Bloody Valentine track from its opening strums. But as the distorted guitars fade into Ryan Smith’s delicate words on healing, it’s undeniably Bdrmm. The album also sees Bdrmm put their guitars down intermittently to experiment with electronic production. Their dense sound is designed for the colder months.
