Five new bands keeping shoegaze alive

Posted On June 24, 2024June 24, 2024

Just like the cockroach and Ozzy Osbourne, some things are indestructible. While many musical genres have their momentum challenged, shoegaze is another phenomenon that refuses to disappear. The genre has continued to pique interest since My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Slowdive brought its sound to the forefront in the early 1990s.

While much of this constant presence has to do with the unfettered brilliance of the genre’s instigators and the fact that the likes of Ride and Slowdive have returned and persisted in pushing themselves forward, for musicians, there is something inherently cathartic about delving into such an area, no matter how extensive the exploration. Of course, many groups have played with the sound over the years, including Blonde Redhead, Deerhunter, My Vitriol, and Silversun Pickups, but recently it has come back with a more concerted vengeance.

The re-emergence of Ride and Slowdive is one reason for shoegaze’s enduring appeal, as is the 2013 return of My Bloody Valentine with mbv. During that period, bands like DIIV and Beach Fossils also bent the sound in unique ways, contributing to its renewed interest. The proliferation of the internet also played a significant role in spreading the word of shoegaze to a new generation. Since then, the genre has continued to resonate on modern platforms such as Reddit and TikTok, where it has been particularly valued by Gen Zers and those subscribing to the Y2K and 1990s aesthetic despite the anachronism.

The work of Deafheaven, Nothing, and Whirr has also resulted in the contemporary fascination with shoegaze. By blending it with black and extreme metal, Deafheaven pushed the genre into untouched areas. Nothing and Whirr also achieved the same outcome by fusing it with grunge and hardcore, once more showing that the shoegaze sound is not a one-dimensional fad.

Furthermore, the aforementioned American acts brought shoegaze to a largely untapped demographic of punk-inclined listeners by making good on the emotional heaviness intrinsic to the genre and integrating it with a harder edge. Despite the washy vocals of Nothing and Whirr, the instrumentation was far more muscular than the genre had experienced when they broke out, perhaps save for the searing early work of Swervedriver, whose speed-laced sound inhabits a very singular space.

As shoegazing is currently enjoying a renewed interest across the board, with a wave of bands springing up and bending the formula once again, we’ve listed five new acts keeping the genre’s flame alive, from green newcomers to slightly more experienced ones who have been carrying the torch for longer.

Five bands keeping shoegaze alive:

5. Glixen

Although they only formed in 2020, Phoenix, Arizona’s Glixen have been making waves with their droning guitars and founder/lead vocalist Aislinn Ritchie’s reverb-drenched vocals. With support slots for the likes of Airiel, DIIV, and Turnover already secured, their emotive wall of sound has clearly turned the right heads early on in their career, with just one EP out so far. It speaks volumes.

A second EP has already been teased, and with the crunching ‘Lust’ arriving in April, the group is heading even deeper into the world of shoegaze, which looks to be bolstered by their array of exciting support slots and growing experience. With a recent Audiotree session under their belt—which confirmed just how all-consuming their sound is live—the future looks incredibly bright.

4. Bdrmm

Hull’s Bdrmm are already classed as shoegaze heroes despite their short career. While in the formative days, they might have blended shoegaze with the dark atmosphere of krautrock and DIIV’s early work, now they find themselves in a more electronic and dance-oriented space. Drawing upon cerebral ambient, techno, and, of course, shoegaze, their recent work is genuinely innovative in blurring lines more intensely than the genre is used to.

With two acclaimed studio lengths under their belt in a short span and news of another one on the way, there’s no telling of how far they will push the understanding of shoegaze, given their recent single ‘Standard Tuning’ has more in common with the likes of Four Tet and Floating Points.

Marrying crossover appeal with an industrious commitment to their craft, it looks certain that Bdrmm will form a crucial part of the shoegaze story.

3. Hotline TNT

After forming in 2018, Hotline TNT have become something of a cult act. This prominence is largely due to their DIY ethic and alternative rock sound, incorporating elements of shoegaze. Combining humming, effects-laced guitars, a preference for dense distortion and washed-out vocals, Will Anderson’s brainchild is lauded as one of the bands at the forefront of this renewed interest in shoegaze.

With two albums to their name in 2021’s Nineteen in Love and 2023’s particularly shoegazing named Cartwheel, songs such as the fuzzy ‘I Thought You’d Change’, jangly ‘Protocol’ and the narcotic ‘Stump’, qualify them as shoegaze, despite only experimenting with flecks of the genre as and when appropriate. However, the band’s multifaceted character distils how the shoegaze sound is being experimented with and moulded to fit the postmodern era.

2. trauma ray

Thanks to the work of Nothing and Whirr, a host of bands formed that continue to mix hardcore and alternative rock with the more ethereal nature of shoegaze. Of this set, Fort Worth’s trauma ray—formed in 2018—has stood out with a distinctive and enchanting character. Delving heavily into the central tenet of a wall of sound, their grooving songs and love of effects position them firmly as spiritual successors to the aforementioned groups and towering forerunners My Bloody Valentine.

Since forming, the quintet has released a string of acclaimed EPs, setting a solid precedent for their debut album whenever it arrives. One of the outfits that most closely embodies the present understanding of shoegaze in its hardcore-inflected essence, they are a must-watch live, with the three guitars and bass shaking you to the core. That power is what it’s always been about.

1. Feeble Little Horse

Pittsburgh’s Feeble Little Horse are one of the most exciting bands around at the minute. Since forming in 2021, they have signed to the eminent Saddle Creek Records and released two wildly entertaining albums. A little bit alt, a touch indie, and evoking the headiest elements of shoegaze, it’s only a matter of time before their dynamic and constantly surprising sound comes to more significant distinction.

With 2023’s Girl with Fish being one of last year’s most accomplished but overlooked records and the band’s unique edge marking them out from the crowd, they are another with tremendous crossover appeal. Such ingredients can only stand them in good stead for the future, no matter how they test the shoegaze blueprint.

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