Shoegazing
Encyclopedia
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock
that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991. The British music press—particularly NME
and Melody Maker
—named this style shoegazing because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The heavy use of effects pedals also contributed to the image of performers looking down at their feet during concerts.
The shoegazing sound is typified by significant use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blend into the creative noise of the guitars. A general description given to shoegazing and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was The Scene That Celebrates Itself
. In the early 1990s, shoegazing groups were pushed aside by the American grunge
movement and early Britpop acts such as Suede, forcing the relatively unknown bands to break up or reinvent their style altogether. Recent times have seen a renewed interest in the genre among "nu-gaze
" bands.
, droning riffs and a "wall of sound
" from noisy guitars. Typically, two distorted rhythm guitars are played together to give an amorphous quality to the sound. Although lead guitar riffs were often present, they were not the central focus of most shoegazing songs.
Vocals are typically subdued in volume and tone, but a strong sense of melody
generally exists underneath the layers of guitars. However, lyrics are not emphasized and vocals are often treated as an additional instrument.
While the genres which influenced shoegazing often used drum machines, shoegazing more often features live drumming.
The name was coined in a review in Sounds
of a concert by the newly-formed Moose
in which singer Russell Yates read lyrics taped to the floor throughout the gig. The term was picked up by the NME
, who used it as a reference to the tendency of the bands' guitarists to stare at their feet—or their effects pedals; seemingly deep in concentration, while playing. Melody Maker
preferred the more staid term The Scene That Celebrates Itself, referring to the habit which the bands had of attending gigs of other shoegazing bands, often in Camden
, and often moonlighting in each other's bands:
The term was often considered pejorative, especially by the English weekly music press who considered the movement as ineffectual, and it was disliked by many of the groups it purported to describe,
Ride
's singer Mark Gardener had a different take on the groups' static presentation:
The most commonly cited precursors to shoegazing are Cocteau Twins
, The Jesus and Mary Chain
, and My Bloody Valentine. But common musical threads between the different bands include garage rock
, '60s psych
, and American indie
bands like Sonic Youth
and Dinosaur Jr.
The first bands to attract the shoegazing label (Ride, Lush
, Chapterhouse
, Pale Saints
, Slowdive
and Moose) were largely influenced by My Bloody Valentine, and emerged in the wake of their breakthrough in 1988 with the "You Made Me Realise
" single and the album Isn't Anything
, and the shoegazing label has more recently been applied to My Bloody Valentine themselves. Other artists that have been identified as influences on shoegazing include The Velvet Underground
, Sonic Youth
, Hüsker Dü
, Spacemen 3
, The Chameleons
, The Cure
, Bauhaus
, Galaxie 500
, and The Smiths
.
Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life
cites an early 1990s Dinosaur Jr. tour of the United Kingdom as a key influence. While not classified as a shoegazing band, Dinosaur Jr. did share a tendency to blend poppy melody with loud guitars and laconic vocals. A lengthy 1992 US tour featuring My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr. and Yo La Tengo
raised the genre's profile in the US considerably.
. The first stirrings of recognition came when indie writer Steve Lamacq
referred to Ride
in a review for the NME as "The House of Love
with chainsaws". The shoegazing genre label was quite often misapplied. Key bands such as Ride, Chapterhouse
and Slowdive
emerged from the Thames Valley
and as such Swervedriver
found themselves labelled shoegazers on account of their own Thames Valley origins - despite their more pronounced Hüsker Dü
-meets-Stooges
stylings.
music which was making its way across the Atlantic, and those bands who formed the foundation of Britpop
, such as Blur
, Suede
, Oasis
and Pulp
. 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 the shoegazers, which often prized the melodic contribution of vocals over their lyrical depth. Lush
's final album was an abrupt shift from shoegazing to Britpop, which alienated many fans; the 1996 suicide of their drummer signaled Lush's dissolution. Nothing has surfaced from My Bloody Valentine since Loveless, aside from their 2008 reunion tour. Plans for a new album have been confirmed, with frontman Kevin Shields
explaining their silence by noting, "I never could be bothered to make another record unless I was really excited by it."
and the dream pop Monster Movie, while other shoegazing bands either split or moved in other directions. The Verve
(at the time known simply as "Verve") went more towards mainstream rock on their 1997 album Urban Hymns
, before singer Richard Ashcroft
released a number of solo albums. The Verve later reunited and released a new album, Forth. Mark Gardener
and Loz Colbert of Ride
released an album as The Animalhouse; in 2006, Gardener's first solo album was issued. The use of electronic dance
and ambient
elements by bands such as Slowdive and Seefeel paved the way for later developments in post-rock
and electronica
. Several former members of shoegazing bands later moved towards post-rock and the more electronica-based trip hop
. Adam Franklin
of Swervedriver
released lo-fi
albums under the moniker Toshack Highway
.
A resurgence of the genre began in the late 1990s (particularly in the United States), that helped usher in what is now referred to as the "nu-gaze
" era.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991. The British music press—particularly NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
—named this style shoegazing because the musicians in these bands stood relatively still during live performances in a detached, introspective, non-confrontational state, hence the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The heavy use of effects pedals also contributed to the image of performers looking down at their feet during concerts.
The shoegazing sound is typified by significant use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blend into the creative noise of the guitars. A general description given to shoegazing and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was The Scene That Celebrates Itself
The Scene That Celebrates Itself
The Scene That Celebrates Itself was a term used to describe a social and musical scene in the early 1990s within London and the Thames Valley area.The term was invented by the Melody Makers Steve Sutherland in 1990 in a near-contemptuous gesture...
. In the early 1990s, shoegazing groups were pushed aside by the American grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
movement and early Britpop acts such as Suede, forcing the relatively unknown bands to break up or reinvent their style altogether. Recent times have seen a renewed interest in the genre among "nu-gaze
Nu Gaze
Nu gaze or the new wave of shoegaze is a form of alternative rock originating in the 2000s. According to an article in the Oxford Student, music from the genre features "droning riffs, subdued vocals and walls of distorted, messy guitar or synth"....
" bands.
Style
Common musical elements of shoegazing consist of distortionDistortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
, droning riffs and a "wall of sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
" from noisy guitars. Typically, two distorted rhythm guitars are played together to give an amorphous quality to the sound. Although lead guitar riffs were often present, they were not the central focus of most shoegazing songs.
Vocals are typically subdued in volume and tone, but a strong sense of melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
generally exists underneath the layers of guitars. However, lyrics are not emphasized and vocals are often treated as an additional instrument.
While the genres which influenced shoegazing often used drum machines, shoegazing more often features live drumming.
The name was coined in a review in Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
of a concert by the newly-formed Moose
Moose (band)
Moose were a British indie rock band who formed in London in 1990. The original line-up included Russell Yates , K.J. “Moose” McKillop , Damien Warburton , and Jeremy Tishler . After Warburton and Tishler left the band they were replaced with Lincoln Fong , his brother Russell , and Richard Thomas...
in which singer Russell Yates read lyrics taped to the floor throughout the gig. The term was picked up by the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, who used it as a reference to the tendency of the bands' guitarists to stare at their feet—or their effects pedals; seemingly deep in concentration, while playing. Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
preferred the more staid term The Scene That Celebrates Itself, referring to the habit which the bands had of attending gigs of other shoegazing bands, often in Camden
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, and often moonlighting in each other's bands:
The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed shoegazing by the British press because the bandmembers stared at the stage while they performed.
The term was often considered pejorative, especially by the English weekly music press who considered the movement as ineffectual, and it was disliked by many of the groups it purported to describe,
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. - Miki BerenyiMiki BerenyiMiki Berenyi is an English musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist.- Music :At the age of 14, Berenyi met her friend and future bandmate, Emma Anderson. They became interested in music and together wrote the music fanzine Alphabet Soup...
Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
's singer Mark Gardener had a different take on the groups' static presentation:
"We didn't want to use the stage as a platform for ego, like the big bands of the time did, like U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Simple MindsSimple MindsSimple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
. We presented ourselves as normal people, as a band who wanted their fans to think they could do that too."
The most commonly cited precursors to shoegazing are Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
, The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
, and My Bloody Valentine. But common musical threads between the different bands include garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
, '60s psych
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, and American indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
bands like Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
and Dinosaur Jr.
The first bands to attract the shoegazing label (Ride, Lush
Lush (band)
Lush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label...
, Chapterhouse
Chapterhouse
For the religious buildings, see Chapter houseChapterhouse are a British shoegazing band originally of the early 1990s, from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3...
, Pale Saints
Pale Saints
Pale Saints was formed in 1987 by Ian Masters , Graeme Naysmith , and Chris Cooper in Leeds, England. The group began as a jangly indie pop band, influenced by Primal Scream's early sound.-History:...
, Slowdive
Slowdive
Slowdive were an English shoegaze band that formed in 1989. The band formed in Reading, Berkshire and primarily consisted of Nick Chaplin , Rachel Goswell , Neil Halstead , and Christian Savill...
and Moose) were largely influenced by My Bloody Valentine, and emerged in the wake of their breakthrough in 1988 with the "You Made Me Realise
You Made Me Realise
"You Made Me Realise" is a single and EP by My Bloody Valentine, released in August 1988. It was their first record for Creation Records. The promotional video for "You Made Me Realise" was directed by ex-Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart...
" single and the album Isn't Anything
Isn't Anything
Isn't Anything is the debut full-length studio album by My Bloody Valentine, released in November 1988 on Creation Records after three years of issuing extended plays, singles, and mini-LPs.-Background:...
, and the shoegazing label has more recently been applied to My Bloody Valentine themselves. Other artists that have been identified as influences on shoegazing include The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
, Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
, The Chameleons
The Chameleons
The Chameleons were an English post-punk band that formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981. They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
, Galaxie 500
Galaxie 500
Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums.-History:Guitarist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang had met at the Dalton School in New York City in 1981, but began playing together during their time...
, and The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
.
Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely influential in establishing American alternative and indie...
cites an early 1990s Dinosaur Jr. tour of the United Kingdom as a key influence. While not classified as a shoegazing band, Dinosaur Jr. did share a tendency to blend poppy melody with loud guitars and laconic vocals. A lengthy 1992 US tour featuring My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr. and Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
raised the genre's profile in the US considerably.
The Scene That Celebrates Itself
A general description given to shoegazing and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was The Scene That Celebrates ItselfThe Scene That Celebrates Itself
The Scene That Celebrates Itself was a term used to describe a social and musical scene in the early 1990s within London and the Thames Valley area.The term was invented by the Melody Makers Steve Sutherland in 1990 in a near-contemptuous gesture...
. The first stirrings of recognition came when indie writer Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
referred to Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
in a review for the NME as "The House of Love
The House of Love
The House of Love is an English alternative rock band. Formed in 1986, the band rose to prominence in the UK as a leading indie rock band in 1988 and split up in 1993, eventually reforming a decade later in 2003. The band is best known for its detailed psychedelic guitar sound and for the...
with chainsaws". The shoegazing genre label was quite often misapplied. Key bands such as Ride, Chapterhouse
Chapterhouse
For the religious buildings, see Chapter houseChapterhouse are a British shoegazing band originally of the early 1990s, from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3...
and Slowdive
Slowdive
Slowdive were an English shoegaze band that formed in 1989. The band formed in Reading, Berkshire and primarily consisted of Nick Chaplin , Rachel Goswell , Neil Halstead , and Christian Savill...
emerged from the Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
and as such Swervedriver
Swervedriver
Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band went on hiatus in 1998 before reforming in 2008 for a world tour, which included a performance at the high-profile Coachella Festival...
found themselves labelled shoegazers on account of their own Thames Valley origins - despite their more pronounced Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
-meets-Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
stylings.
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. This perception was in sharp contrast with those bands who formed the wave of newly-commercialised grungeGrunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
music which was making its way across the Atlantic, and those bands who formed the foundation of Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
, such as Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
, Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
and Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
. 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 the shoegazers, which often prized the melodic contribution of vocals over their lyrical depth. Lush
Lush (band)
Lush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label...
's final album was an abrupt shift from shoegazing to Britpop, which alienated many fans; the 1996 suicide of their drummer signaled Lush's dissolution. Nothing has surfaced from My Bloody Valentine since Loveless, aside from their 2008 reunion tour. Plans for a new album have been confirmed, with frontman Kevin Shields
Kevin Shields
Kevin Patrick Shields is an American-born, Irish vocalist, guitarist, and producer of alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine....
explaining their silence by noting, "I never could be bothered to make another record unless I was really excited by it."
Post-movement directions
Slowdive eventually morphed into the country-infused Mojave 3Mojave 3
Mojave 3 are a British band, consisting of Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell, Simon Rowe, Alan Forrester, and Ian McCutcheon. Goswell, Halstead and McCutcheon previously played in Thames Valley shoegazing band Slowdive....
and the dream pop Monster Movie, while other shoegazing bands either split or moved in other directions. The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
(at the time known simply as "Verve") went more towards mainstream rock on their 1997 album Urban Hymns
Urban Hymns
Urban Hymns is the third album by English rock band The Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Recordings. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling release and one of the biggest selling albums of the year...
, before singer Richard Ashcroft
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional guitarist of alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their split in 1999, and continues as a lead vocalist working with guitars and keyboards...
released a number of solo albums. The Verve later reunited and released a new album, Forth. Mark Gardener
Mark Gardener
Mark Stephen Gardener is an English rock musician, and former singer and guitarist with the shoegazing band, Ride.-Ride:...
and Loz Colbert of Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
released an album as The Animalhouse; in 2006, Gardener's first solo album was issued. The use of electronic dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
elements by bands such as Slowdive and Seefeel paved the way for later developments in post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. Several former members of shoegazing bands later moved towards post-rock and the more electronica-based trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
. Adam Franklin
Adam Franklin
Adam Franklin is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who has played in Swervedriver , Shake Appeal , Toshack Highway and currently releases records as Adam Franklin and tours with live band Bolts of Melody...
of Swervedriver
Swervedriver
Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band went on hiatus in 1998 before reforming in 2008 for a world tour, which included a performance at the high-profile Coachella Festival...
released lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
albums under the moniker Toshack Highway
Toshack Highway
Toshack Highway is the musical group formed by the lead singer and guitarist from Swervedriver, Adam Franklin.The band name derives from merging the surnames of two Liverpool FC football players from the 1970s, John Toshack and Steve Heighway.-History:...
.
A resurgence of the genre began in the late 1990s (particularly in the United States), that helped usher in what is now referred to as the "nu-gaze
Nu Gaze
Nu gaze or the new wave of shoegaze is a form of alternative rock originating in the 2000s. According to an article in the Oxford Student, music from the genre features "droning riffs, subdued vocals and walls of distorted, messy guitar or synth"....
" era.