Shoegaze: The Ultimate Guide: By Sam Mortley

 Shoegaze

The Ultimate Guide

By SAM MORTLEY

SPECIAL THANKYOU TO: Andrew Rose, Antonio Zelada, Cameron Airth, Dean Garcia, Greg Ackell, Highspire, John Cornfield, John Wellby, Matt Catling, Miki Berenyi, Patrick Fitzgerald, Rumskib, Scott Cortez, Sophia Campbell, The Boo Radleys for their amazing photographic contributions, interviews and musical enthusiasm.

FOREWORD

Shoegaze, a derogatory pigeonhole term made by the editor of Melody Maker circa early 90s to describe this complex pool of music, a genre defining term that has unfortunately stuck much like the Trip Hop tag has to other highly evolved and individual bands and musical anomalies. No artist likes to be pigeonholed that way, it is just so dismissive of something so emotive/ immersive. The term is nothing more than an annoying journalistic word bite that is especially irksome coming from a tiresome footie head neckbeard. I’ve always loathed the term as you can probably tell, but I think that was its intention, to belittle and discredit everything and everyone involved with it. Interestingly, this genre is almost 4 decades down the way from its origins and continues to evolve, expand and celebrate itself as it continues to forge ahead snapping at the heels of all alternative music, the libertarian values and creative thinking at its heart are here to stay, not ever going away. Who knew? We all did. 

Curve was all about the perpetual deepscape of noise manipulation, anti authoritarian, with an unashamed and celebrated melodic pop twist sensibility, fuelled by an ambiguous genre bending ethos, which put us on the boundaries of the genre, in there but outside of it too, we liked it that way, we made songs for us, we toured it for everyone else, we turned everything up for the greater good of all. Our intention was to make a noise that is our own, without the constraints of ambition, entirely self serving, I liken it to the demo mentality, a no fucks given unbridled energy, the sole aim being to realise your sonic vision however you can with whatever is at your disposal, just turn it the fuck up and play ‘n’ voice it like you mean it. It was a magical moment in time for all. 

For me that is what this collective philosophy of bands ‘n’ artists stood for, entirely unique, each has their own ways n sound waves and if we have to stoop and get involved with our fx pedals in public to achieve the sounds we want to hear then so be it. Btw no one ever gazed at their shoes, but we did enjoy the strobe flower HazeBlaze of it all. MBV get my vote for the origination of this sound pool of creative feeling. Long live the celebration of the Hazed, Dazed n Phased. 

Dean Garcia

Curve : SpCEcO 

PREFACE

What was the precise moment when I heard what I call ‘Shoegaze’ or ‘Shoegazing’ or ‘Dream Pop’ for the first time? Was it when I was being a typical noughties kid, playing the plastic ‘guitar’ for Guitar Hero, getting blisters on my thumb after striking the pathetic and very fatiguing flappy paddle which was somehow trying to emulate the plectrum on songs like Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye with its effects-laden drifty section in the middle?

Was it hearing Ride - Leave Them All Behind on my step Dad’s Ipod (remember those?!) which was the only song from Ride that he had on there somehow, and being completely floored by the last minute of noise that reflects a rocket literally leaving behind Earth?

One thing I know for sure is, it took me a while for me to discover that this beautiful noise combined with shrouded pop melody and Indie / Alternative Rock sensibilities was actually its own thing.  Of course, no ‘genre’ is set in stone and I appreciate that the artists themselves may not even want to be considered as part of anything, but for me, I can hear something in the water when I place my Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro headphones on and stick on a song that is regarded as being “Shoegaze” on Youtube. There’s a wide difference between the macho aggression and melodrama of most rock and metal music and this thing tagged as Shoegaze. There’s a wide difference between MBV - Sometimes and The Kooks - Naive. I remember the moment I finally decided to look Shoegaze up on the internet. I re-discovered Ride in the early 2010’s whilst I was living on the Newton Park campus at Bath Spa University (A course I now regret being on but better things happened after I left). I was listening to the album, Going Blank Again, throughout the summer of 2014 when I was still in my traditional Indie, Britpop and Mod Rock phase; following Andy Bell’s career from Oasis to Beady Eye and becoming a big fan of his. Lo and behold, at the end of 2014, Ride announced that they were reuniting and I immediately jumped in to buy tickets for their Roundhouse show in London. It was only then that I listened to Nowhere for the first time and all all of the early EP’s  (Extended Play) and this was the origin of the journey and I enjoyed them so much that I ordered them online, which is typical of me as I am a physical product collector (Mostly CD’s but have a few vinyl records too). 

So that was it; I proceeded to research the genre that I kept seeing Ride being painted with and Google searched other artists / albums in that category and listened to Slowdive next. It was Souvlaki and at first I dismissed it as being too art school and lifeless because I still had my Oasis, The Stone Roses kind of indie rock ‘n’ roll hat on and Slowdive seemed like a step too far away from that stuff (despite discovering later that both Slowdive and Oasis were on the same record label; Creation Records). Fortunately, I continued to give it all a chance and next up, it was Chapterhouse - Whirlpool which was similar to Ride in terms of guitar sound, and incredible drumming but also in terms of the album being a mixture of light and dark shades in mood. Both albums had that indie familiarity to them which helped me make the transition from traditional Indie into Shoegaze. So, thankfully I was back on the right track once again after a brief “not so sure about this” moment and the next album I gambled on was My Bloody Valentine - Loveless which was hyped up so much online that I thought that it had to be bloody brilliant (no pun intended, or maybe it was..) despite being slightly put off by the 2000’s Emo Screamo kind of name. I gave MBV the benefit of the doubt because I knew that they were on a record label that was very rapidly becoming my alter of worship - Creation Records and I had watched a documentary with Alan McGee exclaiming how “(insert bleep here) great!” they were in his usual hyperactive and straight forward manner. So I stuckthe CD in the PS3 with the visualiser graphics on as I had done before with Whirlpool and I could immediately tell that this was something different and innovative as soon as those four snare hits ended and the chaos began on Only Shallow. Though, I would not go so far as to say that I believed that the disc was warped or that they were baking the tapes during the recording process, I could tell that it was vibrato arm (incorrectly called “Tremolo Bar”) manipulation. I just did not know about reverse reverb yet or the splicing up of synth, feedback or vocal samples yet. (All that, I would learn later when I attended DBS Institute in Plymouth). So I was not daft and I knew that this was something special that I was hearing and it was so cohesive as an album as well. To Here Knows When was probably the first song from it that blew my socks off, but I also loved the album closer, Soon for its Baggy style drum loop and for its dramatic dynamic shifts. The timbres of the guitars on all tracks really struck me as I have always been fussy about guitar tone. Sometimes blew me away with its wall of sustained fuzz and lack of percussion and Bilinda Butcher’s vocal cadences on Blown A Wish still fill me with romantic wonder to this day. So after that, I could understand the genre a lot more. I was beginning to see  the appeal of the blurry vocals and more importantly, I began to see the diverse nature of it. If I still wanted the traditional Indie approach of those commercial 90’s and 2000’s bands, then Ride and Chapterhouse were my go to’s. If I wanted more consistent noise and beauty, then I had My Bloody Valentine to choose to listen to. I gave Slowdive another chance and even that started to click! I later discovered Curve with presented me with the electronic / dance side of the genre; whilst sounding different, I could still hear the same themes of dreaminess and introspection and I could hear the badass nature of all the high decibel sustained noise whilst gently mumbling or whispering through it like it was no big deal. I liked that, I thought there was something so sensitive and so punk about it all at the same time! It inspired me to make music with the decibel level of the loudest metal bands but without the need for macho posturing or frying my voice box out. It had a real element of danger to it (reading about and hearing those My Bloody Valentine gig stories with people running out because they couldn’t bear it, The Jesus and Mary Chain riots at their gigs) whilst being so chilled out and ethereal at the same time! I soon interpreted that Shoegaze is all of life’s feelings wrapped up in one big, all-enveloping, beautiful haze.   

So from me, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this book. I will have missed a bundle of artists, important gear, record labels and so on out, but you would need a crane to lift up the book if that was the case! So apologies in advance if I have missed you out or any bit of information that you think is valuable. Fortunately, we have the internet these days so everything is documented somewhere! So keep wearing your stripey Breton hoop necked tees and jumpers, keep your bowl or curtains hairstyle, keep your Fender Jazzmaster with its long vibrato arm, and keep on gazing down into the soul of the shoe! 

SAM MORTLEY

 

WHAT IS SHOEGAZING?

That is the question on most people’s lips when encountering an avid fan who raves about this music. It could be argued that it takes four genres/ sub-genres to be cemented first before Shoegazing could even exist; psychedelic rock, ambient, punk and goth. One thing that is for sure is the fact the independent record label revolution that started with punk in the late 70’s gave musicians a sense of creative liberation that led to many new styles due to the feeling of underdog rebellion against the corporate major labels and their strict money-making formulas that denied a lot of creative freedom. 

The two most important labels in the story of Shoegazing are widely considered to be both 4AD records and Creation Records. Both were established in the post - punk era of the early 1980’s and spawned The Cocteau Twins (4AD) and The Jesus and Mary Chain (Creation) who together, set the precedent for noisy effects-laiden guitars in juxtaposition to off - kilter vocal styles that were not the focal point of the composition and frontmen and women who were not naturally front men or women in the usual terms. 

Shoegazing brings both the harsh elements of rock music and the warmth and soothing effect of ambience. It is visceral and guttural with the intellect being concentrated on the equipment and production techniques.

  

It coincides with the technological advancements of the time with these musicians trying to get the most out of the new technology. However, that is not to say that there is no human element embedded in this music; but rather that the technology serves as an impressionistic tool that represents emotion in a sonic way; using dynamics, timbre and amplitude to emulate feelings and evoke imagination rather than a human voice doing this. 

It is a sound that sits comfortably between standard rock / pop sensibilities and something more experimental and avant - garde. With its many sonic delights, it is paramount that emotion is conveyed through these sonics; the emotion being the driver of the sound and song structure.

 

Song structures are also interesting as many compositions feature a lack of a chorus section. Instead, they feature a verse that goes into a pre-chorus that has a pay-off or ‘tag line’ to get the song back to the verse. This is to immerse the listener in a hypnotic trance - like state . Sometimes, the end of the pre-chorus will descend into a noisy guitar part that replaces a chorus.

Despite it seeming like a close - knit family, the genre offers a wide scope of diverse styles and sounds that are linked together through the common theme of dream -iness, non - abrasive vocals, the ambition to push equipment to its perceived limits and a surrealist and impressionistic all-enveloping sound scape. Perfect for binaural listening! 

This book explores those sonic six string (sometimes twelve string!) innovators who dared to dream. The bands that brought the overblown sound to life in a live context, the record labels that catered for their creative freedom and published and distributed these arts of wonder. The gear that evolved in tandem with these sonic concepts and ambitions. And the live events that allow this genre to continue into the 2020’s and hopefully way beyond.

So from me, Sam Mortley, “Keep on gazing!”. 

So where did the term ‘Shoegazing’ even come from? And why was it given such an absurd and humorous name? 

It was Andy Hurt who was a journalist for Sounds magazine that is often credited with saying the word ‘Shoegazers’ first. He reviewed a Moose gig for his article for Sounds and described Moose frontman ‘Russell Yates stage presence (or lack of) as being like a “Shoegazer” because he was staring at the floor  trying to read lyrics that were written on paper that was taped onto the stage and looking down at his pedals as he was operating them so often during songs. This gave the impression of introspection and shyness; the anti - frontman style, whether deliberate or not was commonplace across The Thames Valley scene. However, this was all said vocally and was not put into print. 

On May 25th 1991, NME used the term “shoe-gazers” which was the first time the word appeared in print whilst on the subject of writing about the forthcoming EP by Slowdive ‘Holding Our Breath’. 

In the June 8th 1991 edition of ‘Melody Maker’, Steve Sutherland coined the slogan for the scene when he described the close - knit community of the bands from The Thames Valley and London scene as ‘The scene that celebrates itself’. Oxford had Ride and Swervedriver, Reading had Slowdive and Chapterhouse whilst London gave the world Moose, Lush, Curve and Kitchens of Distinction. On many occasions, band members from each of these bands would show up to watch / listen to the other band play and they would share the same bill. 

Also on the same day, on June 8th 1991, NME printed the word “Shoegazing” (notice the -ing) for the first time.

  

Early Influencers 

The beginnings of the genre are somewhat difficult to firmly identify and are subject to interpretation and varying rules and regulations. Also, the question of what constitutes a song to be a ‘Shoegazing’ song remains at large. One could interpret the first usage of an effect pedal being connected to a guitar as the defining moment when it started. Another, could interpret the first use of a delay on a guitar (regardless of how minimal) as the eureka moment. Others could suggest that the first use of studio equipment being used in an unorthodox way to be the genesis moment. Perhaps it was the moment when vocals were not the main focal point in a song.

In terms of studio manipulation of the electric guitar, ‘The Beatles - Revolver’ LP can be seen as a benchmark for this. ‘Taxman’, ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ spring to mind for their reverse guitars created by Geoff Emerick splicing the analogue tape and then glueing it back together the other way around. 

The Velvet Underground ofcourse have a big hand in the development of all “indie” music. The reverberated laid back voice on ‘Sunday Morning’ and the droney fuzz dirge guitar of ‘Heroin’ are definitely elements that became prominent in the Shoegazing field. The Jesus and Mary Chain and Sonic Youth particularly played a vital part in taking The Velvet Underground’s ideas and bringing them into the 1980’s, just in time for the Shoegaze proper first wave to break out.

The Byrds with their tight vocal harmonies and the twelve - string Rickenbacker of Roger McGuinn was certainly most evident in Ride’s sound. The psychedelia of ‘Eight Miles High’ serves as a big inspiration on Ride’s jangle on steroids style jamming on Nowhere’s opening track ‘Seagull’.  

Jimi Hendrix used a fuzz face and Dunlop Cry Baby wah and manipulated feedback from the amplifier in such a visceral and erratic manner, but his showmanship and theoretical and technical playing ability was more influential on traditional rock guitar lotharios, rather than the timid shoegazer. 

Pink Floyd were always pushing for technological advancement. David Gilmour’s use of the Echoplex, Roland Space Echo, WEM Copicat, reversely wired wah pedal and EHX Big Muff would be devices that pushed the sonic capabilities of the electric guitar. Whilst, the soft voices of Waters and Gilmour would create a dream - like atmosphere. Songs such as ‘Run Like Hell’ from The Wall album, ‘Echoes’ from Meddle, whereby Gilmour wires up his wah pedal the other way around to create a seagull-like sound. The phaser sounds from ‘Breathe’ from ‘Dark Side of The Moon all point towards Shoegazing in its earliest form. Slowdive consistently play a cover of ‘Golden Hair’ albeit with an extended crescendo to make it their own. ‘Golden Hair’ is a solo work by Pink Floyd’s original guitarist and songwriter, Syd Barrett. Slowdive play this as part of their encore at their live shows since they reformed in 2014; giving a nod to the early influencers of ethereal and dreamy music. 

Hawkwind are one of the most famous names in Space Rock. They feature huge, long sweeping phasers, flangers and other types of modulation. However, most of the sounds come from keyboards and synthesizers whilst the guitars keep a dry traditional rock tone with riffs and shuffle rhythm which is more aligned to classic rock. 

Ambient music from Brian Eno is fundamental to the origins of Shoegazing. His work with King Crimson’s Robert Fripp on ‘No Pussyfooting’ is a crucial album in its history, featuring E - Bow sounds from Fripp and ambient keys from Eno. His album ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ from 1973 is often cited as being crucially influential. Slowdive’s ‘Souvlaki’ album featured Brian Eno playing keyboard on ‘Sing’ and ‘Here She Comes’. Whilst the band, for their live shows used Eno’s ‘An Ending (Ascent)’ as their walk on music for years.  

The advent of the 1980’s saw punk expanded and construed in many ways, with the energy of political punk being converted and concentrated into a dark, macabre, melodramatic style that became known as post - punk or ‘goth’. 

Effects on guitars were becoming commonplace with the likes of The Cure, The Chameleons, Joy Division, Wire and Siouxsie and the Banshees. In spite of all that, those artists still possessed a strong charismatic front person with a deep, theatrical vocal style and the effects were still not yet pushed to a degree where the notes were sustained in an ambient halo. 

The first forays into Shoegaze proper arguably came about when Spacemen 3,  The Jesus and Mary Chain and A.R Kane appeared. Out of all these bands, the elephant in the room was The Cocteau Twins; if there was one band that you can pinpoint as the first gunshot of the ‘Shoegazing’ movement, The Cocteau Twins tick the boxes of what we now refer to as ‘Shoegazing’. 

From Grangemouth in Scotland, The Cocteau Twins are widely regarded as the creators of ‘Dream Pop’. (What’s the difference!!?? I hear you scream). Well, ‘Dream Pop’ is a less distorted version of ‘Shoegazing’. As the name suggests, it’s a less abrasive, less rocking out equivalent to ‘Shoegazing’. It is usually more upbeat in tone and features a more pretty chorus and flanger arpeggiating guitar approach, played cleanly; Think The Cranberries and The Sundays. Anyhow, the vocal style with its reverb halo, gentle delivery and its lack of diction due to it being submerged in the mix of instruments remains the same in both genres. 

Over the other side of the pond in the USA, Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth were turning a few heads. The random outcomes and different textures that Sonic Youth devised with their concept of taking all the strings off and tuning them up randomly had a profound effect on some players regarded as part of the ‘Shoegazing’ scene. Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine most famously adopted and further developed Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore’s ideas. Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge were also, and probably more obviously lending an ear to Sonic Youth.

J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. particularly on 1987’s ‘You’re living All Over Me’ made epic use of the wah pedal with tons of distortion. Whilst Mascis was going for more of a technicality proficient style with countless guitar solos over their whole discography, his utilisation of a massive pedal board to create unexpected noise bursts and his pursuit of varying tones certainly had an effect on Kevin Shields, Adam Franklin, Starflyer 59 and even Ride’s early EP’s. 

Husker Du, dubbed as the creators of Alternative Rock in general, morphed their hardcore punk sound into a combination of psychedelia, punk, pop and rock which is what alternative rock actually means; those hybrids of styles; Not just indie music that is on a major label or the extreme change in dynamics between verse and chorus or anything left off the dial to corporate rock. Alternative rock was something that expanded on the confinements of past movements to create a new hybrid of texturally rich and more sensitive rock music. This would become the mainstream in the 90’s, with Grunge being the chosen one to lead the charge against hair metal and tinny, formulaic, gated reverb snares coming from places such as PWL Studios. Fortunately, It also opened the door for Shoegazing as it fits under the umbrella term of Alternative Rock, so we can thank our lucky stars (and stripes) for Husker Du and SST Records in the States. 

(Credit: Andrew Rose)

My Bloody Valentine; or more affectionately known by the acronym, M. B. V. Is there a bigger name in Shoegazing than these guys? The ones who get all the plaudits and the ultimate legendary status of being the ones who pioneered the genre. My Bloody Valentine are Seminal, ubiquitous and symbolic of the genre. A legend. 

Formed in Dublin, Republic of Ireland in 1983 after Kevin Shields and drummer Colm O’ Ciosoig met at a karate tournament in 1978. The initial line-up consisted of Kevin Shields, Colm O’ Ciosoig, Mark Loughlin on bass and David Conway on lead vocals. A few changes occurred but the trio of Shields, O’ Ciosoig and Conway remained and released their debut mini-album in 1985. Later that year, Debbie Googe joined on bass guitar and soon after, MBV released the EP ‘Geek!’ and was now touring the London gig circuit. 1986 was a big year for MBV as this was their first encounter with Creation Records when Joe Foster persuaded them to record and release a new EP on his side - project label ‘Kaleidoscope Records’. This EP was produced by Foster and was hilariously named with the on-the-nose title of ‘The New Record by My Bloody Valentine’ which did not make a big stir, but at least they now had the attention of Foster who was the live sound engineer for ‘The Jesus and Mary Chain’ whose sound was a big influence on MBV and Shields in particular. 

1987 was the turning point for My Bloody Valentine when they signed with ‘Lazy Records’ and released ‘Sunny Sundae Smile’ which became their first top 10 single in the official UK indie chart. A fine piece of uplifting jangle pop with a strong sense of vocal melody and harmony, which was to become the final send off for David Conway as vocalist as he announced his departure in early 1987. 

The final piece of the jigsaw arrived later in 1987 when Bilinda Butcher joined as vocalist, meaning that the iconic line-up of Kevin Shields, Bilinda Butcher, Debbie Googe and Colm O’ Ciosoig was crystallised.  

After former dancer Bilinda Butcher improved her guitar competency, Bilinda and Kevin Shields formed a formidable vocal / rhythm guitar partnership that melded together like romance in audio form. The EP ‘Ecstasy’ with the track ‘Strawberry Wine’ featured on it, would be the start of an amazing journey of sonic exploration that was just on the horizon. Whilst this was still a jangle pop ‘C86’ affair, things changed in 1988 when McGee signed them to Creation Records after he believed that they blew his own band off the stage as McGee pronounced them to be “The irish Husker Du”, saying that they were a lot more musically proficient and a lot more gung ho in terms of amplitude than their previous encounter where McGee thought they were not good enough to sign. 1988 would prove to be the pivotal moment in, not just MBV’s history but the history of British alternative rock music altogether!

With the release of the You Made Me Realise EP in 1988, something groundbreaking was developing. Kevin Shields was gradually creating his own language on the guitar instrument.  The song You Made Me Reliase is a post - punk song for the most part with elements that we have all heard before from their catalogue. That is until half way through when the music seems to start skipping like a scratched CD, with the bass guitar plucking away furiously on one note. With the song stuck on a knife edge and the suspense building, suddenly a hurricane of reverb engulfs the stereo field which seems to endure for a lifetime, gradually growing in intensity in amplitude and pitch until the listener is parachuted back down to normality with the main riff kicking in and Butcher and Shields resume their vocal harmonies like nothing had happened. This would become known as the ‘noise’ section that would be drawn out to anywhere between 10 minutes to 30 minutes live with live sound engineers throwing in white and pink noise at outrageous desk - clipping decibel level. Two other tracks on this EP were ‘Slow’ and ‘Thorn’ and these were also groundbreaking as these tracks consisted of Kevin Shield’s first introduction of his signature ‘Glide Guitar’ technique (more on this technique in the Sonic Geniuses section). Creation loved this new raucous and weird approach to guitar noise and Alan McGee encouraged Shields to keep this style up.

MBV released their first full length in late 1988 called Isn’t Anything.  You can tell that Kevin Shields was working on an idea for a new approach to the guitar and that it was a work in progress. The production values are still quite low standard, with tinny -ness and bass drum kicks that sound un-treated by the mix engineer. The album has themes of horror but also sex. It’s dark, macabre whilst featuring songs of quite humorous sexual nature with lyrical innuendos and nuances.  Overall, it is still very punk albeit with glimpses of what Kevin Shields was going to achieve once the 1990’s got underway. 

In 1989, MBV went into Blackwing Studios (a studio used predominantly by 4AD artists) hoping to record their sophomore album.  However, the band had several unproductive months; perhaps the beginning of Kevin Shields’ insane pursuit of a particular and peculiar sound that will become the stuff of legend surrounding this band in the decades to come. Creation boss, Alan McGee hired legendary mix engineer, Alan Moulder, believing that he would be up to the task after his work with The Jesus and Mary Chain beforehand. Moulder’s first assignment was to mix the song ‘Soon’ which was eventually added to the track listing of the upcoming album once the famous indie dance/ Baggy producer Andy Weatherall remixed the track for a second 12- inch version. That was a genius decision from Shields; to capitalise on the ongoing acid house/ baggy / madchester movement whilst still retaining his vision for something new. 

Due to the second LP taking a massive amount of time to get right in the band members’ minds, another EP was released in February 1991 called Tremolo to give their label some respite from the never-ending wait and the money slipping through their fingers. 

Tremolo EP possesses the song To Here knows When which demonstrates Glide guitar technique in its all its glory. The realisation of Kevin Shields’ concept that begins to germinate on Isn’t Anything is now fully realised at this point in the band’s career. Three out of the four tracks on this EP feature coda’s as an outro and new instrumentation from a sequenced Akai S1000 sampler and woodwind in the form of a piccolo player is heard on the EP in places, which displays a show of self - belief in the work. The raw, dirty and somewhat basic punk rock sound of My Bloody Valentine’s early days with David Conway have now, with Bilinda Butcher’s swooning and breathy vocals and Kevin Shields idea now realised to full fruition, matured into something big and beautiful; a ballet of brutality. Or as one punter put it: “It’s like a mermaid falling into a black hole, or something”.  

With a reported £250,000 very reluctantly thrown at the long - awaited sophomore LP, Creation Records were finally able to release My Bloody Valentine - Loveless to the world on 4th November 1991. Alongside those EP tracks of Soon and To Here Knows When, we now had a full 11 track album full of a fully realised and executed vision. The persistence and determination from Alan Moulder, Anjali Dutt and the band had paid off. The album, decades later, is immortalised in seminal and legendary status and many regard it to be the pinnacle of the Shoegazing genre. 

Infact, the album was too good for the band; when considering a follow - up release of any kind, it drove Kevin Shields into a state of madness and writer’s block. Musical trends had moved on with Loveless arriving two months later than Nirvana - Nevermind which smothered the guitar world in grunge. Creation Records were afraid to take a risk on funding the studio time for another record and so, in 1992, My Bloody Valentine were dropped from the label. 

They signed to Island Records at the end of 1992, with the label giving them an advance, in order for MBV to build their very own studio in London, but the creative problems still ensued and although, they managed to record a couple of cover versions of songs and unfinished demos, Colm and Debbie left the band in 1995 to go on to various projects. Bilinda Butcher left in 1997 and Kevin Shields unofficially put the band into hiatus and toured with label mates Primal Scream  as guitarist and worked on a movie soundtrack for Lost In Translation in 2003. 

The band returned in 2008 for live shows amidst an announcement that the unfinished demos from the mid - 90’s were near completion. It wasn’t until February 2013, when the third album, the self - titled mbv appeared on the band’s official website. This continued the style of Loveless but also added drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep elements and even more experimental guitar tones and song craft. The band embarked on a world tour in 2013 and didn’t emerge again until 2018 with more live shows and a promise of new material. Unfortunately, as of the time of writing, this new material has not appeared publicly and the band have not played a live show since 2018. However, in November 2024 at the time of writing, from completely out of the blue, the band announced a show in Dublin scheduled for November 22nd 2025 The world waits for the sleeping giant to return.

KEY TRACKS

Slow (You Made Me Realise, EP, 1988)

According to a Fender documentary, this was the first moment where Kevin Shields stumbled upon his new ‘glide guitar’ technique; by having the tremolo bar (vibrato arm) quite high, loose and taping it in place, turning the tone down and using reverse reverb. The first song he conducted with a Jazzmaster was the song ‘Thorn’ but shortly after, he had written ‘Slow’ which featured the first instance of what Shields calls the ‘melted effect’.  

Only Shallow (Loveless, 1991) 

This is the opening track of the seminal album Loveless. With its big change in dynamics between verses and two bars of noisy instrumental, it manages to cross - over to a Grunge / US alternative rock audience due to its Pixies-esque soft to loud dynamic.  

Wonder 2 (mbv, 2013) 

Possibly the most erratic and busy track My Bloody Valentine ever composed and recorded. Flanged instruments, synth sequencers, drum machines, layered E - Bow guitars and layered breathy vocals cluster the mix. The song is a whirlwind blend of Drum ‘n’ Bass, Jungle and Shoegaze showing how diverse they could be. Most impressive is the fact that the track was recorded as far back as the mid-1990’s and was slowly developed, showing just how far ahead of their time they could be also.

Essential Gear

Kevin Shields

Fender Jazzmaster

Fender Jaguar

Alesis Midiverb 2

Yamaha SPX90

Devi Ever Godzilla

Pro Co Turbo RAT

Marshall Shredmaster

Dunlop JD-4S Rotovibe

DigiTech Whammy

Boss GE-7 EQ

Marshall JCM 800

Vox AC15

Bilinda Butcher

Fender Jazzmaster

Fender Jaguar

Fender Mustang

Gibson Firebird (Non-Reverse)

Boss HM - 2 Heavy Metal

Fender Sidekick Reverb 30

   

 

  

(Slowdive performing at The Phoenix, Exeter, 2023) 

Slowdive are possibly the most popular Shoegazing band in the world as of 2024. Their comeback has seen an astonishing ascendency of their legacy with new generations of people discovering their music. Headlining Primavera Festival and supporting The Cure on the main stage at Hyde Park in London; feats that must have been unimaginable to the band members when they were dropped from Creation Records in 1995. Slowdive are incredibly visceral with perhaps the most emotionally devastating lyrics and sound in the whole genre; finding inspiration from the more depressing and darker aspects of life. They envelop the listener with a powerful ambience that fills the entire stereo field and the vocal swapping and occasional harmonisation of Rachel Goswell and chief songwriter Neil Halstead, serves a resemblance to My Bloody Valentine’s male / female duality whilst retaining their own distinctive fully wet, orchestral sound.

Formed in Reading in 1989, Slowdive were soon snapped up by Alan McGee’s Creation Records at a time when the label boss was engrossed in acid house dance which just shows how diverse Creation Records really were. Slowdive released their debut EP, which was self - titled and even had a song on it called ‘Slowdive’, in November of 1990. This was followed by the ‘Holding Our Breath’ EP which was released in June of 1991. This cemented their reputation as being the band that fitted sonically between My Bloody Valentine and The Cocteau Twins. The EP was named after the anxious feeling in the Slowdive camp regarding what the UK music press was going to write about them; something that would take a turn for the worse just a couple of years later! 

(Songwriter and sonic architect: Neil Halstead playing his Epiphone Casino through pedals and his two Roland JC - 120 amplifiers at the O2 Academy, Bristol, 2018) 

(Neil Halstead’s pedal board at The Fleece, Bristol, 2017) 

(Slowdive playing in support of The Cure’s 40th anniversary at Hyde Park, London, 7th July 2018) 

(Sam Mortley and Noah Grace with Neil Halstead, The Old Hatchet Inn, Bristol, 2018. Look at me wearing the Shoegaze fashion!) 

(Set list from the gig at O2 Bristol Academy on 20th October 2018). 

KEY TRACKS

Shine (Holding Our Breath EP, 1991)

This single shows Slowdive at their most uplifting. The multi - effected sounds of the Soft Focus patch on the Yamaha FX500 caressing the ears as it pans from left to right and vice versa. Rachel Goswell’s vocals are angelic, vulnerable and functions as part of the instrumentation; bringing a classical orchestral quality to the sound. 

Souvlaki Space Station (Souvlaki, 1993)

Alison, When The Sun Hits or Machine Gun are all stand out tracks on what is generally regarded as their masterpiece album. Nonetheless, Souvlaki Space Station pushes sonic boundaries the furthest with its opening staccato delay that gets built upon as the journey progresses. The slow and big interval string bends are reminiscent of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. From the mid-way point of what is essentially a space jam, Ed Buller, the producer let all the members of Slowdive lean over the mixing desk, automating the faders up and down at will, taking inspiration from dub reggae production techniques made famous by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, in order to create a piece of art that was constantly modulating with elements coming and going.

Primal (Just For A Day, 1991)

The closing track on Slowdive’s debut album is an epic one. Possibly their finest moment when it comes to displaying the sonic prowess of the genre that helped pioneer. The piece commences in a calm manner with Neil and Rachel harmonising their gentle vocals that weave through the serene guitar. The song then takes a sincere turn in a pre-chorus section with Neil singing solely parallel to the macabre atmosphere the song has descended to. This sequence goes around twice before at last, the composition reaches THAT CRESCENDO! A complete cathartic outpour of emotion that is relentless, with the orchestral guitars that don’t even sound like guitars rise with increasing intensity until they can’t go any louder! A true masterpiece of songwriting, musicianship and production. WOW! 

 

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Neil Halstead

Rickenbacker 360 12 string

Epiphone Casino

Fender Telecaster

Lucem - The Unorthodox

Yamaha FX500

Digitech - PDS - 8000 Echo Plus 

Boss PS-2 Delay and Pitch shifter

Eventide Time Factor

Pro Co - RAT

Boss - PN-2 Tremolo / Pan

EHX - Holy Stain

Mr. Black Gilamondo

X2 Roland Jazz Chorus 120

 

Christian Savill 

Fender Jazzmaster

Boss RE-20 Space Echo

Yamaha FX500

Fender Twin Reverb

Roland Jazz Chorus 120

(My collection of signed Slowdive CD covers) 

2,500 × 1,670

Out of the so called Holy trinity of first wave Shoegazing, Ride currently occupy the bronze medal position; being not so ethereal or experimental as their aforementioned creation label mates My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, but being the most dynamic and accessible in their sound allowed their live shows to be an energetic and intense affair. Ride bring an air of British pop / rock familiarity to the genre. 

Formed in Oxford in 1988 by art students, Mark Gardener, Andy bell, Steve Queralt and Laurence ‘Loz’ Colbert, Ride immediately grabbed the attention of Creation Records’ boss Alan Mcgee after he was passed a demo tape of debut single ‘Chelsea Girl’. Despite major label interest, Ride stuck to their indie ethos and decided to go with Creation in 1989. Always known as a hard working band that tours often, the precedent was set in 1990 when Oxford’s fab four released three EP’s and a debut album all in the space of one year (Ride, Play, Fall and album Nowhere) and then releasing yet another EP a few months later in March 1991 (Today Forever EP). 

Following this incredible work ethic and quality product, Ride were tipped as being the band to look out for in 1991 by a magazine. 

There was great anticipation for Ride’s sophomore album which arrived in March 1992 in the form of ‘Going Blank Again’. The album’s lead single ‘Leave Them All Behind’ with its classic rock lead playing and manic drumming in the vein of The Who, combined with its outrageous flow of distorted and reverberated guitars pushed to the maximum (particularly in the crescendo) forged a new standard for the genre in terms of massive sounding recording and perceived decibel level. 

However, ‘Leave Them all Behind’ was a bit of a red herring, because the rest of the album does not reach those insane levels of wall of sound guitar again (only the opening of OX4 very briefly matches it). The other tracks are already leaning more into a more commercial sounding Britpop direction, but impressively this is before that movement really got going, so Ride should be credited as much as The Stone Roses and The La’s in terms of being an influential pre-cursor to the mid - 90’s scene. This ensures that ‘Going Blank Again’ is an essential record for the context of 90’s British guitar music. 1992 also saw the band headline at London’s Brixton Academy where a little known band at the time called ‘Verve’ supported; this concert was filmed and put on VHS and 20 years later on DVD. It has been a fairly popular video on Youtube also. Later in the August of that year, ‘Ride’ co - headlined with ‘Public Enemy’ on the Saturday night of Reading Festival 1992. 

By 1994’s ‘Carnival of Light’, the band controversially changed their sound by quite a  big extent. They completely dropped the noise and effects and settled for an easy listening semi - acoustic summer of love sound. 

Ride came to a crashing end after Mark Gardener and Andy Bell’s battle of egosr just got too much and 1996’s ‘Tarantula’ which was a poor Britpop effort was released after the band had already split up and Creation dropped the band.

Andy Bell went onto to adopt a Noel Gallagher type role in his new band ‘Hurricane#1’ where he wrote all of the songs bar one and played lead guitar, giving him the creative freedom he craved. After releasing two albums, Andy Bell was about to join ‘Gay Dad’ but ‘Oasis’ came calling and Andy became bass player and occasional songwriter for ‘Oasis’ during the whole of the 2000’s before carrying on with ‘Beady Eye’ when ‘Oasis’ disbanded in 2009. When Beady Eye called it quits in 2014, Andy was a free agent as were the rest of the members of ‘Ride’ following their projects. 

It was November 2014 when ’Ride’ announced their reunion and in May 2015, played their first shows since 1995 to an elated fan base. ‘Weather Diaries’ was released in 2017 which saw the band’s sound return somewhat to that Shoegaze realm with shimmer reverbs, tremolo, fuzzes coming back to the fore and the vocal harmonies were still as tight and brilliant as ever as it didn’t seem like their voices aged one bit. 

This was followed up by an EP in the classic shoegaze 4 - track format with ‘Tomorrow’s Shore’ in 2018.

‘Ride’s second album since the reunion arrived in 2019; ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’ perhaps eerily foreshadowing the global crisis of the pandemic on the horizon. 

After a lengthy hiatus from recording (although they were still touring heavily), the band re-emerged with ‘Interplay’ in 2024, which was a lot more lenient to 80’s synth- pop in sound, therefore once again demonstrating the wide dynamism of the Ride sound. 

KEY TRACKS: 

Dreams Burn Down (Fall EP 1990 & Nowhere, 1990) 

This track is as Shoegaze as Ride can get. Loz Colbert’s enter like a thunderously heavy John Bonham on a Led Zeppelin song before a wall of glide guitar sweeps the stereo field, sounding like waves of the ocean caressing the listener’s ears. This is one of the only times in Ride’s catalogue where you can hear reverb just glide with Mark Gardener uses the vibrato arm to manipulate the pitch of the effects like Kevin Shields. Andy Bell’s lead work in the verses are reminiscent of ‘The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored’ or ‘House of Love - Love In A Car’ with its chorus-laiden, almost East Asian sounding tonality. What makes this track really special is its alternating between these parts and the hurricane noise bursts that last for two bars each time. The twist and turns of this alternation that keep rotating around near the end really captures the album artwork as it gives an impression of waves crashing during a storm with the airy wah pedal effects at full gusto before landing back to a serene state and then the process happens again and you end up anticipating the noise parts and it feels as if you are literally on a ride. 

Today (Today Forever EP, 1991) 

Today Forever is an incredible 4 - track EP. Any track off that collection could have been here to be honest. Alas, One had to be chosen and ‘Today’ edges it by being the swansong and cherry on the cake of a beautiful EP. Essentially just a one chord song (E Major) with a couple of root note changes (Inversions), this track is just as hypnotic and meditational as anything produced by ‘My Bloody Valentine’. The cello string sounding section that enters a couple of minutes into it was actually produced by Steve Queralt’s bass guitar utilising feedback as he faces the amplifier at close proximity. As the journey progresses, the more blurry things become as the trebly guitars go into this panning reverse reverb jangle and dissonance occurs as the bass doesn’t know when to end, resulting in a further sense of wonder and suspense for the listener. Andy Bell’s and Mark Gardener’s vocal harmonies sound simply angelic on this one too!  

Leave Them All Behind (Going Blank Again, 1992)

A strong contender for the most off the hook song to ever obtain a top 10 UK official chart position. Peaking at number. 8, ‘Leave Them All Behind’ was Creation Records’ first top 10 single, even charting higher than Michael Jackson for a week. The single remarkably clocks in at over eight minutes with the last minute and a half being a complete noise fest with seemingly every effect in Ride’s arsenal being pushed to its absolute limit. If that wasn’t un-commercial enough, the song does not even feature a chorus section! Rather, it is a flow of verses with the trademark incredibly tight vocal harmonies from Mark and Andy who perform contrary motion and sound remarkably similar in terms of tone. Whilst, Loz Colbert shows why he was one of the greatest drummers in the world at the time once again, just like on every ‘Ride’ release between 1990 and 1992. Mesmerising!

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Mark Gardener

Rickenbacker - 330 6 and 12 string

Gretsch - G6120DC Chet Atkins 

Fender - Jaguar

Vox AC30 

Roland GP-16

Roland EV-5 expression pedal

Boss PN-2 Tremolo / Pan 

Strymon Orbit Flanger

Strymon Big Sky

Strymon Timeline

Andy Bell

Rickenbacker - 330 12-string (Black and Fireglo)

Gibson - Trini-Lopez 

Hiwatt head with Marshall cabinet 

Roland GP-16

Dunlop Cry Baby wah

Dunlop Buddy Guy signature wah

Old Blood Noise Reflector Chorus pedal

Boss - DD3 Delay

(Sam Mortley meeting Mark Gardener in Oxford, outside of the Oxford Town Hall in December 2019 during the ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’ tour) 

(Sam Mortley with Andy Bell from the same homecoming gig in Oxford. Ride, hurricane#1, Oasis, beady Eye. What a career!) 

(Ride playing a homecoming show at Oxford Town Hall in December 2019. Wonderful acoustics and light show!)

(Ride fanzine from Autumn/ winter 2015) during their Nowhere 25 anniversary tour)

(Ride at the Roundhouse 24th May 2015 ticket)

Lush were the most commercially successful Shoegaze artist alongside Ride in the early 90’s. They also had two “front people” providing same sex vocal harmonies whilst playing guitar and both of them contributed to the songwriting; sometimes sharing song credits and other times, writing whole songs to bring to the band. The two things probably most synonymous with Lush are the beautifully stunning looks of dyed red haired Miki Berenyi and the heavy use of the chorus effect on the 6 and 12 string guitars. Miki and Emma Anderson were both school friends and formed the group in 1987 along with vocalist Meriel Barham (Later, a member of Pale Saints) Steve Rippon on bass and Chris Acland on drums. (The latter sadly passing away in 1996). They were signed to 4AD records by Ivo Watts-Russell and had Robin Guthrie from The Cocteau Twins fame to produce an early EP and debut album ‘Spooky’. 

Lush certainly lives up to their name.

KEY TRACKS

Superblast! (Spooky, 1992)

This adrenaline rush of a song captures the essence of Lush. An ethereal harmonically rich soundscape with a nod to their punk roots every now and then. This is an very fast tempo track with Acland pounding the snare drum which lends the song its punk edge but also includes an airy phase shifted wah sound that sweeps its way through the whole song. The high point comes at the somewhat ‘bridge’ or ‘refrain’ section of the song when the effects (presumably from Emma Anderson’s Roland GP-16) morphs into extreme ambient territory that hides any hint of an electric guitar being played. 

Deluxe (Mad Love EP, 1990) 

Deluxe showcases the unorthodox song craft of both Miki and Emma as it features an odd time signature, unusual chord changes and metering within bars of music. 

These traits would come up in many other early songs but is most prominent here and to have it released as a single was a very courageous move, but that’s 4AD for you. 

Starlust (Split, 1994) 

Whilst ‘Desire Lines’ was a strong candidate for its melancholic wonder, ‘Starlust’ is the more sonically impressive beast and there are two different versions of this track; one appearing on the ‘For Love’ single as a B - Side and mixed by Robin Guthrie and the other being the album version mixed by another legendary Shoegaze mix engineer; Alan Moulder. Both versions are great in their own ways with the B-side version being more drenched in reverb and further back whereas Moulder’s album version offers a more ‘rock’ edge with crunchier guitars and Miki’s vocals brought more forward in the mix. The panning tremolo and the pitch shifting used in the mid - point are sonic highlights. 

Essential gear 

Miki Berenyi 

Epiphone Riviera 12 - string, Rickenbacker 330 - 12 string

Boss Chorus CH - 1

Boss Flanger - BF-2

Boss Equaliser GE-7

Boss Acoustic Simulator AC-3

Boss Super Overdrive SD-1

Boss Space Echo 

Boss Distortion DS-1

Miki Berenyi’s pedalboard whilst performing with The Miki Berenyi Trio on February 1st 2025

Emma Anderson

Fender Telecaster Thinline ‘72 

Roland GP - 16 digital Multi-effects processor

Pedal boards of Kevin from Moose (top) and Miki Berenyi (bottom) whilst Miki Berenyi was playing for the Miki Berenyi Trio, mb3 in 2023

INTERVIEW WITH MIKI BERENYI, CONDUCTED BY MYSELF VIA MY ‘SHOEGAZER93’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cEDA_6ORLQ 

Sam Mortley: What group were you most comfortable in and has given you the most creative freedom? Lush? Piroshka? Miki Berenyi Trio?: 

Miki Berenyi: “They’re all quite different. Lush was at a time when there was more support, being on a label like 4AD meant that I actually had a lot more freedom to concentrate; it was my job and I didn’t have to work a second job, where I didn’t have children, so there was a lot more focus with Lush. It was quite relentless but that did mean that was what you did, and I don’t really have that luxury now because there’s not much money about and we all have jobs and we all have other stuff that we need to do just to be able to do the band. 

Then again, with Lush, I was very young so I was learning the whole time. I think me and Emma [Anderson] settled into a kind of way of writing that became very much her songs, my songs and then we’ll bring it together with a producer. 

I suppose the way in which me and Emma wrote meant that I had the freedom to write what I want but I think with the current band [Miki Berenyi Trio], there’s just a bit more collusion and working together on the songs; you’re not quite so isolated, or even framed in a quite so competitive way. 

Pirosha again, that was just really good fun. I’ve been with Moose for about twenty years but I never really written with him or really properly worked with him, so that had its own feel aswell. [I got to work with] Mike Conroy [Modern English] and Justin Welch [Elastica] and all these amazing musicians. 

Whatever environment you’re in, you just make the best of it and there will be positives and negatives to that or just differences. If you try and do something, you try and enjoy it; it’s as much to do with that as it is with achieving the perfect environment.   

 

Sam Mortley: What was the highlight of your career?

Miki Berenyi: “ I don’t really think about it in those terms. I think it’s really difficult because you’re meant to pick something obvious like a landmark moment like being on Lollapalooza or headlining at a certain venue or putting out a certain album but it just doesn’t really feel like that when you’re on the inside of it. I just look at the whole of the experience of either being in Lush or in Piroshka or in MB3. Look, I can be made happy by the smallest gig that Lush played right at the beginning and think that was a great memory. Possibly because I’m not a particularly careerist person so I never really think about it in those terms of ‘my favourite song will have to be the one that charted most high, that’s just meaningless to me. 

That kind of thing of career highs is really a journalist's job or a fan’s job. You just decide for yourself because it’s not gonna be the same as what i think. 

Sam Mortley: What was it like to be on 4AD?

Miki Berenyi: “ It was great! It was quite interesting, it was such an eclectic label, it had such a public image as well as an inner life. I think each band that went on 4AD had quite a different experience so I think it’s quite a well worn subject that there were certain bands that actually weren’t that happy with the trademark packaging that was to do with Vaughan [Oliver] and Chris [Bigg] and that the image of the label would subsume the bands and they felt that was problematic. I never felt that, I thought it was great!

Not least because me and Emma were quite conscious that around the time that Lush were signed, it was suddenly a point where British indie was starting to have more of an impact in America. We were one of the first bands who were signed to Warners and then Warners did a deal with 4AD, so prior to that, if you wanted The Cocteau Twins records in America, you had to get them on import so there was this moment where it started to get a lot bigger. And me and Emma also thought that being on 4AD actually protected us because being let loose on a major label, they would’ve wanted to capitalise on the idea that there’s two girls in a band and that would’ve been the marketing strategy and actually on 4AD we didn’t have to deal with any of that crap. You know, the sleeves did not have our faces on them; yes there was pressure on the press to have me or Emma on the covers of things, but every band has that; But it certainly didn’t come from the label.  And they [4AD staff] were really nice people, it was really good fun being on that label. 

Sam Mortley: Why have been so dedicated to BOSS pedals for all these years?

Miki Berenyi: “ Oh, just absolute laziness!  They are fine, that’s all I need. I think having a twelve string….there’a a bit of me, i understand the world of guitar effects and clearly that's a part of the music that I’ve always ended up making and being involved in. I’ve always needed pedals because I’m not a particularly good guitarist, so you want kind of “help” as it were. But I’m also conscious that I’m playing a twelve string and there’s no earthly point in removing [the sound of the twelve string], in that case, you might as well just play a six string, what’s the point? 

But I do really like a twelve string, it feels really nice, I like playing them, so there’s a balance between not over-complicating pedals [and using them]. 

I mean, for instance now, clearly the technology available is infinitely more vast than what it was when I started in Lush and Moose will have all kinds of Tonemasters and pedals, and two amps and God knows what. The problem is, when you have to sing at the same time, just being able to hit the pedal that you want, rather than this whole complicated setup, suddenly you kick the wrong button and who knows what is going on. I can’t deal with that kind of stuff, so when it comes to playing live, I need to keep it quite simple. I bought the case that they all sit in ], so they’re just gonna have to be the same size.I tell you what it reminds me of. It’s like if they made a Sindy doll with a rock band setup, this is the pedalboard they would give that doll because it looks all sweet and dinky! Hahaha! 

Sam Mortley: Is it necessary for a musician to sign to a label currently? 

Miki Berenyi: “ it depends on what you want. I look at a label like Lost Map in Scotland and I think Johnny runs this label where it generally has a family feel to it. I think Bella Union (Simon Raymoinde of The Cocteau Twins’ label) does to an extent. It’s all about interconnectedness and I do think that a lot of independent music really needs that. At the height of Britpop, there was a very competitive element to these things, where bands were sort of elbowing out each other out of the way to be the best and there wasn’t a lot of camaraderie. But actually, when you’re small, you really need to work together; the sound man needs to work with you, the support band needs to work with you, we share our equipment, we make sure everyone gets a sound check, we’re trying to make a great night together; And I think the best labels do that as well. 

They’re not about pitting the bands against each other and going  ‘well this is our biggest signing so the rest of you are gonna be sidelined’. I think it should have a general identity, now whether it's worth signing to them, most labels don’t have a lot of money, that’s for sure, but it depends on how much of this stuff you want to do yourself; it's alot of work. And most people don’t have the luxury of doing just a band; they will have to have a job to supplement. And then having a label that can talk to radio or may have access to a PR, so that all of that stuff can be dealt with while you’re actually trying to do your job or write songs and tour. It is a massive help. And also with smaller labels, because they are so small I don’t think you get tied up in quite the same contractual obligations as you used to. From what I gather, most labels would just agree to put out your one record, maybe two and see how it goes. They’re not going to insist that on day one, you sign some five album deal that if your music goes in a different direction or you’re not happy where you are, you’re not just stuck there.  

So in some ways, although not having any money is a pain in the arse, not least because going out on tour means you don’t get tour support, you’ve got to make the ends meet and that’s hard.

On the other side, you’re probably freer to move where you want to, so yeah swings and roundabouts”. 

Sam Mortley: I’ve always loved the luminous green jewel case for ‘Split’. How was that designed? 

Miki Berenyi: “We had a right of veto over the sleeves but we very much left it to Vaughan and Chris because we trusted them. They listened to the music, they would come up with ideas, they would choose photographers, also Vaughan had a very convincing way of delivering an opinion on justifying what he had in mind for you. If someone else is really good at a job, you can sit there and go ‘I’ll pick between his four ideas, that’s the one I like the most’. But I’m also very easily overruled because I can admit that there’s someone who is infinitely more talented at a job than I am, so why wouldn’t you just let them get on with it”. 

(Sam Mortley meeting Miki Berenyi at a book signing at New Lion brewery, Devon, 2023) 

(Lush playing their last ever gig on November 25th 2016 at Manchester Academy) 

Curve were the Shoegaze band for the night clubs! A dark industrial electronic dance beat with sequencers and chainsaw guitars drifting along with the sexually alluring vocals of Toni Halliday laid the dance - rock benchmark that spawned bands like Garbage. 

Formed in London, This band was centred around the duo of Dean Garcia and vocalist Toni Halliday. Dean was previously a touring member of Eurythmics and Toni had already attempted to have a go at being a pure pop princess in the 1980’s. The band was joined by Debbie Smith (later played with Echobelly) on guitar for their live touring, Alex Mitchell (guitar) and Monti on drums. Toni Hallliday’s dark hair, commanding stage presence and sexually sinful voice brought goth vibes and made it sexy; She was a precursor to Shirley Manson from Garbage. Due to Toni being in a romantic relationship with mix engineer Alan Moulder, this partly ensured that Curve had his expertise on board and he worked with Flood (Mark Ellis) in the role of producer and this was the beginning of a dream team production duo; this was a blessing and a curse for the band because they were highly manufactured in the eyes of the critics and the fact that Toni and Dean already had a lot of experience in the industry and were not new upstarts did not give them the favourable epithet of ‘underdog’ to the critics. Curve disbanded in 1994, reformed in 1997 with a much more ‘electronic only’, hard EDM approach on the album ‘Come Clean’ that put them in the same bracket as the Big Beat titans such as ‘The Prodigy’, ‘The Chemical Brothers’ and a group that Toni had collaborated with; ‘Leftfield’. In 2001, they released ‘Gift’ which featured Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine on guitar for two songs: Perish and Want More Need Less.  

The band put out one more album in 2002 named ‘The New Adventures of Curve’ before calling it a day in 2005. 

Toni has since retired from music, claiming that she wants nothing to do with it anymore. Dean Garcia has continued to make music and collaborate with others, most notably with his daughter, Rose with their project called SPC ECO. 

  

KEY TRACKS

Horror Head (Doppelganger, 1992) 

In Sam Mortley’s (Shoegazer93) interview with Dean Garcia which can be found on Youtube, Dean Garcia stated that “it was our finest hour”. Inspired by ‘Loveless’ by My Bloody Valentine, ambient guitars were the foundation of the composition. It can be confirmed that this was built upon using a TASCAM Portastudio 224.  Dean put a Roland Juno 106 through Sansamp and Zoom pedals to create distortion and de-tuning pitch shifting. A prophet sequencer was also used. 

The distorted wailing voice that can be heard during the middle eight section is provided by none other than Martin Gore from Depeche Mode.

Unreadable Communication (Cuckoo, 1993)

Dean Garcia described the noisy part as a “rush” that symbolised the rushy pharmaceuticals going round in the early 90’s. “Rush of euphoria and adrenaline”. It was a quiet/loud structure with a bass loop that functioned as a pulse during the verses. Then the drums come in and a tidal wave of sound rises with Toni Halliday’s vocal submerged in the wave. A wah pedal is adding to the chaos.  

Ten Little Girls (Blindfold EP, 1991)

A shoegaze song that features a rap! The song begins in a menacing manner with a very low frequency bass. It’s a simmering piece where the noise never becomes too overbearing, but rather it glides along with the drum machine grooving away in a repetitive loop. Rapper JC-001 starts his rhyming flow around the halfway point and comes in again at the end with the words “now my eyes can see, the truth of reality”. BIG WORDS! 

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Dean Garcia

Music Man Stingray bass guitar

Prophet sequencer

TASCAM Portastudio

Roland Juno-106

Akai S1100

Sequential Circuits Studio 440

Colorsound Wah-Wah

Morley PWF Power Wah Fuzz

Zoom 9002

Ableton Live

INTERVIEW WITH DEAN GARCIA, CONDUCTED BY MYSELF VIA MY ‘SHOEGAZER93’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9qYnJ7hBBs 

Dean Garcia

 “ I come from the Eurythmics era when I was in my 20’s and drum machines were very apparent but Dave [Stewart] used to use drum machines in a really interesting and creative way. And so they [drum machines] were always with me. My original roots is [being] a drummer but drum sequencing has always been very much apart of the whole thing for me. We had a little 12 - bit Prophet sequencer that we did everything on, like Coast is Clear and Fait Accompli. It was a tap sequencer, so you load up some sounds from a floppy disk and then assign them to the keypads and then just sort of get a click and then tap in a beat. Like an 808 but you tap in a beat instead of watching it go around in an analogue loop and pushed the buttons down to see where it is, but the things we used was more hands on which I liked. So make it more unique, make it more your own. It was very hip-hop based really” 

Dean Garcia on Shoegaze

 “It’s an interesting genre I thought. All the bands like Ride and Slowdive would be on their knees looking down at their pedals or standing up looking at their shoes and that’s where it comes from. They weren’t known as being performers, there was no jumping around or anything, it was all very static and dream-like and looking at your pedals. But we never did that. You know, I might have looked at a pedal here and there, you have to, incase you tread on the wrong pedal and it all blows up”

Sam Mortley: What guitar effects did you use?:

 “I had a SansAmp one, a wah, some Boss stuff and a few heavy Metal things. There was a silver heavy metal box that I had and when wanted to get noisy, you just stomp on it. I didn’t have that much. I had the sequencers, that was the thing for me; Running the two Akai’s and the bass, so it was like a one man band in a way. I used to programme it all and get it all sorted and in those particular times it was quite limited. I didn’t want to have a tape machine. You had to have an organic thing to it. So that there was separation. All the drums, sound effects and keyboards all separate. Out of the back of the Akai’s, you’d have all the different lines. That was all booted up on the floppy disk” 

One of the greatest power trios of all time. Just how could such a massive sound come from a three piece? Formed in Tooting, South London in 1986, Kitchens of Distinction consisted of vocalist / bassist Patrick Fitzgerlad, guitarist Julian Swales and drummer, Dan Goodwin. They came up with the name after seeing a bus with an advert of a Kitchen and plumbing company of the same name. After signing for One Little Indian Records, the band released their debut album, Love Is Hell in early 1989 which makes them one of the earliest artists in the scene. The production of Love is Hell is not as polished as their next works and arguably, it does not capture the intense sound of this band to its full potential because of that. However, the single ‘The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule’ was perhaps the best precursor of what was to come. 

For their sophomore effort, they teamed up with producer Hugh Jones to create Strange Free World which was released at the peak of the first wave of Shoegazing in 1991. This album truly captured the sonic prowess of this trio with the opening track Railwayed immediately catapulting the listener into the stratosphere with its huge chorus section and Swales’ magical textured and layered lead guitar outro, filled with all the beautiful digital delay and reverb you could ask for. 

Hugh Jones remained on board for their 3rd album, The Death Of Cool which was recorded at The Sawmills, Cornwall in 1992. This was a further expansion of Julian Sawles’ guitar sorcery and Patrick Fitzgerald was even more open about his homosexuality in his lyrics that were a lot more on the nose in places. Tracks such as Gone World Gone and Blue Pedal showcase the band’s huge intensity and the ability to push production boundaries. 1994’s Cowboys and Aliens continued the ethereal onslaught but this time, contrasted with some more folky moments. The band broke up in 1996 and didn’t return until 2013 when they released their final album to date; Folly.

Kitchens of Distinction were a band that never compromised despite changing trends around them in the music industry and for that, they certainly stand distinct.

KEY TRACKS

Railwayed (Strange Free World, 1991)

Strange Free World commences with a  throbbing bass line that is locked in the pocket with a straight-forward but solid drum beat which allows Julian Swales to float his sonic sorcery over the top. Patrick Fitzgerald’s sincere and confident vocals provide a great melody whilst delivering a subject matter of an estranged relationship between father and daughter who have big decisions to make as they meet at a railway station. The song features a soaring chorus that comes around multiple times with the last time giving way to Swales’ digital delay and reverb cathedral of sound

Gone World Gone (The Death Of Cool, 1992)

This eight minute wonder is like a journey through space; The delicate flickers of colourful effects replicate the ambience of being inside a space station in a hyper-reality science fiction movie with alien transmissions being received and comets and planets passing by outside the window. Likewise, with most of K.O.D’s best songs, there is an acoustic guitar tucked away in the mix that adds some extra emphasis and texture. The dynamic change from verses to chorus is truly epic and the bridge part where Fitzgerald repeats “Gone World Gone” and “Inside A World” on the second time, really builds up to the moment where the tension releases. Dan Goodwin’s drumming really stands out here too with lots of cymbal and hi-hat work and off-beat fills. 

Blue Pedal (The Death Of Cool, 1992)

The daddy of Shoegazing. Maybe the ultimate in guitar effects and production wizardry. A song that does not let up and keeps the listener wondering how on Earth can they go any more intense?!? From the sliding glissando two note bass line that lays the groundwork for suspense and tension, you get a feeling that the song is ready to launch into bigger things, and boy, we are in for a real treat! Patrick Fitzgerald wailing like a helpless passenger being caught up in the middle of a raging tsunami. Julian Swales pushing his gear to the absolute limit as if he’s been saving this moment up to be the final boss of the band’s music. Layers and layers, take after take gelling together to create a mighty maelstrom that builds, builds, builds and builds some more. The song is even named after a pedal; which one? Patrick Fitzgerald spilled the beans in the interview (below) and declared that it was the Boss - Pitch Shifter / Delay PS - 2.  But is it just pure coincidence or did they actually know they were creating a masterpiece of the genre that is named after the habit of looking down at those pedals and decided to give a nod to the Shoegazing tag? Anyway, this is a subliminal masterpiece.

Essential Gear

Julian Swales

Fender Stratocaster

Alesis Quadraverb

Electro - Harmonix Memory Man

Boss Digital Pitch Shifter/ Delay PS - 2

Patrick Fitzgerald

Fender Precision Lyte Bass 

INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK FITZGERALD, CONDUCTED BY MYSELF VIA MY ‘SHOEGAZER93’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Sam Mortley: How hard was it to be a gay man in the music industry when you were in Kitchens of Distinction? 

Patrick Fitzgerald: “It was a really easy decision, but in retrospect I really should have done differently. Come ‘85, ‘86, I kind of was in a political environment where I thought, this is all sorted, homophobia is gone. And I was wrong. I think it was a braver decision than I realised to come out. When I first did it, it was to an NME journalist and he said “do you want to put this in the interview?” and I said “well, why not?” and ofcourse, he’s a journalist so he’s not going to question that or say “you’re an idiot! What are you thinking?!”. So it was a really challenging thing to do; I’m glad I did it because I never had to lie to anyone, but it in doubt hampered the band and held us back. And ‘Death Of Cool’ was partly about HIV but also I was splitting up with someone at the time and it was a really difficult time. A lot of fun in the studio but emotionally it was a traumatic time. The people who I looked up to who were really good at that [coming out and being confident about their sexual orientation] was Boy George and Jimmy Somerville. I got a lot of time for them, they were really, really great at the way they handled it, but they were just doing a very different kind of music, and I think the kind of music we did didn’t lend itself to that culture. I don’t know, I dither about it because I think Julian [Swales] definitely had his career held back because of me being vocal, they were very supportive, both Dan [Goodwin] and Julian, but I think it definitely put a barrier in the way for people”. 

Sam Mortley: Did you feel aligned with the ‘Shoegazing’ bands at the time?

Yeah, I don’t think we knew it was a scene until someone told us it was. Because you’re in it, you’re not aware it is a scene. We were friends with A.R Kane to begin with because Dan and Julian had been at college with them so we knew Rudy [Tambala] and Alex [Ayuli] and we were doing shows with them. And then got to meet Miki [Berenyi] and Emma [Anderson] from Lush and got to do a couple of shows with them with The House of Love. We did a show with Ride and Slowdive and you just think you’re all in different bands and then someone says “You’re all the same!”. It never occurred to us that we were, because at least in my head, we were doing much more vocal stuff, maybe the guitars had a similar ambience to them, but I just wasn’t aware that it was a scene. It was sort of described later, journalists called it that when we were probably on our third album. And we were like “oh! Shoegaze?” and then ‘Dream Pop’ came after that I think and I just remember A.R Kane being called dream-like or dreamscape or something, and then Dream Pop arrived. And it kind of made sense. It’s a good description for all this sort of dream-like music, but then The Cocteau Twins as well. Very much, that sound came from The Cocteau Twins who took their stuff from [Siouxshie &] The Banshees, so I can see a lineage of that, in a good way. 

Sam Mortley: What was your favourite Kitchens of Distinction release out of the five albums?

I would say, the record that represents mostly what we did was ‘Strange Free World’. I think that’s the most consistent one. Hugh Jones worked with us and as a producer, he was brilliant and he brought out the best in us. ‘The Death Of Cool’ was a harder record to make and I don’t think we were quite as sure where we were going [with it]. I’ve got a fondness for all of them, I’m not going to have a favourite, I think they all have different aspects and to me, they are all diary entries; that's where we were at that point doing those things. The thing that I find frustrating is that I think ‘Love Is Hell’ is a great record, it’s just the recording of it drives me nuts! I wish it had been recorded properly.  It was a rushed job and we had some very bad advice from the record label saying you have to do programmed drums, you can’t use real drums, etc. So finally we got to use real drums on ‘Strange Free World’ and ‘The Death Of Cool’ and then I was happy. We didn’t want to sound like an 80’s gated snare band, we want to sound like we sound live. 

Sam Mortley: Blue Pedal is my favourite song from ‘The Death of Cool’ 

I think it starts off with four [guitar layers] and then it doubles. Twenty Four track studio so you’re limited. I think he was bouncing. But basically layers, layers, layers, layers. That was the beginning of him [Julian Swales] sitting in the studio for hours on end, playing, playing and playing, whereas I go in, sing a bit and then bugger off. 

We found a setting on a pedal that put Julian’s guitar, added a fifth above, so he found a way of playing fifths with the extra fifth going through hid reverb and delays that didn’t cause clashes and it’s quite tricky to do that and so I had to do a quite neutral bass to make that work. The music was designed to take it out of yourself or to highlight a feeling. A digital pitch shifter / Delay, I don’t know if they still make them but that’s it was [named after]. Along with a [Electro-Harmonix] Memory Man and the vital [Alesis] Quadraverb. 

   

(Credit: The Boo Radleys)

Best known for their prime time Britpop hit ‘Wake Up Boo!’ in 1995, only a few know the roots of The Boo Radleys as being a very noisy and psychedelic one.

From Wirral on Merseyside, near Liverpool, The Boo Radleys burst onto the scene in 1990 after signing for Rough Trade with The Kaleidoscope EP which echoed bands like Sonic Youth, A.R Kane, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur jr. and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Unapologetically loud production, baggy, groovy drums of Rob Cieka (the forbidden beat appears on the song ‘Kaleidoscope’ played by a different drummer), Sice’s shy boy vocals, Tim Brown’s deep throbbing bass lines and Martin Carr’s ferocious guitar distortion and fuzz encapsulate the spirit of their early EP and debut album ‘ Ichabod and I’. It was 1991 when The Boos really became a Shoegazing band whether by design or not. The pure noisy and aggressive fuzz onslaught of their first works gave way to something more beautiful with added psychedelic textures, layers and more serene moments on the EP’s of 1991: ‘Every Heaven’, ‘Boo Up!’, ‘Adrenaline’ and ‘Boo Forever’. 

However, their magnum opus in regards to this style was their sophomore album after signing for Creation Records; ‘Everything’s Alright Forever’; With fourteen tracks of lucious goodness, this album showed that this four piece from the north west of England could challenge their southern contemporaries and even their Anglo - Irish contemporaries, My Bloody Valentine. Being released a few months after Loveless you can tell who Martin Carr and Sice Rowbotham were listening to with keen ears, but the Boos managed to forge enough of their own sound by straying away from repetitive loop - style hypnotism and instead, add a sense of thrust and progressiveness to their songwriting and also by featuring alternative instrumentation in the form of trumpets and Spanish Flamenco guitars. In 1993, they came back with Giant Steps which was a real mixture of styles. Only Lazarus and perhaps a couple of others still retained the Shoegazing element but overall, for better or for worse, this was a departure into wider territory. By 1995, Alan McGee had convinced the band to join the newly emerged Britpop party and so, their sound was curtailed into a much more commercial 60’s retrospective package. 

Nonetheless, The Boo Radleys can boast, arguably along with fellow North West Englanders The Verve, that they transitioned their sound the most successfully and remained commercially prominent in both Shoegazing and Britpop movements, which, judging by the fortunes of other acts lumped into the Shoegazing description, was an extremely hard feat to accomplish.  

(Top: Bassist Tim Brown

Middle: Lead guitarist and songwriter Martin Carr

Bottom: lead vocals/ guitarist Sice Rowbotham

(Drummer Rob cieka (Right), lead guitarist and principal songwriter Martin Carr looks on whilst Rob and Tim look for their luggage in the coach)

The Boo Radleys (Without Martin Carr) perform at The Exchange, Bristol on 12th February 2025 

KEY TRACKS

Kaleidoscope (Kaleidoscope EP, 1990)

The first single for the band sets the tone and manifesto for all of their early works. Whilst the variety of guitar effects may not be present at this very early stage,the appetite for distorted noise and amplifiers cranked up to beyond 11 is clearly there! Drenched in feedback, this song assault’s the ears in such a way that it actually becomes soothing, hypnotic and comforting after a while. Simply comprised of a couple of vocal verses that emotionally show hurt over a lost romance, the song concludes with layers of guitars entering the fray one by one and a lead guitar line ear - piercingly carries a melody over a storm of sustained rhythm. A beautifully sad cacophony.     

Memory Babe (Everything’s Alright Forever, 1992)

Set at a fast tempo, this track commences with the furious strumming of a Spanish guitar. Throughout the track, particularly at the end of a musical bar, there is a recurring theme of reverse reverberated guitar; these short ethereal flourishes provide a glimpse that foreshadow what the song will deliver in the outro. Sice’s mumbled vocals are buried in the mix during the verses, before a fuzzy pre-chorus takes hold of the listener and Sice’s emotive vocals momentarily surface, like someone waking up from a vivid dream. But it is the home straight following the last chorus that really sends you on a trip of memories as the guitars and whatever else is thrown in the congested mix are sent into outer space like a rocket with afterburners kicking in. in typical epic Shoegazing outro sections, you wonder how dramatic this part is going to get and you are strapped fully into the immersion. Finally, the epiphany of the dream occurs and the parachutes are swiftly deployed in such a well executed way. When you think it’s all over, a subtle pre-delayed flciker of reverse reverb perks up and fades out, just to remind the listener of where the journey started from in order to make the crazy part seem even more sublime. This track really defines the album 

Firesky (Everything’s Alright Forever, 1992)

This track demonstrates the Loveless influence at its most transparent. A mid tempo song with the glide guitar is in full swing. It has a fast walk-down descending chord progression at the start of every bar that Sice neatly harmonises directly on the chord change with vocally. The production is most impressive with a sand paper sounding glide that pans from left to right and vice versa, soothing the soul as it massages over you time and time again. 

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Sice 

Alesis Quadraverb 

Fender Stratocaster

Martin Carr

Alesis Quadraverb GT

Roland Jazz Chorus 120 

Rickenbacker 330

Fender Stratocaster

The Shoegaze band that rocks! Swervedriver offer a more distorted power chord riffage and traditional rock flair to the scene. Formed in Oxford in 1989 from the ashes of Shake Appeal, you would be forgiven for thinking they were from the United States with their Dinosaur jr, Sonic Youth and Husker Du sense of American Alternative Rock stylings. They toured with Nirvana, Soundgarden and The Smashing Pumpkins which further cemented their reputation as being more hard rockers than the rest of the British scene. This grungy style made them an anomaly of the Shoegazing scene and some argue that they were lumped into that category merely because of geographic location; Oxford being located in the Thames Valley where ‘The Scene That Celebrates itself’ was named after. However, when you  attend a Swervedriver show and you mosh your way to the front row and see the vast amount of pedals strewn across the stage floor, it’s only then that you realise there’s a lot more going on under the feet than one would imagine!   

The main nucleus of the band are guitarists Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge whereas other band positions have changed over the years with Adi Vines being replaced by Steve George and then Mick Quinn from Supergrass offering bass services and Graham Bonnar being replaced by Jez Hindmarsh and as of now, Mikey Jones conducting drumming duties. The band were discovered and signed by Alan McGee to Creation Records after fellow Oxford scene and label mates Ride announced that they were fans and their very own Mark Gardener passed a demo tape of ‘Son of Mustang Ford’ to McGee in 1989, which would be the band’s first single, being released in 1990 They released their first album called ‘Raise’ in September 1991, which of course is when the grunge explosion really took off with Nirvana’s Nevermind coming out in the same month. Raise was engineered by Anjali Dutt; a talented woman who would also work on Loveless, The Boo Radleys, Spiritualized and Oasis records in the near future. This album displayed the high - octane rock stylings with Adam Franklin’s slacker skater - rock voice providing that low end that contrasted with the high mids of the guitar squalls and feedback trails. Tracks like Sci - Flyer, Rave Down, Deep Seat, Sunset and Sandblasted serve as highlights to a solid debut album. After their drummer Graham Bonnar leaving the band in the strangest of circumstances regarding an airport border control problem during a North American tour, Jez Hindmarsh replaced him for 1993’s Mezcal Head; a record mixed by the legendary Alan Moulder who had just finished working with The Smashing Pumpkins on their Siamese Dream album which provided dreamy flourishes itself. Mezcal Head is often cited as being their best album and for good reason. The single ‘Duel’ is a very unorthodox composition, somehow straddling the line between something hooky and something more avant - garde; the starting and stopping of sections ensures this is a dynamic piece thats full of all sorts of guitar timbres that conveys how meticulous about detail Alan Moulder was as a mix engineer. The song Duress is the closest thyat Adam Franklin comes to sounding like Jimi Hendrix who was undoubtedly a big influence on his playing, sharing the same feedback wailing manipulation techniques and the fluid switch between complex rhythm and lead playing.

The single that preceded this album but was featured as a bonus track on future re-releases, Never Lose That Feeling is another highlight of their catalogue with its catchy rhyming chorus section and angular riff. 

The middle to late 90’s was a difficult time for Swervedriver as Creation Records lost interest in supporting the band during the Britpop heyday which comes as no surprise as they were never going to fit the mould of that movement with their American style leanings. Their third album ‘Ejector Seat Reservation’ was not even released in the UK or the US; only in Australia. This featured a similar style to the first two albums, albeit with Adam Franklin raising his singing voice in more of a mid frequency tenor rather than the slacker J Mascis styling. The lyrics were still evoking the same imagery with long road trips across Route 66; ‘Son of Jaguar E’ functioning as an episode two of ‘Son of Mustang Ford’ for example. Whilst The Birds is a 1960’s British Invasion style jangle which proved that maybe they could fit into the whole britpop thing after all! 

1998 saw the band release 99th Dream which was more of the same. Franklin’s vocals even more up front especially on the title track and ‘These Times’ has his vocals put through a hint of overdrive which echoes John Lennon and Liam Gallagher with a northern English pronunciation on some words. But that was the end of the Swervedriver story for a while and the band called it a day in 1999.

The band returned in 2008 and played a few live shows including radio sessions. There was a new song played at one radio session and so the rumour mill of new music commenced. However, fans would have to wait until 2015 to see any new music . This arrived in the shape of ‘I Wasn’t Born To Lose You’ in March 2015 and this saw Swervedriver not just return to their pedal stomping roots, but actually be more Shoegazey than they had ever been before. The whole album is a sonic wonder, putting Adam’s voice deep in the mix whilst guitars rage and swirl on top of it. ‘Autodidact’, ‘For A Day Like Tomorrow’, ‘Setting Sun’, ‘Everso’, and ‘I Wonder’ are some highlights of the album.

In 2018, Swervedriver released Future Ruins albeit, via great controversy as this was crowd funded by PledgeMusic who ended up being a corrupt business that exploited fans and artists’ generosity by running away with the money. Besides, this album was not quite as cohesive or as energetic as ‘I Wasn’t Born To Lose You’ but was rather more mellow all the way through. ‘Mary Winter’, ‘Future Ruins’, The Ascending’ and ‘Drone Lover’ were particular highlights. 

(Me with Jimmy Hatridge at The Fleece, May 2019. Future Ruins tour)

(Adam Franklin using 15 pedals, configured in a semi - circle in order to provide space for the microphone stand. It’s a remarkable sight, watching Franklin pedal hop whilst playing the most intricate guitar arpeggios whilst singing) 

KEY TRACKS

Sunset (Raise, 1991) 

Sunset begins with a drum fill going into a fairly quick tempo but relatively normal alternative rock verse. Adam Franklin’s deep voice glides, seemingly floating up and down like the most relaxed person on Earth. The guitars sound like guitars with that brash twang. Nothing out of the ordinary to hear so far. It is when it gets to the two minute mark when things sonically change. Wah pedals and reverse delay and reverb start creeping in and there’s a break in the song where the listener does not know where the song is going to go to next; a pretty remarkable bit of song craft happens and the drums by Graham Bonnar really grab the listener’s attention too; the snare rolls are reminiscent of a jazz drummer and he uses it to build up tension at a certain point in the track before everything launches into yet another section of the song.The bass playing of Steve George is pulsating with a timbre that throbs throw the mix to counter the vast amount of high frequency content. This song presents the dynamic approach to Swervedriver’s use of effect pedals in a really effective way; the way Adam and Jimmy can stomp at them at any given moment without planning ensures that the results are unpredictable. This is something that adds a sense of uniqueness to Swervedriver’s live performances especially. 

Duress (Mezcal Head, 1993)

Get your wah - wah out! This eight minute wonder (which often stretches to over ten minutes at a live show) is a hypnotic maelstrom of frequency sweeps. It allowed Franklin space to induce feedback squalls and vibrato arm pitch shifting frenzies whilst Jimmy Hartridge maintains a steady arpeggio-picked rhythm beside the wild beast of Adam’s Jazzmaster. Lyrically interesting and one of the most thought - provoking in the whole Shoegazing scene: “When you wanna kill it dead, you let it swallow you instead”. Deep stuff. If Jimi Hendrix was a hypnotist, this would be his motif. 

For A Day Like Tomorrow ( I Wasn’t Born To Lose You, 2015)

Swervedriver’s comeback in the 2010’s was a triumphant one; joining MBV, Kitchens of Distinction, Slowdive, Ride and Lush in the list of old guard acts releasing new music in that decade. Any track from this album coil have made this key track section to be frank, but ‘For A Day Like Tomorrow’ edges it  by being so melodically and texturally rich, full of different instrumental phrases and for its blissed out outro. A solid rhythm guitar on overdrive is contrasted with effect pedal usage coinciding alongside it. Tremolo pedal is a prominent fixture here as well as multiple EQ changes, reverb and delay. A real feel good Shoegaze tune that brings joy and hope for the future. Bliss! 

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Adam Franklin

Fender Jazzmaster

Boss DF - 2 Distortion/ Feedbacker (With faulty wire which results in a ‘Siren’ noise)

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Boss RV - 5 Reverb

Catalinbread Bicycle Delay

Catalinbread Csidman

Boss RE - 20

Boss TR-2 Tremolo

Boss GE - 7 Graphic Equaliser

(Adam and Jimmy’s boards together at Dryden Street Social in Leicester, May, 2018, where Swervedriver played the albums Raise and Mezcal Head in their entirety) 

(Adam Franklin using a Catalinbread Bicycle Delay which can be obviously heard on the title track of ‘Future Ruins’)

Jimmy Hartridge

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Squier Jazzmaster

DigiTech WH - 1 Whammy X2 

Boss GE - 7 Graphic Equaliser

Boss RV - 2 Reverb

(Arranged in typical Swervedriver semi - circle formationYou can count 15 pedals in Jimmy Hartridge’s rig. Adam also had 15 in the 2010’s tours, resulting in a whopping 30 pedals between the two guitarists. Wow!) 

Formed in Reading in 1987, Chapterhouse are another major act from the Thames Valley’s ‘The Scene That Celebrates Itself’ with 1991’s Whirlpool being widely regarded as their seminal work. Likewise to Slowdive, they are a five piece band from Reading with three guitar players who drop in and out of different duties depending on the song. Unlike Slowdive, they have two core songwriters instead of the one, in Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, with Simon Rowe contributing occasionally. They initially started off as a heavier act with hardcore moments here and there. Sweeter sounds appeared as soon as the band heard My Bloody Valentine and then Stephen Patman began to use alternate tunings with reverbs, paving the way for glorious sonic feats in tracks such as Treasure, April and Pearl; with the latter featuring Rachel Goswell from Slowdive on guest backing vocals. Ultimately, Chapterhouse brought a sense of the Madchester/Baggy scene into Shoegazing and really excelled at it. 

Signed to Dedicated Records, Chapterhouse’s first EP was FreeFall in 1990 which featured the single Falling Down which had a strong Baggy style drum beat, funky wah pedal guitar and vocal swagger that was contrasted with a dreamy, reverb - drenched refrain section. This track led to a critic labelling them humourously as ‘My Baggy Valentine’ . This EP was followed up by Sunburst in the same year, which consisted of a fast tempo cover of Rain by The Beatles, which would’ve probably been the normal speed if George Martin did not shift the pitch down! 

Something More presented a more The Cocteau Twins meets psychedelic rock in the form of Loop or Spacemen 3 style, with its alternating sections between modulation effects bliss and neck - breaking fuzzed up chords; the only constant is the strummed acoustic guitar that carries on throughout.Not surprisingly, Robin Guthrie of The Cocteau Twins produced the track and also did a remix of the song. Guthrie also produced and mixed the track Autoleeper from Whirlpool. Whereas, the rest of the album had a couple of other producers and engineers; this merry- go- round of different studio personnel was a common theme for Chapterhouse. 

The Pearl EP was the third and final EP, released in March 1991. This contained three songs in Pearl, Come Heaven and In my Arms. The lead single Pearl is potentially their most famous song. The other two should not be underestimated either; Come Heaven has a dark cavernous feel with vocals that are reminiscent of a drowsy Gregorian Chant. An E-bow on the guitar is the centerpiece of the song and transports the song into a chorus section without the need for any vocals. In My Arms commences with a sinister atmosphere before launching into a very danceable drum rhythm. It’s tough to clarify what instruments are being used but it seems that synths and sequencers are in the busy mix along with guitars and vocal layers. The song bookends itself by returning to that dark and eerie reverse instrumentation, which just proves once again that Chapterhouse were more than capable of jumping between the happiest pop song you could ever hear and some of the most gothic and brooding songs imaginable. 

In May 1991, Chapterhouse released Whirlpool courtesy of Dedicated Records. A nine track feast of some of Shoegazing’s most divine moments encapsulated in the artwork of a cat curled up (Took many of us ages to work that out!) 

Much like Nowhere by Ride, this collection of songs take the listener through a few different styles and moods whilst retaining the common themes synonymous with the genre. To some, this album cemented them as being like a ‘brother band’ to Ride with lots of parallels with each other. The opening track, Breather sounds uncannily like Taste or Seagull with its manic drumming and its D chord suspended pickings, one can liken it to The Stone Roses and The Smiths in which Ride were openly fans of; The perfect blend of uplifting joy and sheer youthful energy. After the magical pop single of Pearl  (which we will come to in depth later) the album gets to Autosleeper which shows a different side to the band. One of two tracks produced by Robin Guthrie on the album, this track possesses the same gothic and brooding atmosphere as the Pearl B-sides mentioned earlier. Then we get Treasure which wears My Bloody Valentine on its sleeve with its ‘glide guitar’ re-enactment and its sheer depth of ambient layering. Proceeding on, we hear the Baggy / Madchester influence shine through clearly on the single Falling Down with its ecstatic drum beat and wah pedal main riff. This is followed by April which begins with sonics that make you feel like you’re in an aircraft turbine! It’s hyper - sonic drone prevailing throughout, this track has a menacing quality that transforms into something melancholic and longing, as the song grows in intensity, reaching a highly densely layered crescendo. The track Guilt holds delivers Sonic Youth prowess and potentially guitar string snapping ideas to the table. This shows Chapterhouse’s diversity once again with their ability to rock out like their American alternative rock contemporaries, before going into a light English feel with the very The Stone Roses of If You Want Me. The album reaches its climax with Something More, which is the second Robin Guthrie produced song and it certainly leaves one yearning for something more as the song fuzzes its way to a dreamy end. 

After Whirlpool, the band released the Mesmerise EP in September 1991 which featured the classic Shoegazing four track format of Mesmerise, Precious One, Summer Chill and Then We’ll Rise.  The title track could be mistaken for a Take That track as it has a light and happy, cleanly produced, non - offensive boy band approach. It is a signpost for what was to come on their sophomore album. Precious One is definitely one for the baggy / Madchester ravers with its The Stone Roses bongos, shaker, accented hi-hat cymbal rhythms and the main riff done by an organ. There is an ambient guitar that flows its way through the song hard panned to the right which is a nice texture. Summer Chill is the most shoegaze of the songs on it, being an ocean of rack mount effect goodness. Then We’ll Rise is a very The Cocteau Twins acoustic guitar strummed with chorus, flanger, phaser and acoustic simulator sounds blended in. 

Chapterhouse released their sophomore LP in 1993 entitled Blood Music. As stated in interviews, the band was in a disjointed period whereby one member wanted the band to go more into an electronic direction, one wanted to go more classic rock, another one wanted to go more boy band commercial - like and another wanted to continue with the Whirlpool sound. Sometimes these eclectic blends of vision create a master stroke of genius but in Blood Music’s case, it arguably resulted in a very disjointed run of songs. Just as Confusion Trip, one of the singles from the album implies, This album is a pile of confusion. Although it has won fans over time, most notably, the German electronic musician Ulrich Schnauss who performed a cover of Love Forever and continues to praise Chapterhouse’s use of electronics on this record in the Beautiful Noise documentary from 2014 for example. 

The band broke up in 1994 and did not reconvene until 2008, where they went on to play a few shows around the world in 2009 and 2010 before calling it a day again. In 2023, The Chapterhouse Chrononlogy box set was released which compiled everything they ever recorded plus unreleased demos from around 1994 that were considered to be for a third album. 

(Mortley 2019) First printed Chapterhouse T - Shirt. Set list for 2010 reunion show at The Scala

KEY TRACKS

Treasure

Whilst bearing the name of The Cocteau Twins third album, Treasure is found on track four of the seminal album, Whirlpool and confirms that the band could create a magical enveloping sound just as well as their Shoegazing contemporaries. The Glide Guitar technique is ubiquitous during the verses. Andrew Sherriff’s voice skims the surface and when the chorus hits with “I’m in heaven, oooh, ohh, I’m in hell”, the vocals layer up with a considerable amount of reverb amassed into an ethereal haze. These two sections loop around before it all breaks down to a noise restbite. A dancey style, somewhat dry guitar riff enters the fray to build the tension back up and then suddenly the noise piledrives back in, albeit this time with utmost velocity. The song ends in such a smart way by slowly fading out the different layers one by one until only the heavily reverberated and  breathy vocals remain. Most amazingly, this was before Loveless by My Bloody Valentine had been released. 

April

Its jet engine wind tunnel blows you away, figuratively speaking. This is as extreme as Chapterhouse go in terms of beautiful noise. The guitars create a big howl of air like MBV’s You Made Me Realise section. Then a stomping bass line with monolithic drums come in. The mood change in this is exceptionally well done as the sinister start gives way to a melancholic, trippy ‘chorus’ section where Sherriff is introvertedly announcing that he felt disappointed when his lust for love got denied at the final moments. “Waxing hope in cruelest April…..I thought that we were there” April being a metonym for spring time when the leaves grow back on trees, and the protagonist has been deceived by something hiding in that tree, but also his romantic interest has not given consent and has wrapped herself back up again. Regardless of your lyrical interpretation, the song overwhelms sonically and is one of Chapterhouse’s more emotional moments.

Pearl

With its When The Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin drum sample sped up, and its Schooly D - P.S.K drum sample in the middle eight, Pearl is a melting pot of different styles that coalesce into one of Shoegazing’s catchiest pop moments. The use of big head-bobbing drum samples mixed with shakers and other forms of alternative percussion ensured that this track snuggled Chapterhouse coseley up with Manchester’s Baggy indie dance scene. It also emits a homage to classic rock through its Led Zeppelin sample and a nod to hip-hop in the form of the Schooly D sample. The Shoegaze element appears via the gentle reverberated vocals and through the sustained pad - like layers that glide underneath throughout. Possibly the closest first wave Shoegaze gets to an ultimate smash hit pop song. Wonderful!

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Alesis Quadraverb

Boss Super Overdrive

Proco RAT

Boss Auto Filter

Representing the north east of Enlgand is Pale Saints who formed in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1987. The band mainly consisted of Ian Masters (vocals / bass), Graeme Naysmith (guitar), Chris Cooper (Drums) with Merial Barham (vocals/ guitar) and Colleen Browne (vocals / bass)  being later additions. This quirky band brought a prog sensibility with their unorthodox time signatures and the use of tracks blending into each other on their debut studio album. All this and the quirk of choir-boy vocals from Ian Masters, the bi - polar mood of Graeme Naysmith’s guitar that switches between happy jangle to dark and erratic mid - song, a drummer that has a tendency to use the toms a lot and produce marching band snare rolls on the snare and Masters’ bass playing that sees him play arpeggios with a capo whilst singing, make this band an oddball, but crucially something different to the shoegazing table. 

Pale Saints were signed to 4AD on the same night as Lush were after playing a show together in London that 4AD label boss, Ivo Watts - Russell attended. They started with a straight forward jangle pop sound that resembled early Primal Scream, The Pastels and The Wedding Present who were all featured on an NME cassette tape called ‘C86’ which created a sub - genre itself. This sound was still very prevalent in their music throughout their career, but with a few ethereal and distorted touches in places. 

In 1989, they released the Barging Into The Presence of God EP which featured a noisy feedback track in the shape of She Rides The Waves with Masters’ signature high pitched choir vocals literally riding the wave of a feedback loop. Ashley Horner joined them as a touring guitarist at this time and throughout the next album’s touring. 

The Comforts of Madness was released in February 1990 on 4AD. Produced by the acclaimed Gil Norton and John Fryer, this debut album showcased the abstract nature of songs blending into one another which has always been a rare concept in punk and indie, and more associated with 70’s progressive rock. Most of the tracks fly by, with most of them not even filling three minutes in duration. Chris Cooper’s drumming is in parallel with Loz Colbert from Ride as it is inventive, unpredictable and energetic. The jangle pop is there with trebly guitars producing a brash and penetrating sound. When the distortion or any sort of dirt hits, it juxtaposes with Ian Master’s choir boy vocals; A choir boy in rock music is certainly a rarity to hear! 

Pale Saints then released an EP, Half - Life in 1990 which contained some of Graeme Naysmith’s most sonic innovative moments using his Roland GP - 16 digital effects processor. Some extreme rate and depth of effects patches are used on tracks such as Babymaker, Two Sick Sisters and A Revelation. 

The next EP, Flesh Balloon, released in 1991 commenced Pale Saints’ relationship with producer Hugh Jones and also featured the debut of Merial Barham who was vocalist for fellow 4AD band, Lush initially. The EP’s lead single was Kinky Love, a Nancy Sinatra cover with Barham providing vocal duties for the first time. However, the real Shoegaze classic on this is Hair Shoes; come on, it even has the word ‘Shoe’ in its name! This song is in demo form at this stage with the eventual fully realised version appearing on the second album coming up, with this demo version being approximately a whole minute less than the In Ribbons definitive version. More on this later! Another track is Hunted which will also appear on their following album but this time, it is a definitive studio version that is the same as what appears on In Ribbons. The second track, Porpoise is a unique one which incorporates xylophone played by Masters and the track alternates between that and Graeme Naysmith’s roto - vibe and delayed guitar; A kind of question and answer between xylophone and heavily effect - laden electric guitar. 

This EP helped establish the band’s move away from sophisticated jangle indie-pop songs and into a more luscious soundscape with a wider space for instruments to just drift and sustain.

This led to the second album entitled In Ribbons. Released in March 1992, this was produced by Hugh Jones who had been working on Kitchens of Distinction albums Strange Free World and The Death of Cool beforehand. In contrast to The Comforts of Madness, most songs on this release are more drawn out with longer durations, there is more space for depth of the mix and clarity, and the song craft has reverted back to a more traditional 4/4 time signature in most cases. The addition of Merial Barham ensured that there was someone else rather than Masters bringing songs to the band and added a male / female dynamic that placed them neatly alongside Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Medicine and The Swirlies to name a few with that very Shoegaze higher and lower register, beauty and the beast style harmony. 

In Ribbons arguably has more memorable songs on it than The Comforts of Madness as it boasts Throwing Back The Apple, Ordeal, A Thousand Stars Burst Open, Featherframe, Hunted, Hair Shoes and Thread of Light. One criticism that can be made is the fact that three of the tracks; Babymaker, Hunted and Hair Shoes had already appeared in some form on the EP’s just gone before. Also, the track, There Is No Day is just forty seconds in duration and simply consists of Masters singing “come back, to me” repeated twice and then “There Is No Day, Until you come back to me”. This harmonising with a xylophone playing the same notes and a pedal point sustain of a synthesizer with ambient sounds of rain. It is a humourously short interlude. The album finishes of strong with Liquid, Neverending Night, Featherframe and A Thousand Stars Burst Open. 

1993 saw Ian Masters depart the band, citing the lack of enthusiasm for touring as the main culprit and so Colleen Browne joined on bass and backing vocals, leaving Merial Barham to essentially front the band as they looked forward to a third album. 

They released the single and EP, Fine Friend in 1994 with Hugh Jones still on board as producer. The single Fine Friend really shows their Mazzy Star influence on the sleeves which makes sense as they had already covered Blue Flower in their discography. 

Their third and final album, Slow Buildings was released in August 1994 which culminated in a less dreamy sound. The slow burner classic rock epic of Henry displays the axe talents of Graeme Naysmith, proving he was much more than a noise merchant. Those long winded guitar passages are all over this album which seems like its deliberately trying to fill a void left by Masters. To emphasise this point, there are lots of songs with a Naysmith-only intro and outro that perhaps shows that the and is lacking a chemistry that was once there. The fact that five songs clock in at over five minutes in duration (Henry being a whopping 10:48, Gesture of Fear being 7:05 and Suggestion being 7:47) is a far cry from The Comforts of Madness whereby seven songs were under four minutes long with five of them clocking in at no longer than three minutes! 

Whether you think duration makes any difference or not is entirely subjective, but the fact that things had changed was very revealing and after one final hurrah in the form of a cover version of a Tom Waits song was recorded, Merial Barham left the band in 1995, and Pale Saints wrapped it up in 1996. There may be no rest for the wicked, but in that short amount of time, those saints were pretty restless too.  

Graeme Naymsith sadly passed away on April 4th 2024. R.I.P

 KEY TRACKS

Sight Of You (Barging Into The Presence of God EP, 1989, The Comforts of Madness 1990) 

This jingle jangle gem consists for the most part of just two chords being arpeggiated, A - D, with G making an appearance in the bridge. Probably the most euphoric sounding  major chords when put together in a progression and this perfectly reflects the lyrics and mood which convey the joy felt at seeing the love of your life. The pedal tone on the organ that commences this song is beautiful especially when the guitar feedback layers on top of it. Most fascinating is the bass playing which throbs all over the neck to compensate for the simple guitar chord progression by filling in the gaps with embellishments; Ian Masters exhibiting what a technically gifted and inventive player he was; all this whilst singing with his distinctive and unique choir boy delivery must take some doing! 

Hair Shoes (In Ribbons, 1992)

A shorter version appears on the Flesh Balloon EP, but it is the In Ribbons version that this book has chosen because of its fully realised vision. A haunting landscape with trickling rapidly delayed guitar sets the scene, reminding the listener of creepy crawlies running up and down one’s body. A symphonic low drone of another guitar juxtaposes with the sharp tingly sensation. Ian Masters vocals plunder slowly with long gaps in between the phrasing. After Masters slowly completes the line “ never knew that I could be so ill” a howling siren sound is added as another layer and this pans around dramatically creating a disorientating and sea sick feeling. This is the closest that Pale Saints get to copying My Bloody Valentine with strong similarities to their song Glider. The final layer enters in the form of a more abrupt, almost field recording type sound that gives the impression of a metal fence being hit. Maybe it’s supposed to be a schizo - narrative that tells the story of zombies trying to bust out of their enclosed fences!? A truly eerie and peculiar track. 

Sea of Sound (The Comforts of Madness, 1990)

This track is a collage of wondrous and ethereal sounds. A Jackson Pollock painting in audio fashion as its randomness of what and when these sounds are going to be keeps the listener guessing and ultimately intrigued for the entire six minutes. These splashes of audio candy revolve around a more structured melody. At 3:30, there comes a break and Naysmith’s GP - 16 rackmount is able to take centre stage and produces a kind of doppler effected racing car passing by type of sound. This is as drifty and floaty as it gets on this album and acts as a great precursor to the more ethereally ambitious tracks that feature on the following album . 

ESSENTIAL GEAR 

Graeme Naysmith

Rickenbacker 360

Fender Jazzmaster

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Roland GP-16 Digital guitar effects processor

Roland EV-5 Expression pedal 

Marshall 50 watt head

Marshall 4x12 cabinet

2x Fender Twin Reverb

Widely considered as being Britpop heroes with their songs about everyday British working class life in the form of their mega hit Bittersweet Symphony, Lucky Man, Sonnet and The Drugs Don’t Work, The Verve or simply just Verve as they were originally going by (before an American jazz label of the same name threatened to sue), were so much more than a mere post - Oasis also-rans. Formed in Wigan in 1990, the band was made up of Pete Salisbury on drums, Simon Jones on bass, Nick McCabe on guitar and Richard Ashcroft on vocals. The period between 1992 and 1994 saw The Verve carry a Shoegaze sound through Ashcroft’s whispery vocal dynamics and particularly Nick McCabe’s cascading delays and oceans of reverb with a sense of funky groove propelled by Simon Jones’ bass lines. In Nick McCabe, this band had an exceptional talent and even during more commercial efforts like Urban Hymns, the psychedelic and ambient Shoegaze guitar remains, especially in live performances whereby he liked to phrase his playing differently every time. Self - professing that he’s actually more of a synthesiser fan than a lover of the guitar, McCabe shows no signs that this compromises him but rather, if anything it enhances his ability. The generation of effects is something that definitely crossovers between those two instruments and his playing style. Despite, Richard Ashcroft growing into a confident lad rock style frontman with an undeniable swagger reminiscent of the Gallagher brothers in Oasis, Nick McCabe and The Verve retained flourishes of psychedelia and the classic Shoegazing sound throughout their whole career, always ensuring that their was a dreamy-ness to their northern swagger. 

 

They signed to Hut Recordings which was a subsidiary of Virgin Records in 1991 and released their first singles All In The Mind, She’s A Superstar and Gravity Grave in 1992 with their first EP coming out in December 1992. Their debut album, A Storm In Heaven was recorded during that winter between ‘92 and ‘93 at The Sawmills in Cornwall (the only recording studio in the UK where you need a boat to access it). John Leckie produced it with John Cornfield engineering. 

INTERVIEW WITH ‘A STORM IN HEAVEN’ ENGINEER, JOHN CORNFIELD, CONDUCTED BY MYSELF VIA MY ‘SHOEGAZER93’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88MXL65C9Ss 

(Me with John Cornfield (left) who also engineered Kitchens of Distinction - The Death of Cool at The Sawmills Studio in Cornwall)

John Cornfield: “Richard Ashcroft just made all the lyrics up off the top of his head. Every single take and it was always different, so trying to compile a lead vocal was basically impossible because none of it really made sense, but it made sense in his head. The arrangements were never nailed down because the length of sections would change every time they did a take. I don’t think anybody actually knew where it was going. Yeah it was a challenging album because there were a couple of songs that John [Leckie] decided to put to a click because he felt it needed to be but there was like this tom groove going on. So we mapped it, we did a click map, even back then we were doing click maps and sort of ramping tempos in between sections, but everytime they played it, they played those sections in different ways so all of a sudden the tempo is creeping up in the middle of a verse or half way during a chorus and John {Leckie] would go “that’s not the same” and they’d go “yes it is”.....”no it’s not, just verse is now 8 bars, it was 12 before”... “yeah but that depends on what Richard sings doesn’t it” and I remember him getting the bass player to do take after take after take and his fingers were literally bleeding. 

They were a lovely bunch though. There was one, where we used an outtake of one song backwards to create another song so we turned the tape upside down and played the drums backwards. That was an interesting thing to do. 

So all sorts of techniques like that going on. A bit of [Sawmills] creek reverb which was always good fun; sticking mics outside the studio and putting a pair of speakers out there and recording it back again with all the ambience. 

Nick [McCabe] he was quiet. He would set up where the drum kit is now, a couple of amps and piles and piles and piles and piles of guitar pedals getting cross-legged in an absolute tangle of cables, coming up with all these amazing sounds and atmospheres. He was a quiet chap but I remember one time we were talking about holographic projections, because it was starting to become a thing even then and I remember Nick suddenly looking really excited and saying “wow, you mean I can stay at home and do the gigs, wouldn’t have to leave my house, when’s that gonna happen then”. But yeah we mixed that album there as well [at The Sawmills]. We kept on extending the session because they were like “we’re not quite ready, we’re not quite ready”. I just don’t think  they had written the whole album, a lot of written during the sessions, which can be quite interesting” 

John Cornfield speaking in 2024

 

 

  

Moose are attributed with the honour of being the first band to be labelled as a ‘Shoegazing’ band, allegedly. Without this band, the genre name may not even exist, which means that this book would not either! 

Subject to debate, It was Sounds magazine journalist Andy Hurt who witnessed Russell Yates staring down at the stage floor as he was looking at his handwritten lyric sheet and his line of pedals as he performed. When celebrating 30 years of the word ‘Shoegazing’, Sonic Cathedral’s label boss, Nathaniel Cramp could not find the article and refers to an NME article that says “Shoe-gazers” on May 25th 1991 as the genesis of the term, so Moose’s claim is somewhat under threat. Regardless, Moose’s early EP’s convey a four piece band launching their sound into high decibel, vigorous and ethereal realms with a melancholic air in Yate’s vocals that matches any of fellow all - male Shoegazers such as Ride, The Boo Radleys and Chapterhouse’s beginnings. 

Formed in London in 1990, the group consisted of Russell Yates (Lead vocals, guitar), K.J “Moose” McKillop (Lead guitar), Jeremy Tishler (Bass) and Damien Warburton (Drummer). They recorded four albums in a period of ten years, eventually calling it a day in 2000. These albums saw the band delve into other forms of music, not in just in terms of sub - genre but in terms of moving away from rock music entirely; Moose shifted into a style that can be categorised as being  most predominantly Country, whilst still featuring a couple of songs that harked back to their ambient psychedelic past such as ‘Dress You The Same’ or ‘There’s A Place’. 

Nonetheless, it is their early EP’s ‘Jack’, ‘Cool Breeze’ and ‘Reprise’ which place them comfortably in this book. Seven songs were compiled onto a compilation released by their label at the time, Hut Recordings, a subsidiary of Virgin Records in 1991 called ‘Sonny & Sam’. 

With their raw and raucous production, these early extended plays revealed a driving, energetic rock band in the vein of Ride, early MBV and Sonic Youth with bursts of noisy effects, harsh frequencies and rapidly strummed and picked octave chords sliding up and down the guitar neck. 

K.J “Moose” Mckillop became the boyfriend of Miki Berenyi from Lush and still remains in partnership with her, even playing guitar in later projects ‘Piroshka’ and currently with the Miki Berenyi Trio (mb3). 

(Me with K.J “Moose” McKillop at a Piroshka show at Rough Trade Bristol in April, 2019)  

KEY TRACKS  

Jack (Jack EP 1991) 

Their debut single, Jack is a high tempo and high octane thrill ride of a track showcases the signature early Moose sound of dry, swiftly strummed guitar in tandem with ethereal reverb and feedback. McKillop plays like Thurston Moore or Lee Ranaldo with his furiously strummed octaves in the ‘chorus’ section. But it is the outro/ refrain that features the most scintillating part of this song, with the guitars transforming into a fluttering bird that's gliding along the ocean waves with shimmering rays from the sun beaming down on it. 

Do You Remember? (Reprise, 1991)

Just a two chord song for the most part and only features three words throughout, this track is incredibly similar to Ride’s Today, in the way it builds and builds, adding texture to a simple loop and intensifying as the song progresses to a climax. Albeit, Moose add a ‘comedown’ outro that follows the climax, making the listener drift ever so casually to serenity. This song perfectly captures the impressionistic nature of most Shoegaze; by looping that rhetorical question comprising of three words ‘Do You Remember?, it leaves the interpretation of subject wide open and liberates anyone’s mind to think for themselves and dream the dreams of theirs in such a vivid way.   

Suzanne (Cool Breeze EP, 1991)

The brash guitar strums and then the break-neck speed of the open hi - hat on the drum kit grips you and does not let up on this adrenaline rush of a song! A rare chorus section and probably one of the best sing-alongs in the genre occurs. The crescendo of the track is the high point with McKillop and Yates both chiselling away at their guitars like master lumberjacks sawing away at wood, culminating in a screeching finale. Breathtaking!  

Essential Gear

Musicman amps

”Moose” with his pedalboard whilst playing with Piroshka

K.J “Moose McKillop 

Strymon Orbit

Strymon El Capitan

Strymon Timeline

Strymon Mobius

MXR ‘78 Distortion

Ibanez TS9

Boss Chorus Ensemble CE - 5

Electro-Harmonix Pulsar

(Credit: Sam Mortley, 2019) Adorable perform their final ever show at The Scala, London on November 3rd, 2019)

Perhaps the bridge between Shoegaze and Britpop. Formed in Coventry in the midlands of England in 1990, the four piece consisting of Pete Fijalkowski (vocals, rhythm guitar), Robert Dillam (Lead Guitar), Stephen Williams (Bass) and Kevin Gritton (drums) founded a sound that had one foot in the melan-phoric mix of abrasive but beautiful Shoegaze and one foot in the cheeky chappy, outspoken Britpop scene that was about to take over the airwaves and British culture in general. Adorable almost became Creation Records’ new jewel in the crown but it wasn’t quite to be. Their debut album ‘Against Perfection’ consists of some of Shoegazing’s most evocative songwriting moments. 

Some describe them as being a mix of Echo & The Bunnymen and Ride mainly because of the vocals and the guitar tones. Pete Fijalkowski’s vocals are distinctive and the lyrics are clearly heard and there is no attempt at soft and quiet delivery which separates them from some of their muffled and fey contemporaries. Robert Dillam’s guitar work features intricate arpeggiated picking with layers added as overdubs in production to help create a cacophony of sharp, angular notes often in the high-mid range. He also likes a grungy approach of stomping on a big distortion pedal to define a chorus section of a song or to define and sonically and emotionally intensify an outro. 

Signed to McGee’s Creation Records, Adorable only lasted for four years and released two albums; 1993’s Against Perfection and 1994’s Fake, and they released seven singles. After splitting up in 1994, band members started up other projects or got involved in something entirely different to music before announcing a very brief reunion that would feature a very limited number of gigs in 2019. They played 4 dates across a couple of venues in London with their final gig being at The Scala, London on November 3rd 2019. 

(Sam Mortley, 2019) Official poster for Adorable’s final ever show on the walls of The Scala, London.

KEY TRACKS

Sunshine Smile (Sunshine Smile EP, 1992) 

With its The Stone Roses style riff, this single explodes into bursts of distortion and a heavily reverberated earworm of a melodic lead arpeggio. An amazingly catchy chorus vocal melody featuring a nod to the Sixties band whereby their record label got their name from, The Creation with the line “How does It feel to feel?” This track signifies the bridge between Shoegaze and Britpop in many ways. Upbeat and hopeful lyrics and delivery whilst guitarist Robert Dillam provides guitar that balances melody and precision with a ball of noise. A pivotal track   

Breathless (Homeboy EP 1992 and Against Perfection, 1993)

This song serves as the final song of Against Perfection and much like the rose on the front cover, this is their most romantic song. The 6/8 drum swing adds a swaying motion to this ballad and Dillam’s guitars just build and build with new ideas and new layers entering the mix. Pete Fij’s lyrics are touching; “my second - rate poetry, just is not enough, to describe you” and “I’m breathless, I’m speechless, but still, there is so much to say, in words with one syllable…..I love you”. Utterly soul - bearing romantic warmth.

A To Fade In (Against Perfection, 1993)

Robert Dillam’s arpeggiated riff that carries this song through is truly infectious. It sets the mood of the song straightaway so we know we are in for an emotional one. One could interpret it to be about a son’s relationship with an estranged father. The son’s desire to be remembered in his dad’s memories but for a reason not provided, the father wants nothing to do with him. 

A heart wrenching story gets the suitable sonic treatment that all Shoegazers are great at achieving, when Dillam’s distortion gets more intense in the outro as each couple of bars of music passes, and yet again layering up over that riff that introduces the song. Everything is harmonic perfection here in the most impressionistic and visceral way. This album may be Against Perfection but they do a damn fine job of being for it too. 

Essential Gear  

Robert Dillam

Aria Pro 2 TA-60

Fender Jazzmaster

Rickenbacker 330 Turquoise

Line 6 delay

Electro Harmonix Memory Man

Revolving around Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock, Seefeel produce an electronic approach that fits into the IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) category, with ambient sequential loops that are morphed with guitar ambience; the latter placing them nicely into the Shoegazing bracket with some calling their seminal album ‘Quique’ from 1993, ‘The electronic Loveless’ or ‘The Blue Loveless’ due to its album artwork. Much less abrasive than Curve, Seefeel offer a more lulling electronic experience.

Formed in London in 1992,They signed to Too Pure Records. They were heavily associated with the IDM and ambient Techno / electronica movement also helped by big names of that style working with them; Aphex Twin remixing one of their tracks ‘Time To Find Me’ in 1993 and Autechre remixing ‘Spangled’ in 2003. They signed to Sheffield’s Warp Records in 1994 which furthered the connection to electronica, becoming label mates with Aphex Twin and Autechre among others and became the first band that Warp signed who had guitars. As of 2024, the band have had five albums and ten EP releases, with their latest Everything Squared being released in 2024.

Sarah Peacock’s high pitched, capella voiced cooings are reminiscent of Bilinda Butcher of My Bloody Valentine whilst Mark Clifford’s vision for the guitar was to make the instrument sound nothing like a guitar and he achieved that to great effect as it blends so well with the electronic ambience, that it is incredibly hard to decipher what instrument is what. A lot of splicing and then looping was conducted, as well as E-bow playing with volume swells like an envelope generator on a synthesiser; Plainsong being a prime example of this. 

Seefeel are a welcome left field addition to the Shoegazing story and Mark Clifford’s place as being one of the sonic innovators is firmly cemented. 

KEY TRACKS

More Like Space ( More Like Space, 1993) 

A beautiful sustained howl of ambience opens this track up with flourishes of sweeping ambience panning left and right like a sand storm. The bass line that kicks in is infectious, providing the piece with a sense of movement and melody. The song is in 4/4 but the drum pattern is in an unorthodox metering and therefore, the accenting of the slappy snare sound comes in at irregular intervals. This first track from their first EP serves as a great introduction to what follows.

Moodswing ( Plainsong EP, 1993)

This track features what sounds like E - Bow guitars. Volume swelling with the attack cut and release cut. A perfect demonstration of the splicing up and gating of guitar sounds or rather, their post - transient decay sounds that Mark Clifford was so frequently doing in Seefeel. 

Plainsong ( Plainsong EP, Quique, 1993) 

Perhaps Seefeel’s ‘To Here Knows When’ moment; the moment when everything clicks and comes together in an accessibility meets sonic art package. Everything that Mark and Sarah are about can be condensed into this seven minute and 44 second track. Arguably, Sarah Peacock’s most ear - hooking vocal melody of indecipherable lyrics glides like an angel. The drum machines, the sequencers, the synths, guitar loops and guitar texture all coalesce into a burst of impeccably organised energy. If there’s one Seefeel track that will get people up on the dancefloor, it’s this one! 

 

  

(Bleach making a one - off comeback gig in 2015 in their East Anglia hometown of Ipswich. Credit: Matt Catling) 

Hailing from very far East of England in Ipswich, Bleach brought a punk edge to the scene with Pixies - style octave playing, incorporating arpeggiating open strings that harmonise with the fretted ones, resulting in a very angular guitar sound. Whilst’s many of their songs feature front woman Salli Carson singing with attitude in a rebellious punk way (she even does a bit of rapping every now and then), there are songs such as ‘Surround’ , ‘Seeing’ and ‘Trip ‘n’ Slide’ that display a lighter, more breathy vocal delivery that angelically glides harmonically with the guitars, which places them comfortably into Shoegaze territory. 

KEY TRACKS 

Seeing (Snag EP, 1991)

A masterclass in arpeggiated picking and open string harmonic octaves. This song has an infectious repetition of notes that descend down a scale in a piano-like staccato fashion that evokes a mood of jeopardy and struggle. An innocent angel on a mission whilst suffering to break away from some demon.  It evokes the emotional devastation of Joy Division and the guitars are straining and squalling and are fighting for resolution brings the dissonant cacophony of Sonic Youth to mind.This song has a unique fade out that occurs three quarters of the way through it, before it slowly fades in again (A nod to Helter Skelter by The Beatles perhaps?). Salli Carson’s vocals are incredibly reminiscent of Lush vocals with its smooth choir-girl delivery juxtaposing with angular guitars and brash acoustic drums.   

Trip ‘n’ Slide (Killing Time, 1992)

Comprising the same repetitive angular trance of Seeing, this song puts a euphoric twist on the style by using ascendency rather than descending sombre notes. Texturally rich as Shoegaze often is, this number is no exception as it stacks up in layers with a balance of fizzy distortion and lead playing textures. Also, typical to Shoegaze, it has the melodic pattern of the vocals being more prominent than the words themselves, guiding the composition to another dimension and being completely at one with the electric guitar and its effects. It doesn’t take long for the verses to beautifully take off into the stratosphere as Carson’s vocals soar in the choruses like a beautiful dove opening its elongated elegant wings.  

Decadence (Eclipse EP, 1990)  

I could have gone for Surround but that would be too similar to the other selected tracks here, so Decadence gets the nod. This is a song more attuned to Bleach’s punkier side. An aggressive wah pedal kicks the song off before furious drumming hammers you in the face. This track features a more dynamic twin lead playing between the guitarists of the band with them playing different parts instead of harmonising completely. Carson’s vocal pattern for the chorus is very danceable and combines with the ‘baggy’ drum pattern that takes hold during these parts. Half way through, the distortion intensifies with savage wah pedal blasts and the song returns to its fast pace once again at its crescendo. Powerful!  

 

Heading over the pond to the USA now, and our first American entry is granted to Drop Nineteens from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1990 by frontman Greg Ackell and drummer, Chris Roof, they were soon joined by Paula Kelley (vocals, guitar, keys) Motohiro Yasue (guitar) and Steve Zimmerman (bass guitar). Drop Nineteens found their most fame in Britain whereby they would share the same spotlight as MBV, Slowdive, Ride and Lush in the music magazines such as Sounds and NME, play live shows with Chapterhouse and Revolver and even labels like 4AD showed interested in signing the group; proven by Vaughan Oliver’s declared affection of the Delaware (the band’s debut album artwork. Although, the band’s initial material on their first efforts fit snugly in with the Shoegazing tag, the band swiftly moved on with their debut album Delaware from 1992 already pulling away from that sound and rather, going in a more American grunge / post - hardcore rock direction which was completely cemented on 1993’s A National Coma. After twenty years of solo projects, the band reformed in the 2020’s and released Hard Light in November 2023. On the 7th February 2025, they released a recovered and remastered version of the 1991 lost album known as Mayfield on Youtube and they conveniently re-titled it, 1991. 

KEY TRACKS

Song for JJ (1991, 2025)

Drop Nineteens were so engrossed in the Shoegaze sound around the period of their scrapped and abandoned first tapes that any track off 1991 could have made the list. However, Song for JJ gets the approval. This feature’s Ackell’s voice panning around in a call and response rhyming scheme established in the verses and it creates a kaleidoscope of sound surrounding the listener. The guitar effects are especially prominent and dramatic in this song with its fluttery tremolo, flood of reverb, textural delay and flanger transforming the song into a helicopter taking off in the climax. 

Kick The Tragedy (Delaware, 1992) 

The perfect example of the luscious textures and timbres that a strummed electric guitar can possess. It is predominantly an instrumental with a spoken word interlude but do not be misled into thinking this is a boring song. One frothy overdriven guitar creates a cosy blanket whilst there is a couple of lead lines unpredictably gliding about, entering and leaving the mix at random times which keeps the interest up.  An acoustic guitar can be heard strumming in unison to add a grounding and clarity to the rhythm. The bass is brooding and bellowing and provides a secure anchor to the chaotic mix. The spoken word performed by Paula Kelley occurs with just the acoustic guitar and a lowly volume mixed drum kit continuing on in the background before the whole arrangement joins back to bookmark the song. Bliss!  

Scapa Flow (Hard light, 2023)

Drop Nineteens’ first album in thirty years got off to a bang with the release of this glorious first single. A throwback to a song like Winona with its hooky sing-a-long verses and pre-choruses and its lightly reverberated strumming. Nothing over the top sonically, this number evokes the perfect laid back and chill vibe that makes one dream about the future or look back in happy nostalgia; Shoegaze is anecdotal music, the choice is yours! 

ESSENTIAL GEAR

Alesis Midiverb 3

Fender Jazzmaster

Fender Mustang

Fender Telecaster

Fender Jaguar

Source Audio Ventris Reverb pedal

INTERVIEW WITH GREG ACKELL, CONDUCTED BY MYSELF VIA MY ‘SHOEGAZER93’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5zWh-O7_N0

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cGKb-F_2bk 

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Greg speaking about how Rob Altman’s use of vocal layering in film inspired the band’s own approach in the studio:

Greg Ackell : “ I’m a big fan of [Rob] Altman films, where he originated this thing where everyone would be talking over each other, and really before that in film you couldn’t do it because it’s just the nature of recording, it just sounds like a mess. And the way he would do it is, he would mic everybody very specifically and then watching the film in edit, he would pull some voices out and bring some back. But the point is, everyone’s talking over one another, overlapping and so I just like the idea in that and there’s a lot of vocal layers on [Hard light]. And not vocal layers as in doubling which we do a lot, but I’m speaking under one [vocal part], and then I’m singing on another and then I’m singing something else on another, and it’s just a lot of stuff happening over it” 

Production techniques

Greg Ackell: “ We used all the different rooms they had to just put different amps in it. So in the main room, there’s probably two cabs just screaming at the top of their lungs and stereo mic’ed. And then in every room there was some other kind of amp and this all snaked in to the control room where I would sit, or Moto would sit and we played guitar. We would do it to taste, we would get the sound to taste. We would say ‘Ok, s little bit more of room 4, a little less of room 2’. We had the ability to just use it, even though it was playing in all those places, but we would have the choice. We only had twenty four tracks so we didn’t have the ability to just record all of those and then decide later”. 

Glide Guitar and its synonymity with the Shoegaze genre

Greg Ackell: “Oh right, they call it glide guitar now, right. We just call it Kevin, you know. This is obviously a convention of Shoegaze that is pervasive, it’s ubiquitous and perhaps overused in my opinion. But if you’re a band like my band or your band, and you’re known for Shoegaze, that’s kind of what you do. Like you have to bring it sometimes! It’s like an ingredient that you ought to use but how you use it is going to be the distinction, instead of being by default”. 

Equipment

Greg Ackell: “We used the Alesis Midiverb 3. And we’d use it on everything. We used it on the drums. We used it on the vocals, we used it on the guitars. That Midiverb 3 was a rack and that was paramount to our sound. 

1991 album

They never got recorded in a formal studio. There were two demos, demo one and demo two. People on Youtube call it the Mayfield demos. And I don’t think they have a name for the second one, but the second one has the songs Daymom, Song For JJ, Back In Our Old Bed and Soapland. And I really like the second one a lot and we were able to find those tapes and the original mixes and do some remastering to those, so that was a real delight because the degree to which those songs have been heard by people out there interested, has always only been on Youtube. And they would have been uploaded through cassettes, which were poor quality, right. And so, the idea of us being able to kind of present it in a way that make us more comfortable is something we’re looking forward to”. 

“The first demo cassette ended up in the British press strangely. We had sent it to record companies; 4AD, Creation, Dedicated, these were the labels at the time. And a girl named Colleen Maloney from Dedicated without us asking she sent them to the press; Melody Maker, NME. And Melody Maker, I think, made the first demo single of the week. They didn’t review demos back then! This caused this whole thing, we already had a lawyer because a few of these labels were throwing around offers. We’re not signed! 

And while we were deciding who to sign to, we were just being dormant which was not our style. We were in a very creative place in our lives and in that kind of flow, being nineteen years old. So we said “we’ll record another demo, we already knew we were gonna get signed, but we were like ‘let’s just keep recording’. And that’s where those second four [songs] came from. What’s interesting about these two demos, we actually go deeper into Shoegaze in the second one, if I had to describe it. Then we start pulling back”. 

Just like Chapterhouse, The Telescopes are possibly most famous for providing an acid house inspired baggy / madchester funk to their arsenal of psychedelic sounds with singles that emerged in 1990 including Flying, Celeste and Everso. Nevertheless, the band have changed up their style a few times, from the Stoogey psychedelic punk energy of 1989’s Taste, to 1992’s self titled subdue sixties psychedelic approach, all the way to complete drone noise in the 21st Century. Formed in Burton upon Trent in the north of England in 1987 and despite numerous line-up changes, Stephen Lawrie has remained the core member of The Telescopes since their inception.   

They have sixteen albums at the time of writing (2025) and have been on numerous record labels. Guitarist David Fitzgerald sadly passed away in 2020 after a battle with cancer; Lawrie described him as a noise guitarist born beyond the realm of natural vision, a true original in a field of his own. Their debut release was a split flexi disc with Loop on the Cheree label in 1988 and their latest release at the time of writing was the album Experimental Health in 2023. 

KEY TRACKS

Precious Little (Precious Little EP, 1989)

Lawrie’s vocals possess that punk snarl that was so prominent on Taste. Whilst David Fitzgerald’s guitar explodes like an A-bomb half way through every sentence Lawrie sings. When the rigid stop- start style gives way to a fluid section where all instruments are in full flow, the repetition of the ‘aaahhh’s’ create a hypnotic feel. A harsh track full of rebellion that foreshadows their uncompromising style later in their career. 

You Set My Soul (Untitled Second, 1992)

Displaying a different side to The Telescopes, this is a laid back jazzy number that would not seem out of place at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London. Composed of piano, a slippery, sliding double bass throbbing away and drumsticks with brushes on the end of them carefully caressing the snare drum. Joanna Doran provides lush female backing vocals whilst Stephen Lawrie’s nasal voice is at its most soothing. This showcases the versatility and unpredictability of this band’s output.

 

Flying (Flying EP/ Untitled Second 1991 & 1992 respectively)

Along with the singles Everso, Celeste and The Sleepwalk, Flying presents The Telescopes riding the Baggy / Madchester wave with funky bass lines and Funky Drummer style drumming, also known as ‘The Forbidden Beat’. The guitars retain the magic of Shoegazing with erratic panning, automation moves and frantic modulation effects. A truly mesmerising track with plenty of dance-able energy that sits alongside those other Baggy singles around that same period of their career.

THE BEST OF THE REST

From Great Yarmouth in East Anglia, this band is known for its unique location and hard rocking adrenaline-inducing driving sound. Frontman, Rob Dickinson is famously the cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson and being a big petrolhead / car enthusiast, established the Singer  company that specialises in modifying, restoring and reimagining Porsche cars in California. The group consists of Rob Dickinson (vocals/ rhythm guitar), Brian Futter (lead guitar), David Hawes (Bass guitar) and Neil Sims (Drums). They were active between 1990 and 2000 having released four albums, Ferment, Chrome, Happy Days, Adam & Eve and Wishville. It is up for debate whether they ever really fit into the Shoegazing category but the press lazily lumped them in there initially and the wall of mesmerising soundscape combined with the soft, sensual vocals on Black Metallic cannot be overlooked when conversing about the genre.

KEY TRACKS

Saccharine (Black Metallic EP, 1991) 

This is Catherine Wheel at their most shoegaze with incredible drone, flange, abrupt dynamic changes and Rob Dickinson’s soft yet loud and timbrally unique vocal delivery becoming a staple of the band’s sound in their early period. 

Black Metallic (Black Metallic EP, 1991, Ferment, 1992)

The band’s epic anthem. Although the song’s chorus lyrics create controversy for some, Rob Dickinson has insisted that the song is about a car, which makes sense given his future career as founder of a car customisation company. 

Fripp (Chrome, 1993)

Obviously a tribute to the great guitarist of prog rock giants, King Crimson, this is a slow paced soft ballad that features E-bow guitar in the same vein as Robert Fripp himself. It showcases Brian Futter’s more delicate guitar playing with varying dynamics in his bluesy double stop licks that is reminiscent of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd’s emotional subtleties.   

One of the most unique and bizarre groups of the whole scene. Formed in Birmingham in 1990, Sweet Jesus signed to Rough Trade released a few singles with B-sides but never got to the stage of releasing an album. Following the collapse of Rough Trade in 1991, they released one more single on Chapter 22 before disbanding prematurely in 1992. Famously, they were also the band that Oasis supported at The Manchester Boardwalk for Oasis’ first live performance. Sweet Jesus produced a strange mashup of 70’s glam rock in the vocal style of high pitched tremble of Marc Bolan of T- Rex combined with fuzzed up Shoegazing noise. Roy Priest repeated gigantic unison bends with a fuzzy reverberated halo wrapped around it throughout many of their songs, resulting in a huge texturally layered loop of chaos that was actually very dance-able. Ben Bentley’s vocals stand alongside Pale Saints’ Ian Masters and Cranes’ Alison Shaw as being some of the most outrageous vocals ever to be associated with the Shoegazing genre and straddle the line of being simultaneously wowing and borderline laughable. 

KEY TRACKS   

Phonefreak Honey (Single, 1992)

Roy Priest’s soaring unison / octave clashing bends are a staple of this band’s huge sound on record. Ben Bentley delivers one of his signature one syllable melodic hooks, this time in the shape of  ‘la, la, la’ that bring a real sense of fun to this band as you can imagine the audience participation factor of that.   

Real Babe (Single, 1992)

Finally a song where Roy Priest deviates from over-using his unison bend signature. This is a more dynamic track with a quieter verse section and a contrasting louder section where Ben Bentley provides us with the one syllable melodic vocal hook of “do, do, do, do do”.  

Sindy Make Believe ( Real Babe single, 1992) 

The barnstormer howls of an adrenaline rush. This is Sweet Jesus at their most sonically insane. Once again, the guitars are screaming with unison bends that are reaching for the sky whilst another the fizzle of fuzz provides a further blanketing layer. The pounding drums from Paul Collins are relentless and consistent whilst Gavin Priest’s bass provides the much needed anchor for which brother Roy can wreak havoc upon. 

 

Swirlies playing at Levitation Festival 2024. Photo by Cameron Airth

Coming from Boston, Massachusetts, The Swirlies were local rivals to Drop Nineteens. Vocalist / guitarist Damon Tutunjian has been the only mainstay member since the groups formation in 1990 with a revolving door policy in place for the other roles in the band. But the original lineup consisted of Damon Tutunjian (vocals/guitar), Seana Carmody as the female counterpart (vocals/guitar), Andy Bernick (Bass) and Ben Drucker (Drums). After releasing a number of 7” double A-side singles on labels such as Slumberland Records, they signed to Taang! In 1992, with an EP whose contents was the early 7” plus a few new tracks and then the debut LP, Blondertongue Audiobaton arrived in early 1993. Amidst many line-up changes, the Brokedick EP was released in 1994. Seana Carmody left and was replaced by Christina Files and following two years in various studios, the group released their sophomore album in 1996 with an unusually long winded and abstract title: They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days In The Glittering World Of The Salons. Things get a bit messy after 1997 with several line up changes again, but Deborah Warfield has represented the female counterpart to Damon since the year 2000. Despite being an active band for so long, they only have five studio albums and five EP’s to boast about. Some albums/ EP’s were recorded at home and later incorporated synths and electronic drum loops resulting in The Swirlies being a mixture of lo-fi, electronica and Shoegaze of course, drawing comparisons to Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine and being in the middle of both sonically. Another trope of their sound is the use of samples of dialogue to commence songs often with the intent of humour and short musical interludes that transition into the following song. They are very creative with production techniques and mixing decisions and switch well between polished production and lo-fi production. The Swirlies are still active and play a lot of live shows and festivals. Make sure you catch them on the road!

KEY TRACKS

Tall Ships (What To Do About Them EP, 1992) 

This track commences the EP with one of The Swirlies’ signature random samples that have no meaning or context, before the track lands on familiar Shoegaze territory with a raspy, gurgling guitar being vibrato armed to death. Damon’s voice enters carrying the song forward whilst Seana produces vowel sounds as backing that harmonise with the guitar in such a Kim Deal-eaque, Pixies / The Breeders way.

Half way through, the track descends into chaos as Damon starts yelling and the drums and bass get played a bit harder. A perfect introduction to this band. 

Jeremy Parker (Blondertongue Audiobaton, 1993) 

This song is a perfect display of dynamism. A tornado of guitar noise launches you into the eye of the storm. The verses on this track are particularly catchy and sing-along-able. At the end of the singing in the verses, the guitars stop abruptly and a more natural spring type reverb provides a room/ small hall type tail to the transients, which makes a change from the more algorithmic, hyper-reality shimmers and infinite cathedral modes often heard in Shoegaze. The drumming is unpredictable and rhythmically complex which is exciting for both player and listener, but the song’s highlight is arguably the call and response vocals between Damon and Seana in the verses that are romantic and playful. 

Sunn (They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days In The Glittering World of The Salons, 1996)

Arriving in 1996, this album came out at an unfashionable time for Shoegaze, particularly for UK audiences. However, this track deserves to be remembered and cherished for its unique sonics, Christina Files’ vocal performance and the song’s momentum change, different timbres and dynamics. The song’s highlight definitely resides in the erratically pitch shifted guitar effect that sounds like your mum entering your bedroom with a vacuum sucking up rubbish (Insert overused meme here). Truly unique and creative!

Formed in Washington D.C in 1988 by only mainstay member Kurt Heasley, the Lilys have a very similar story to The Swirlies in the sense that they have had an incredible revolving door policy of members apart from the founder. The long list of musicians that have played in The Lilys over their career is quite astounding. Signed to Slumberland Records, The Lilys released their first material with the 7”, February Fourteenth/ Threw A Day  in 1991 via Slumberland Records and then releasing their debut album In The Presence of Nothing which stands today as a Shoegaze classic to many fans of the genre, mostly because of its similarity to My Bloody Valentine. Kurt Heasley’s vocal definitely have a Kevin Shields tone about them and the overall production is similar to MBV’s punkier tracks. Even track titles such as February Fourteenth alludes to Valentines and the single and subsequent EP title Tone Bender is likely a homage to a well known drive pedal that Shields uses. After the Tone Bender EP which was the album’s first two singles re-released as an EP in 1994, they released sophomore LP, Eccsame The Photon Band in the same year. Whilst maintaining a psychedelic / Dream Pop feel, this album was a lot less noisy than In The Presence of Nothing and showed a bit more originality. The next release came in 1996 in the form of Better Can’t Make Your Life Better which took on a 1960’s British Invasion sound, influenced by mod bands such as the Kinks, The Who and The Beatles with hints of The Beach Boys (the latter apparent because of the mid - high pitched American accent). This retro U-turn from their Shoegaze roots would resume with 1999’s The 3 Way. Two more albums would follow which would recapture some psychedelic magic, but it was never the wall of fuzzy blanket guitar sorcery that Kurt started off with. 

KEY TRACKS

Elizabeth Color Wheel (In The Presence of Nothing, 1992) 

This song really hits hard emotionally. A slow tempo and deep pitched flange ascends and depresses like a buzzing bee slowly perishing. Alternate - tuned clean guitar strumming enters and when Kurt Heasley’s dour vocal delivery enters, one can easily compare it to My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes. It is a lulling, reflective piece of melancholia that peaks when the distortion punches in like a cathartic release of emotion, flooding the mix like tears at the height of a bittersweet memory. 

Periscope (In The Presence of Nothing, 1992)

This song goes through various stages of music before we even get to the first verse; An intro that is already taking us on a journey to outer space. This is texturally rich with lots of layers going on. A sustained wall of dirty reverb shrouds the vocals becomes the focal point for the listener This is a strange production with vocals being stereo panned left and right as well as central, so you hear these consonants and plosives flickering from left to right; An intriguing track!

It Does Nothing To Me (In The Presence of Nothing, 1992)

A complete fast rate, deep depth tremolo pedal fest. Great harmonising of vocals between male and female on this one which puts them closer to My Bloody Valentine. Beauty swamped in raucous noise chaos! 

 

These guys are nuts! Harsh! Harsh! Harsh! But in the most beautiful way. Medicine was formed in sunny Los Angeles in 1990 by Brad Laner who has been in countless bands and projects from Savage Republic to Electric Company. Heformed the band by assembling musicians from the Los Angeles Scene, including Jim Goodall (drums), Eddie Ruscha (bass), Jim Putnam (guitar) and Beth Thompson (vocals).  They signed to Rick Rubin’s Def American Records which became American Records and they pitched it to Creation Records for the European market becoming the first American band to be on the label before Bob Mould’s Sugar. Brad Laner devised a signature distinctive guitar sound by overloading the input gain on a Yamaha 4-track tape recorder which he put pedals through; that created a harsh, lo-fi sizzly tone that pierces the ears in a dangerous but dazzling way. He would use this tape recorder on stage as part of live rig; pretty bonkers and innovative! 

The Aruca EP was released in 1992 with a title track that is ridiculously dance-able and incredibly noisy. Somehow Brad is able to control the monstrous amount of feedback and fuzz and even play a riff with pure feedback before launching into a buzz saw of sustained melody. A remarkable introduction to the band with Brad harmonising with Beth Thompson in such an uncanny My Bloody Valentine playful and joyful way. This EP is swiftly followed by debut album Shot Forth Self Living that features a track names 5ive which would be the name of their following EP released in 1993, which was to be their last release on Creation Records. The sophomore album, The Buried Life was released in 1993 and featured great tracks such as, The Pink, Babydoll, Something Goes Wrong, the single, Never Click and Beneath The Sands. They achieved more mainstream success with this album which was made evident when the band played a cameo in the Brandon Dare movie, The Crow in 1994 with the song Time Baby that has Elizabeth Fraser from The Cocteau Twins provide vocals on the outro of the song. 

For their 3rd album Her Highness from 19956, two members, Ruscha and Putnam left and were replaced with Jim Goodall, Beth Thompson and Brad Laner soldiering on. The band broke up due to the lack of a commercially successful single. 

Brad Laner reignited the Medicine in 2003 albeit this time, with just himself and Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, which saw a more electronic direction being taken hold of. A decade later, the band’s core lineup of Goodall, Thompson and Laner reformed for a new album entitled To The Happy Few which welcomed back the noisy guitars albeit with more advanced production techniques. 2014’s Home Everywhere continued this tradition. The band went on without Beth Thompson for their last four albums which have gone into a much more experimental modular synthesis electronic direction. 

KEY TRACKS

Aruca (Aruca EP, 1992, Short Forth Self Living, 1992)

Could be called the American sister track to My Bloody Valentine - Soon and early Curve. If your head is bobbing to this, then is there any life in you? A truly mesmerising drum loop with buzz saw guitars and Beth Thompson’s cute girl delivery perfectly displays a juxtaposition of brutality with beauty. Brad Laner shows complete control and command of his instrument and the gear its running through. Who knew you could dance to a chainsaw?!

The Pink (The Buried Life, 1993) 

A furious two note, semitone apart riff with a bend at the end of the phrase pierces its way through this song in almost comical fashion. The layers and the splicing up off what can only be assumed as being guitar and synth samples is plentiful and overwhelming. There is so much going on in this mix that it is sure to make the listener hear new things with every listen. The band’s ability to be able to go from that two note trill to a verse with a strong vocal pattern is impressive and the bridge section where it goes “same, same, same” is the perfect tension building refrain before the structure resolves back to its main riff. The crescendo is most fun part whereby the tempo of that two note trill speeds up with every bar of music before the guitars seem to explode from excitement at the end. Who said that Shoegazing couldn’t be fun, eh? 

Candy Candy (Her Highness, 1995)

This track from their third album shows a less noisy approach from LA’s finest gazers. Perhaps the substitution of two band members inspired Brad Laner to try something different. Rather than the harsh tape recorder buzz of the first two records, this leans into their sweeter side, with Beth Thompson providing a beautiful vocal performance that is now much more exposed in the mix. The My Bloody Valentine style of vamping playfully on a single word is here for all to hear with “Candy, Candy” reminding listeners of the repetition of “Slow, slow, slow” in the My Bloody Valentine song, Slow or “Run, run away, run, run away” in their Drive It All Over Me song. Nevertheless, Medicine is an intensely powerful prescription drug that will cure any mind if you are brave enough to take its heavy dosage. 

Alison’s Halo playing at Levitation Festival 2024. Photo by Cameron Airth

Alison’s Halo were formed in the remote location of Tempe, Arizona in 1992 by Catherine Cooper (vocals/guitar), Adam Cooper (Guitar), David Rogers (Bass, vocals) and Roger Brogan (Drums). They signed to Project Records who released their first single of the 7” double A- side Dozen/ Calendar. This sent the band touring around the United States whilst supporting some top UK Shoegaze acts. Alison’s Halo’s debut album is an unusual one as it was recorded over a period of four years and was not released until 1998 on Detroit’s Burnt Hair Records. This is because they were recording at home on several versions of a TASCAM Portastudio cassette tape machine and decided to compile the best bits during those years into a whole LP. How independent! 

Eyedazzler was their one and only album and it has gained traction thanks to the internet in the 21st century. They never officially split and they released an EP in 2009 titled Jetpacks for Julian which is unreleased tracks that did not make the final cut for Eyedazzler as well as several live EP’s in the same year. Due to growing popularity online, Alison’s Halo are back touring and played an extensive tour of the States in 2024 and ending it in style by playing Levitation Festival with lots of other Shoegaze giants. They are currently working on new material at the time of writing.

KEY TRACKS

Dozen (Dozen/ Calendar Single, 1992)

This song commences right away with Catherine’s soothing and timbrally distinctive vocals, harmonising with a strummed guitar loaded with chorus and flange. The song is full of tension and suspense with the repetition of a two chord guitar progression that finally gives way to a euphoric few bars of beautiful cacophony. A typical Shoegaze song with its serpentine vocal melody in the verses contrasted by a harmless hurricane as a substitute for a chorus section. Angelic! 

 

Snowbleed (Eyedazzler, 1998) 

This is a slow tempo splurge of beautiful sound that envelopes the listener. Catherine’s vocals hit a lot of high notes and dance around much like Elizabeth Fraser’s delivery, albeit with English spoken words. The saturation on the guitar layers is heavenly as it finds a balance between harsh sounding and being too underwhelming.A perfect song to try to fall asleep too.  

Sunshy (Eyedazzler, 1998)

Finally, a song with a sing along chorus! Probably one of Alison’s Halo’s more pop moments as it follows the rules of a traditional verse / chorus / verse / chorus / outro format. Some great lead guitar playing here by Adam Cooper that embellishes the catchy chord progression and the bass guitar is prominent from David Rogers during the quiet and serene verses. Dream Pop at its finest!  

The Czech Republic! (Or Czechoslovakia as it was known until 1993) Arguably the second home of Shoegaze in the early 1990’s. This central European nation had a rich indie scene with many adopting the dreamy distortion, reverb and delay approach that could rival the pedal brigade in the UK. The Czech movement prospered at a time of the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the fall of communism in central and eastern Europe and perhaps, the emotional mood was reflected in the scene’s sound. One of the leaders of this movement was a band formed in the capital city of Prague in 1990; The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa. The driving forces behind the band are Jan Muchow and Irna Libowitz who resembled the Kevin and Bilinda of My Bloody Valentine configuration of male and female harmony on both guitars and vocals, whilst Jan Gregar (bass) and Petr Wegner (drums) occupied the rhythm section. They released the Pigment EP in 1991 and then their debut album, Susurrate in 1992. The band caught the attention of British DJ John Peel and during a visit to Prague, he invited them to record a session at BBC’s Maida Vale Studio in London. They were then signed to Go! Discs, one of the biggest UK indie record labels of the time in the midst of playing shows that included supporting Slowdive. Go! Discs and associates then licensed the Peel sessions from the BBC and released the three songs as The …Fluidtrance Centauri… EP. 

At the peak of this maximum high, came a sudden low, or was it a blessing in disguise? When the band returned to Prague and went back to their practice space, they discovered an empty room with all of their instruments including guitar pedals gone. There had been a robbery and Go! Discs offered to compensate them with spare instruments that belonged to artists on their roster including a guitar used by The La’s. Despite the replacements, all of Muchow’s old and rare pedals that were stolen were too specific and particular in his mind that he could not just buy them again. All of this forced the band to re-think their music moving forward and they eventually settled on a more esoteric, ambient electronic direction without any compromises and no guitar in sight. The release of Free-D in 1994 unveiled this new sound to the world and it gained plaudits from experimental composer Phillip Glass as he was prompted to contact the label to announce his praise. 

However, Irna Libowitz announced that she was quitting on the album release day and that was the beginning of the end for the first incarnation of the band. Muchow moved to London and the musical differences led to the band dissolving. After Muchow worked in various projects in England, he returned to Prague and worked on soundtracks for movies. In 1998, the band was revived, albeit as a two piece featuring Jan Muchow and a new female vocalist, Katerina Winterov.The duo as of 2025 have released four albums in the space between 1999 to 2006 all in an electronic vein that merged trip hop, drum’n’ bass, glitch and pop. Definitely a band worth Czeching out! 

KEY TRACKS

Square Wave (Pigment EP, 1991)

From their debut EP, Pigment, this track squalls its way through your ears with feedback and reverb. Irna and Jan both harmonise vocally providing that bed of high and low frequencies that evokes lust and romance as well as comfort and security. The drumming has a dancy rhythm with off-beats galore!  

Swoon (Susurrate, 1992) 

This has shades of My Bloody Valentine - To Here Knows When with its ultra-wide panning mix and claustrophobic dirge. A kaleidoscope of colour bursts open as more layers enter the fray. Irna Libowitz sounds angelic on this one.  

Fluidium (...Fluidtrance Centauri…, 1993) 

It is the silences that make this song special. Instead of the usual droning cacophony of Shoegaze, this track offers you a stop/start composition that keeps the listener wondering what is going to happen next. Irna’s vocals are majestic and nestle amongst the guitar effects. 

 

 

 

Another Czech band! This time, The Naked Souls from Prague. Formed in 1989, the band was composed of Milan Sip (vocals, bass), Jiri Novak (guitar) and Ladislav, Baksa (Drums). They only released one EP and one album; Two and One EP in 1993 and Shady Ways Anti-Clockwise LP in 1995 before disbanding soon after. The single, Sleep made it onto MTV’s 120 minutes programme which gained international exposure. 

KEY TRACKS

Sleep (Two and One EP, 1993)

This is a beautiful song that ebbs and flows. Commencing with a transcendental guitar hook that chimes away like water drops from a waterfall, Milan Sip’s unique choirboy vocals enter and the chills begin. Sip’s vocals are reminiscent of Ian Masters of Pale Saints, albeit sung in his own native language of Czech. A brilliant song that has a mixture of tension and release, delicately introverted and cathartic outpour. Stunning! Oh, and it also made it on MTV!

Spouthole (Two and One EP, 1993) 

Orchestral majesty. The Naked Souls just let the ambience glide in this number where the guitars sound more like a symphony of classical strings with glissando slides and smooth legato slithers. Around half way through is where the apex of the beauty occurs as the guitar just gracefully leaps up in pitch, mimicking the album artwork of dolphins jumping from the water. A phrase of music that evokes euphoria and jubilation. Perhaps The Naked Souls’ most well worked composition. 

Shadow On The Wave (Shady Ways Anti-Clockwise, 1995) 

Delay, delay, delay! The time-based effect that often gets overlooked and mistaken for reverb when people talk about the Shoegazing sound. This track has it in abundance and it is overwhelmingly hypnotic because of its looping and morphing of frequencies. Milan Sip’s vocals are on point and offer a more uplifting experience, perhaps dreaming of better days for his home country of the Czech Republic following the Velvet Revolution and the collapse of the artistically repressive communist regime. 

Keeping the Czech theme going, Here from Vyskov in the Czech Republic became the second Czech group that John Peel discovered and invited to play at Maida Vale for a Peel session. They consisted of Katerina Crhonkova (Vocals), Tomas Luska (guitar), Zdenek Marek (guitar), Pavel Koutny (bass) and Martin Pecka (drums). e  They came out with the Here EP in 1993, and released their one and only album in the Shoegazing vein entitled Swirl in 1993, which rivals Susurrate as the king of Czech Shoegaze albums. Then the John Peel session opportunity arose when he contacted their record label and this session took place in 1994 and this session became the Sikusaq EP. Therefore, Here had a very similar story to The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa and the similarities would not stop there, as Here would also go into a loose experimental electronic trajectory following this Peel session and Jan Muchow would be their producer on later releases. We wish you were here! 

KEY TRACKS

For My Star (Here, EP, 1993, Swirl, 1993)

With standard E tuning open chords being played, this song was clearly constructed by starting with a traditional pop song before splurging the cosy blanket of shoegaze guitar over it. Katerina’s vocals soar in the chorus as the song lifts with male backing vocals adding that low frequency layer to enhance the impact of the lyrics. Thas song was also included on the debut album,Swirl. A song of hope in a country that was changing with Czech sovereignty in 1993.

Flower Rain (Swirl, 1993) 

A beautiful arpeggiated sweep begins this journey into bliss. With tambourines, tom drums gradually entering the mix with rhythm guitar simmering away, this track possesses the signature Here trick of building to the climax. 

Hold On (Sikusaq, EP, 1994) 

This listening experience is dark and mysterious with flange sounds and tremolo pedals being used to enhance the haunting atmosphere. All three tracks of this John Peel session is Here at their most well recorded and fully allows Katerina Chronkova’s stunning vocals to be heard in all its glory. It shows what these Czech bands could sound like with better production, and the emotion of that place, its people and history is certainly embedded into their sounds.    

Now we head to a land down under! As we say ‘G’day mite!’ to the Australian band, Swirl. Formed in 1990 in Sydney, the band acted as a trio consisting of Ben Aylward on (vocals/guitar), Nicola Schultz (vocals/ bass), and David Lord (drums, occasional keyboard). ;This line-up would last until 1997. They attracted the attention of a record label called Half A Cow  and signed to them after an open mic night at a hotel. After releasing their first single called Burning Castles which was part of a Half A Cow compilation showcasing new sydney based artists, their debut EP, the self-titled Swirl produced the single, People I Know which was a blast of acoustic pop, whilst the B-side Breathe was a heavier dose of guitar alternative rock with dreamy arpeggiated verses which showed a sign of things to come. They released their first album Aurora in 1992, featuring the fantastic track, Tears and She Goes. This was followed up with a single called Fade Away, which was released in November 1993 as the band’s first US 7 inch single, and this track took the wall of dirty guitar distortion to a new height for the band and proved that they could sound just as big and powerful as their Shoegaze contemporaries in the northern hemisphere. Not surprisingly, Swirl supported Ride and My Bloody Valentine on their respective tours of Australia. This song was compiled in the EP, Touch which accommodated the single, Tide which showcased Nicola Schultz’s stunning cooing backing vocals that glide like a ghost throughout whilst Ben Aylward carries his stark Aussie accented delivery. Whilst Atomic presented the band as hard alternative rockers in the vein of Sonic Youth at their most furious. They then released their magnum opus according to many; The Last Unicorn arrived in 1994 packed with songs such as the magnificent Tailors Eye and the Shoegaze / Dream Pop classic of the title track, The Last Unicorn which got re-released a year later as a single on The Last Unicorn EP as Half A Cow struck a new deal with Mercury Records. This beautiful track displays Nicola Schultz’s vocals in broad daylight and the guitar sound is rich in distorted reverb; Swirl finding and perfecting their own guitar sound. The album has interludes of ambient soundscaping too as well as traditional jangly indie pop / rock in the shape of single, Strangelands. 

Following record label issues that consisted of Mercury Records not willing to fund Half A Cow, the band started to crumble apart and Nicola Schultz departed in 1997. Richard Anderson and Keira Hodgkinson were brought in as replacements with the rest of the band still remaining. Ben Aylward formed a new songwriting coalition with Keira  and the band released one more album named Light Fill My Room in 2001 before breaking up a year later in 2002. These Aussies were a welcome addition to the Shoegaze atlas. 

KEY TRACKS

Fade Away (Touch EP, 1992)

Huge sound! An emotional blizzard of sonic grit and lucious harmony between Ben and Nicola. A juggernaut of a song; nothing else to say, just listen!

Tailor’s Eye (The Last Unicorn, 1994)

By this point, Swirl have found their signature guitar tone, which is one that blends a bloated fuzzy sizzle with reverb most likely placed before it in the signal chain. Ben Aylward emits a very sincere tone that complies with the sombre key of the guitars, before out of the blue, the song hits a key change whereby the mood lifts and Ben is ecstatically pronouncing that “you’re coming back to me” in a surprise resolution to this epic song. 

The Last Unicorn (The Last Unicorn, 1994)     

These indie bands certainly had a hit in their locker. They may keep it close to their chests but when it is time to show their cards, these indie bands often deliver the goods in spectacular fashion. The Last Unicorn emphasises this trend with a wonderful major key arpeggiation of simple open chords, loaded with little flickers of delay, echoing the beauty of the Gold Coast of Australia before eruptions of Swirl’s signature distortion burst in like the Great Barrier Reef transforming into a tsunami. However, it is Nicola Schultz’s vocals that steal the show when she enters with “Have you ever heard this song?” which becomes the tag line for the whole composition. And if you have never heard this song, now is the time to!  

 

Originally known as The Gordons when they were founded in Christchurch in 1980, this New Zealand band changed their name in 1987. They signed to the Kiwi indie record label, Flying Nun in which Bailter Space’s first two records were issued, helping to establish the Dunedin sound which was the New Zealand’s own brand of jangly post-punk before relocating to New York when they signed to Matador Records and the experimentalism and drony dirge of this noisy band certainly fits the no-wave mould of that city. The band consisted of frontman Alistair Parker, Hamish Kilgour (Drums) and John Halvorsen (Bass) before Kilgour left for family reasons after the release of their debut album Tanker in 1988, and they reunited with former The Gordons drummer Brent MacLachlan and this trio was the line-up for the whole of the 90’s. They carried on into the 21st Century with three more releases; Stratosphere (2012), Trinine (2013) and Concret (2020). With a sound so loud, Bailter Space ensures that the way, way down under Kiwis are heard from the northern hemisphere!     

KEY TRACKS

Shine

A romantic love song shrouded in noise. Alistair Parker’s vocals whisper away in the most sensual and sexually seductive way, capturing that intoxicating feeling of making love. The wah pedal smothers the mix providing the imagery of heavy breathing in the moment. 

Shadow (Vortrura, 1994)

This song embodies the relentless rhythm guitar strumming prowess of many- a - Shoegaze song. Alistair Parker’s voice just hinging on the pivots of the chord changes, never dominating, just surfing the wave of guitar crackle and sizzle.   

X (Vortura, 1994)

Essentially a three chord song, X has a beautiful vocal melody that is perfectly shrouded typical intelligible Shoegazing style, simply just there to provide a melody on top of a wall of rhythm and to encourage people to imagine their open stories in Luc Ferrari 

Anecdotal music fashion. It also helps to create a feeling that is bittersweet. The thing that makes this song work is the driving rhythm that suddenly stops to staccato strums that harmonise perfectly with Parker’s 1,2,3 punch of syllables. Then a fourth chord is added for suspense before the song launches back into its infectious three chord sway. 

Formed in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, Sianspheric initially started life as just Sian before a tragedy happened to the original vocalist, forcing the band to re-group and rebrand themselves as Sianspheric. Sean Ramsey assumed the position of frontman, providing both vocals and guitar. The group was sonically reminiscent of The Verve in their early years, with Sean Ramsey delivering a breathy but still audible approach which at times transformed into a bit of a bite when necessary; The same passion and lyrical spiritualism that Richard Ashcroft displayed in Verve’s early A Storm In Heaven days, whilst the guitar work is similar to Nick McCabe’s cascading delays and soft reverb and modulation flourishes. The band produced four albums, with two of them, Somnium, There’s Always Someplace You’d Rather Be being released within the band’s first run before they split in the year 2000. Sonic Unyon released a third album in 2001 titled The Sound of the Colour of the Sun which was an album they finished just before they split. The group returned with 2016’s Writing The Future In Letters of Fire. Sianspheric describe themselves as being the love child of Syd Barrett and Punk rock. 

KEY TRACKS  

The Stars Above (Somnium, 1995)

This is an incredibly moving ballad with wonderful spacey textures in the form of highly phased and flanged guitars that are neatly partial with just the one strum on the one of the count of four. The slow tempo and the gaps filled with this silence make the vocals more intimate and make you feel every lyric.The vocals possess this beautiful delay flicker after each sentence with just the right amount of reverb on Sean Ramsey’s vocal that allows the dry voice to pop through. “I don’t love you anymore” is the line that ends each verse and the dynamics shift to pronounce the instruments and the fluttery ascension and descension of a scale in the lead playing really enhances the emotion of what seems to be loss and deep regret. A tear jerker.

I Like The Ride (Somnium, 1995)

This song starts off with a very Radiohead sounding guitar melody line that could have come straight from OK Computer with its mysterious non-diatonic and non-major and non-minor key mood. This goes on for some time until the snare drum is hit multiple times and the song breaks into a maelstrom of distortion with Sean Ramsey riding on top of the wave like a surfer. Sean’s vocal delivery is powerful and breaks into rasp as hid voice fights with the wave of guitar distortion to stay afloat. It is a great surge of energy that sounds defiant with lyrics of “I’m gonna stand! And then near the end the tempo slows and Sean’s defiant shouts of “stand” with the assonance of the ‘a’ drawn out in length really cuts through the dense mix. A song that makes you feel powerful and invincible after listening!

Everything’s A Wave (The Sound of the Colour of the Sun, 2001) 

This is a post - rock instrumental with a dry delayed guitar riff being the focal point  with shimmer reverb and drones lurking in the background. They would extend it live and get to a sonically more powerful section to contrast with the calm build up. A song full of suspense and mystery.

Named after the song from The Cure - Disintegration album of 1989, Closedown were formed in Los Angeles as a four piece band. Jerry Battle (vocals / guitar), Scott McDonald (guitar), James Moran, Fernanado Beneitez and Caesar Betancourt. 

They were a short lived project with only an EP and two albums to their name. 1992’s Closedown which was a cassette only release with no label, and 1994’s Nearfield album. They share a similar symphonic ambience with Slowdive, with long chilled out shimmers that explode with grainy grit. 2024 saw the release of Dissolve on vinyl which was a collection of mostly tracks from Nearfield being put on vinyl for the first time and remastered with the previously unreleased song, Skywards included. 

KEY TRACKS

Bliss ( Closedown, 1992)

The aggressive ambience is delivered by Jerry Battle running two Alesis Midiverb rack effect units through two amplifiers and Scott McDonald’s Roland GP-16 rack effect unit. Both unite to create a colossal soundscape. Impressively, this cassette tape was released merely one year after Slowdive - Just For A Day, the debut album that incorporated this type of sound, so it is applaudable that Closedown managed to find this sound so quickly. A wah pedal is used to push the sonics further on the end of this track. Bliss!   

Aquila (Nearfield, 1994, Dissolve, 2024)

Jerry Battle’s Alesis Quadraverb creates a stream of pure beauty before bursting open into an ocean for the chorus. 

Skywards (Dissolve, 2024) 

This track conveys a morbid side to the band’s sound. Much like Slowdive, the pool of reverb can be used to generate euphoria or with certain chord progressions, be used to reflect emotional devastation to the saddest degree. This track embodies the latter with the high pitch strained reverb propelled notes making the guitar sound like its screaming in agony. The way Jerry Battle miserably mumbles indecipherably in the last few bars in order to exacerbate this feeling. 

BOWERY ELECTRIC

This two piece of Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener introduced Trip Hop drums and bass with incessant drone. They deliver a cavernous environment that drowns the listener in sound whilst the dance-y hip hop inspired drum samples give it an edgy feel. Instead of installing chorus sections into their songs, the duo let the dynamics do the talking when rises in perceived amplitude serve as the pinnacle moment in the songs.

KEY TRACKS

Next To Nothing (Bowery Electric, 1995)

The best example of the duo’s droning amplifiers. Just three chords with an octave shift for certain bars of music, with decent headphones on, this track feels like you are inside of a jet engine.  

Slow Thrills (Bowery Electric, 1995)

A haunting bassline holds the listener’s attention for the most part with swirls of guitar drone panning around it in intervals. Then a wave of swampy distortion takes over, representing the pinnacle of the song.

Fear of Flying (Beat, 1997)

It is the dubby synth bass and the shimmer reverb on the guitar that makes this track outstanding. Beat overall displays a maturation in their sound from the low frequency drone of the debut album to something that explores the full range of frequencies and sparse atmospheres; Fear of Flying is the prime embodiment of this development and certainly gives you a feeling of actually flying rather than a fear of it!

 

The Veldt offer a unique combination of what they call themselves, Soul - Shoegaze. The band was formed by two brothers; Daniel Chavis and Danny Chavis in North Carolina, USA, stretching all the way back to 1986. Apart from the twin brothers, the lineup has been changing with the current line - up (as of 2025) containing Hayato Nakao (guitar), Alex Cox, Dale miller and Martin Newman. They play with a three pronged guitar attack with the two Cahavis brothers playing guitar as well as Nakao. They worked with Robin Guthrie on their early recordings and on their 1989 album, Illuminated 1989 which did not get an official release until 2023 due to record label issues. Overall, the group has six albums, one under the name of Apollo Heights. The album Afrodisiac is the band’s first official release and is often lauded as the Shoegaze classic out of the discography. The Veldt certainly put the sole into the shoe………. (See what I did there?). 

KEY TRACKS

Until You’re Forever (Afrodisiac, 1994)

Full of soul! This number is a highlight from an album that compacts so many styles together. Like most of the other songs on the album, this commences with a very 90’s sounding drum machine loop that is replaced with a real acoustic kit in the second half of the song when the guitar overdrive kicks in to give the song a more punchy feel. The guitars are arpeggiating and oozing with heavenly chorus and reverb. Great feel good soul gazing!  

The Everlasting Gobstopper (Illuminated 1989, 2023)

Officially released to the world more than three decades following its initial recording, this song proves the raw emotional power of the Chavis brothers and co. “When you dream so long” and “on and on” are recurring lyrical themes that convey this band’s incredible determination and persistence. This track demonstrates why sometimes, good things come to those who wait.  

Aurora Borealis (Illuminated 1989, 2023)

Featuring the inimitable Elizabeth Fraser of The Cocteau Twins on backing vocals, along with Robin Guthrie’s production, this is The Veldt at their most Cocteau-esque with guitars sounding they came straight from the 4AD stable. This is a romantic gesture with Chavis declaring “I’ll do anything you wanted more” in amongst his trademark yelps of joy and empowerment. 

THE 2000’S 

Beneath the surface but still breathing

The 2000’s (2000 - 2009) witnessed the full integration of DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) in music making making it easier than ever to manipulate sounds, distort and construe effects to extremes and to correct mistakes that would have taken an age to rectify in the previous century. With independent record labels such as Creation, Rough Trade, Factory, Hut and 4AD (Label boss walked away to live in the USA) now obsolete, it was up to artists to make a splash via online presence with the advent of the internet. MySpace (2003) and Bandcamp (2008) emerged allowing artists to upload their music in a fully independent way and the MP3 format became the dominant force with the arrival of Apple iTunes which allowed people to download files through the internet, harming the concept of the album as many people were swayed by the 99p individual single or track instead. 

With Britpop and Alternative Rock, the big de facto of the 90’s, now over, guitar bands were looking back at post - punk, 60’s garage rock, classic rock with the latter half of the decade preferring a more clean sound with clarity on the vocals and more angular, less textured guitar work that harked back to 1980’s style production. The looming memory of Britpop meant that Shoegazing was very rarely mentioned as an influence on the new artists of the era. However, with the further development and public editorial features of the internet and the arrival of Youtube in 2005, old footage and stories of the first wave Shoegazing bands emerged which opened up rare history for a new generation to discover. Whilst bands like A Place To Bury Strangers, M83, Highspire, The Meeting Places, Deerhunter, Sway, Skywave, Malory were the underground treasures of the early 2000’s with My Vitriol even coining a term ‘Nu-Gaze’ in order to usher in a new era. It was the late 2000’s era which saw significant releases from Rumskib, LSD & The Search For God, Pia Fraus, Air Formation, Asobi Seksu, 93MillionMilesFromTheSun, Cheatahs, Resplandor and Pinkshinyultrablast. Arguably the most prominent artists of the decade being Airiel and the emergence of Ringo Deathstarr who both have gained a high pedestal from praise given on forums online and the relatively big attendance at their live shows years after. Alcest and Jesu were essential for taking Shoegazing into a metal direction by combining indirectly projected vocals, reverb and delay with the extremity of Black Metal, in turn creating the genre, ‘Blackgaze’. 

It was also the decade of new record labels and actual festivals dedicated to Shoegazing and Dream Pop established; Sonic Cathedral, a London based record label was established by Nathaniel Cramp in 2004 which also set up club nights. Club AC30  and Argentina’s Casa del puente discos were two other notable labels devised in the 2000’s. The festival Kalamashoegazer was set up in 2007 in a small Midwest town in the United States by April Morris and her brother Mark Morris. 

Shoegazing in the 2000’s may have been underground but a lot was mingling together beneath the surface on an international scale, preparing for the next decade’s full revival. 

AIRIEL 

Airiel are an essential band to the Shoegazing and Dream Pop scene as they combined the sounds of The Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Curve, Lush, Ride, Kitchens of Distinction and even Swervediver into one neat package whilst maintaining a distinctive sound of their own and they brought a high quality production standard throughout their career so far with a sense of fearlessness of possibly over-doing it in terms of the amount of effects used or the extremity of these effects; All this, whilst being able to craft melodic songs with most vocals still audible is a feat that Jeremy Wrenn and co can be incredibly proud of. In Your Room remains a staple of the genre with its growing listening figures online and is just one example of the plethora of brilliantly worked songs they can add to a set list of theirs. As their motto says “It’s loud, it’s pretty and you can dance to it”

The early formations of the band Airiel began in 1997 with Jeremy Wrenn forming Airiel Project One in Bloomington, Indiana Airiel have been a band that releases music sporadically with line-up changes revolving around Wrenn; With only two full length albums to their name, the band have released seven EP’s with the latest trend of releasing a couple of singles here and there. After releasing two songs on a split EP with The Sunflower Conspiracy in 1997, the band shortened their name to Airiel and released Shirley Temple Tidal Wave as their debut single in 1999. They then put out the Christmas Colours EP in December 2002 before their most active period arrived around the years of 2003 and 2004 whereby they put out four EP’s (Frosted, Melted, Dizzy and Crackled) which were combined into one box set known as The Winks & Kisses EP in 2023. Another EP was dropped in 2005; the self-titled Airiel EP which produced the song Kiss Me Sadly which was a reworking of the already-released Kiss Me Slowly (reworking and releasing new versions of already released songs became something of an Airiel trademark throughout their career).

Their first full length album did not appear until 2007 when The Battle of Sealand was released by Highwheel Records. The album contained a track entitled Sugar Crystals which was recorded with the Shoegaze - inspired German electronic musician, Ulrich Schnauss who has been a member of Tangerine Dream at one point. It also featured the roaring wall of sound of Peoria and saw the band take on a more traditional rocking approach in many songs that mimicked the likes of Swervedriver and Starflyer59. 2007 was also an important year as it saw the band relocate to Chicago, Illinois and long-time bassist Cory Osborne and drummer, John Rungger depart the band. They signed to Shelflife Records in 2011 and put out a new EP entitled Kid Games which contains the amazing Daydreamer who’s slow build to the emotional climax is very well executed. 

The next bit of action from Airiel arrived in 2017 with the Cloudburst single being released in the early half of that year and eventually their second album, Molten Young Lovers appeared in October 2017, ten years following the debut album. This album brought us the noise epic of This Is Permanent, the sensational Your Lips, My Mouth and a reworked version of a song that was initially released in the Winks & Kisses era, Sharron Apple. 

Bloom was released as a single in 2020 and their latest single to be released (as of 2025) came out on Feeltrip Records on the 28th October 2024 with the single, Hide & Seek which saw the electronic elements such as synths and sequencers from Kid Games EP return. 

Airiel performing at Levitation Festival in Austin, Texas in the USA. 

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KEY TRACKS

Halo (Frosted EP, 2003) 

This ten minute and forty five seconds is worth its extraordinary long duration for a Shoegazing song. Romantic as always, Jeremy Wrenn’s unique vocals drift over this vast ambient landscape with soft finesse. The sequence goes on until the around the sixth minute where the drummer decides that he wants a bit more fun behind the kit and the bass drum kick and snare are brought to the fore in a breakdown / refrain type section. Then at around the seven minute mark, the song breaks loose with the guitars barging their way in with a boisterous sucking hoover tone that takes over the whole phantom centre of the mix whilst the drums are working incredibly hard in the hard panned positions. A rollercoaster of a song that demonstrates the array of sounds that Airiel display across their whole illustrious discography. 

In Your Room, (Melted EP, 2004, Winks & Kisses box set, 2023)

What is the perfect Shoegaze song to show your friends and family after you’ve just fell in love with the genre? In Your Room by Airiel surely has to be an overbearingly strong candidate! 

Its delayed guitar drips like joyous rain, the melodic progression taking you on a journey in which you don’t know where you’re going to end up but you know its going to be beautiful when you get there. A vocal melody that you can sing along to at the top of your lungs without getting in the way of the guitars’ enveloping and ever-changing wonder. A true shining example of a Shoegaze song that can be entirely pop and easy on the ears of anyone. 

Sugar Crystals (The Battle of Sealand, 2007)

In collaboration with Ulrich Schnauss who plays the electronic elements in this song, this song represents a new level for Shoegaze with its Drum ‘n’ Bass / Jungle-esque very fast tempo drum loops that are highly manipulated to sound robotic, its use of completely separate elements in the left and right stereo field ensuring that multiple layers come though the mix, its haunting shimmer guitar and low- frequency classical strings used for the bass; this track is a new realm for Shoegaze which sees its step away from the rock orientated usual standard.  

    

From Odense in Denmark, Rumskib is essentially a duo comprised of Keith Canisius (Guitars, backing vocals, composer and producer) and Tine Louise Kortemand (Lead vocals), with the support of Jonas Munk who programmed the drum machine, and played the synths). The band only have one album to their name but what an album it was! Rumskib’s self - titled Rumskib album from 2007 is the perfect blend of The Cocteau Twins meets My Bloody Valentine with the former actually being the prime inspiration for their song, Dreampoppers Tribute. With Keith moving to Copenhagen (where he has embarked on some solo projects in the electronic vein) and Tine Louise staying focused on visual art projects, the band did no more following this. Between 2022 and 2023, a digital download and a limited edition black vinyl of the album was made available through Bandcamp which saw three bonus tracks (Secrets, A cover of Slowdive - Shine, and Neon Touch)  added to the original album. Later in 2023, a Previously Unreleased album emerged containing twenty two songs in total that were a mixture of demo versions of Rumskib songs and shelved compositions.  

Keith Canisius in action!

Tine Louise Kortemand and Keith Canisius performing live

KEY TRACKS

Hearts and Minds (Rumskib, 2007)

Commencing with an infectious synth sequence that harks back to the more sophisticated side of 1980’s pop, this track lures you in and then smashes you directly in the face with Loveless style guitar noises that rasp away and rapidly slide. 

The drums add to an electronic dance music feel that emulates Curve in such a club pumping manner. Tine’s vocals angelically glide in and dictate the composition’s arrangement. The staccato strums of the guitar lash out in between her vocal lines; the first signs of Keith’s call and response guitar melodies that are a trademark of Rumskib.     

Springtime (Rumskib, 2007)

This is a bouncy tune that will make anyone feel optimistic about a bright summer that is approaching. A feel good tune that sees both Keith and Tine fusing together vocally to bring you a sing-along chorus that you will not forget in a hurry. The drum machine is pounding and really reflects the motivational spirit that this song captures; trying to get you up and feeling alive and active after a cold winter. The perfect fusion of Dream Pop and hard hitting electronica 

Dreampoppers Tribute (Rumskib, 2007)

In the press marketing interview for the vinyl release of Rumskib, Keith Canisius admitted that this was a complete tribute to The Cocteau Twins, and boy did they do produce a fitting homage! 

The song begins delicately with subtle guitar draped in chorus and flange with a delay flicker and Tine’s gentle and seductive vocal delivery. The song shifts in momentum like any great Shoegaze track and the layers come piling in with synth loops and drum machine hi-hats getting more frenetic as they speed and stutter along. All this builds up to a guitar lead hook that sends the listener to another place. The divine moment where everything Rumskib does coalesces in one beautiful document. 

Tine Louise Kortemand 

Keith Canisius and Tine Louise Kortemand in a blurry trance

THE DAYSLEEPERS

Led by Jeff Kandefer (Vocals, Guitar, Synth), The Daysleepers formed in 2004 when Scott Beckstein (Bass guitar), Elizabeth Kandefer (Vocals) and Mario Gimbrone (Drums) grouped together in Buffalo, New York, USA. They released their debut EP in 2005 called Hide Your Eyes (Coincidentally the name of a lost Slowdive song) which caught the attention of that very band along with Robin Guthrie. October 2006 witnessed the release of their second EP entitled The Soft Attack. 

Following the band’s signing to Clairerecords, The Daysleepers released their debut full length, Drowned In A Sea of Sound in May 2008.

A big hiatus than ensued until 2014 saw the release of the single, Dream Within A Dreamworld  but fans had to wait until September 2018 to hear the band back in full swing with the unveiling of Creation. This album spawned some amazing songs and sounds that put them in the higher echelons of Shoegaze greats. Most notably, the grand opener of The Dark Universe, the title track of Creation, Foreverpeople, The Memorymaker and the most streamed song of theirs, the remarkable Flood In Heaven. Jeff Kandefer brings you production excellence and a strong sense of song craft in this remarkable artefact during a rich period for Shoegaze fans. 

KEY TRACKS

Release The Kraken (Drowned In A Sea of Sound, 2008) 

A fantastic way to start an album! With its Don’t Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult style bouncy single notes  and classic rock lead guitar line that enters a bit later, this track displays great vocal harmonies between the two Kandefers. The hi-hat splashes its way through an energetic chorus section like a Stephen Morris outburst and the bass line is bobbing along like a speedboat on the sea surface. This song encapsulates the album artwork perfectly and is an impressive album opener that would have been many people’s entry to this band. 

Creation (Creation, 2018)

In an album jam packed with great songs and sounds, it is almost an impossible task to choose the highlights. After the slow burner opener, The Dark Universe, track two, the title track Creation sends the album bursting into life with its gigantic gated drum reverb and huge syrupy wall of guitars. The vocal melody / pattern from Jeff Kandefer is serpentine with it seemingly riding the rollercoaster wave of the guitars, ascending and descending before leaping up again with intricate attention to cadence. A wonderful flow that feels like you are sinking into soothing waves. A classic bit of Shoegaze song craft!

Flood In Heaven (Creation, 2018) 

Of Course it had to be!  A majestic waterfall of delayed notes is the real hook of this song. Again, Jeff kandefer’s vocal seem to hover over the noise below in the pre-chorus section which perfectly transitions into the chorus which sees Kandefer mimic the guitar delay notes with his voice. Typical of the album, and The Daysleepers in general, the Jeff kandefer presents a good vocal range that sees him perform low to high registers with his voice. A definite plus in a genre that arguably encompasses a lot of mono-tone vocals. 

Credit: Sophia Campbell

Formed in San Francisco in 2005, LSD & The Search For God were founded by Andy Liszt, Sophia Campbell and Chris Fifield, although many lineup changes have taken place over their history. Named after a William Braden book, The Private Sea: LSD and the Search for God, the band has only released two EP’s; the self-titled EP in 2007 and Heaven Is A Place in 2016. In terms of sound, theband have employed a lot glide guitar vibrato arm action in most of their songs which sonically places them quite closely with My Bloody Valentine. As of late, the band has performed at the Austin Psych fest in April 2024. 

KEY TRACKS

Starting Over (LSD & The Search For God, 2007)

Attaining over two and a half million views on Youtube at the time of writing (2025), this song has been incredibly successful for a band of this ilk; highlighting that there was a lot of Shoegaze in the noughties, it’s not just something that emerged again in the 2010’s! With its iconic artwork that is somewhat ambiguous (Is it a thumb or a falling comet?) Starting Over embodies the spirit of this EP. It’s strummed glide guitar commencing things set you up for a Shoegaze fest. The track launches into a wall of overdrive with EQ filtering and sweeping probably executed via a wah pedal. The song has a great quiet to loud dynamic with the “quiet” parts featuring a guitar that is well balanced between wet / dry, letting the dry transients through whilst maintaining a reverberated halo. The vocals of Andy and Sophia combine so well on this track with a call and response structure. 

(I Don’t Think We Should) Take It Slow (Heaven Is A Place, 2016)

This song begins with the instruments warm up, different layers entering before Sophia’s angelic voice sets the verse off in motion. Andy Liszt and Sophia Campbell’s connection is incredible here with harmonising occurring as well as Sophia adding extra “oooooh’s” in all the right places. “There’s something you should know, I don’t think we should take it slow” being the line that pulls the listener in.  

Great song

Without You (Heaven Is A Place, 2016)

The closing track of the EP and of their discography so far, at the time of writing (2025). Full of great guitar tones throughout, this track resembles a state of euphoria. Drive, tremolo, phaser, delay, reverb,wah pedal, glide guitar - lots of effects are here for Shoegazers and general gear heads alike to indulge in. What’s even more awesome is that you get a whole seven minutes and thirty seconds to bathe in its bliss!

Credit: Sophia Campbell

Formed in Ventura, California in 1999 by Andrew Saks, Amber Carlson, Seth Eubanks and  Vince Alatorre. Saks has always been the main visionary of the band and Sway have two EP’s and two albums to their name, seemingly stopping after 2011’s This Was Tomorrow LP. The first album came out in 2000, the self-titled Sway, followed by probably their most famous work, The Millia Pink And Green EP from 2003. Winter Heart EP was the next release, culminating with the This was Tomorrow album. With their debut album, entitled Sway, they started off as a garage rock / alt-rock band with guitar effects lurking more in the background of songs. The vocals are very forward and comprehensible making this release one that conveys more of a full cohesive band effort with eclectic styles merging together from all members. Us Girls and the final two tracks, Glitterstiim and Blood Orange perhaps being the biggest pointer to which direction they would take with the next release. However, with 2003’s The Millia Green And Pink, you can hear that Andrew Saks dominated proceedings as it was a very consistent, singular vision Shoegaze / Dream Pop / Ethereal affair for all five tracks. The shades of Swervedriver and Starflyer 59 of their debut gave way to a The Cocteau Twins / Slowdive sustained ambient tidal wave with Sak’s vocals blurred, buried and basking in all its ambient glory. 

Winter Heart was not as well produced as the previous EP with the drums sounding rough in places,(looking at you, Days Are Long!). Overall, it continued with the Shoegaze approach but leaned more towards the grittier alternative rock side of it, dropping the luscious ambient wall of sound for something with more thrust; just not quite as on the nose rocking as their debut. Finally, This Was Tomorrow showcases a more electronic side of Andrew Saks’ vision with vocals being deliberately heavily auto-tuned for a tonal purpose, drum machines and experimental synthesizer loops. 

KEY TRACKS

Fall (The Millia Pink And Green EP, 2003) 

Essentially just a three chord song with A, D and G being played through tonnes of reverb and delay in the ‘Soft Focus’ patch style of Slowdive, this is the first track from an iconic 2000’s EP that is now considered an all- time classic. The feels that the listener gets from this song is immense; really feeling like you are in a cocoon yet also on the ride of your life simultaneously. Much like Airiel - In Your Room, this track proved that there was a palace for Shoegaze in the twenty-first century, and boy…..what a statement to make! 

Sounds Like Everyone (The Millia Pink And Green EP, 2003)

A trepid intro of guitar arpeggiation, with the drums slowly fading in reminds one of cold winter nights. This anxious feeling paves the way for a flamethrower fire ball of guitar fuzz whereby flanging effects are making the guitar sound like a helicopter on fire. A real hot and cold, chocolate brownie and ice cream dynamic of a song. Remarkable layering of textures. Then there is the turnaround half way through whereby a suspensful hang on a certain chord eventually transitions to an orchestral outro, where it sounds like a cello or oboe enters the fray, but who knows? The blend of timbres and the mystery behind them is what Sheogaze is all about.  

This Was Tomorrow (This Was Tomorrow, 2011)

The production here is immaculate and daring. Drum machines with very fast programmed hi-hat sounds often heard in grime music and Hip Hop in general, surround the highly manipulated guitar, whilst multiple layers of synthesizers are all over the soundscape, gaining intensity as the song grows, panning  around in a hectic frenzy. Much like Airiel’s collaboration with Ulrich Schnauss in the late noughties, this song highlights a possible way forward for the genre.  

Credit: Antonio Zelada

Resplandor started life in Peru, South America before relocating to Amsterdam in The Netherlands where they are currently based at the time of writing (2025). 

The band is composed of Antonio Zelada (Vocals, Guitars, Sequencers), Luis Rodriguez (Guitars), Henry Bates (Bass) and Aracelli Fernandez (Vocals). They actually formed as early as 1996 but their major works did not come out until the 2000’s including 2002’s Ambar and 2008’s Pleamar, with the latter featuring Scott Cortez of Astrobrite and Loveliescrushing fame contributing small parts (mainly bass guitar) and none other than the legendary Robin Guthrie producing, mixing and mastering and playing guitar for live performances.  

Credit: Antonio Zelada - Resplandor with Robin Guthrie and Scott Cortez

Credit: Antonio Zelada 

Credit: Antonio Zelada

Credit: Antonio Zelada

Credit: Antonio Zelada - Robin Guthrie performs live with Resplandor

KEY TRACKS

Twilight (Pleamar, 2008)

The ultimate crescendo to an achingly beautiful song. The orchestral richness of the E-bow guitars is a joy to behold. Robin Guthrie’s slick and magical production can be heard and felt; it is totally him. The slowly picked arpeggiations full of chorus, flange and delay flicker is such a Guthrie signature that combined with the huge talents of another band only get richer. This is a gorgeous composition that flows like a river trickling down your body on a hot day as you lay there bathing in life’s glory. The e ge guitars acting like synth pads under the breathy vocals. 

Credit: Antonio Zelada - Resplandor joined on stage by Robin Guthrie

From Dresden in Germany, Malory produces albums that usually feature electronic music in some tracks and Shoegaze / Dream Pop making up the rest of the tracks. The members consist of Daniel Hammer, Jörg Köhler, Jörg Jäkle (1998 – present),Daniela Neuhäuser (2002 – present), Sven Ziesche (1995 - 2002),Jördis Marschner (1998 – 2002). Formed in 1995, they did not put out their first album until 2000 titled Not Here, Not Now which immediately projects a Slowdive influence with its sustained orchestral guitar nature, particularly in songs like Spring and Underwater. They swiftly followed this up with Outerbeats in 2002 which is more of the same, albeit it is the first album to feature Daniela Neuhauser on vocals. On their third album, The Third Face, this is when the electronic dance music elements come into play with unexpected tracks such as Take Me Down reflecting German techno nightlife ,Track 11 which is a dub techno groove and the Drum ‘n’ bass / jungle drums of I Want You ensuring that this album is just as unpredictable as it is fascinating.  Their final album to date at the time of writing arrived in 2010 with Pearl Diver which continues exploring the same sonic territories as the previous release, but perhaps improving the elements slightly in the way of intricate modulation on the guitars that give them more of a swirling effect. Tracks such as The Signs and Caché being the pure Shoegaze staples. Malory are an outstanding act and are solidly a cornerstone artist for the development of 2000’s Shoegazing. 

KEY TRACKS

Sleeper (The Third Face, 2005) 

The opening track of their game changing album strikes you in the face with an explosion of sonic attack. A Cowbell helps keep time which is an unusual but effective addition to a Shoegaze track; Although it's buried in the mix, if it was not there it would probably bother you. It is these rich layers and intricate attention to detail that make Shoegaze bands such a major force of creativity. 

The Signs (Pearl Diver, 2010)

Great song craft on this one. Full of unpredictability as there’s a part in the middle that just floats there for a long time, before rocketing into the stratosphere as Jörg Jäkle and Daniella Neuhäuser’s vocals synchronise like lovebirds ballet dancing on ice. A beautiful moment of lusting catharsis.  

Caché (Pearl Diver, 2010)

A fantastic exhibition of all-enveloping sound made even better when played live (which is arranged slightly differently). When Jörg Jäkle and Daniella Neuhäuser’s once again combine to create the most stunning textures on top of ambient guitar that is constantly being modulated. Big props to the production must be given here; it sounds like they are pushing their recording technology to the limit. It is a shame though that the vocal melody of their live versions are not featured, but maybe it is best left to the imagination as we Shoegazers like to dream! 

Heading over to Estonia now! A place you would never think the genre would reach but lo and behold, it has! Founded in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn in 1998, Pia Fraus are composed of Rein Fuks, Eve Komp, Kärt Ojave, Reijo Tagapere and Joosep Volk. They have released eight albums up until 2025 with numerous EP’s, remix compilations and singles. They are renowned for their softer dream pop, subtle Shoegaze and electronic sound. Less abrasive than many of their contemporaries which gives listeners a refreshing alternative to those noise merchants and by doing so, they let the melody shine through more and are poised in a position to potentially be more accessible to genre newcomers this way. 

Credit: Matt Catling

KEY TRACKS

Chromatic Nights (Nature Heart Software, 2006)

Credit: Highspire

Credit: Highspire

Credit: Highspire - Members of Highspire, Skywave, Malory and A Place To Bury Strangers unite for one epic 2000’s photo 

THE 2010’S

Despite the small victories in the MySpace era, the decade of the 2000’s only proved to be the calm before the storm as the 2010’s opened the floodgates for the genre and turned many a head, down towards their feet. This was the decade when Youtube reached its commercial and social peak and became saturated with all things old and new, becoming almost a time machine for anything anyone was interested in. Bandcamp and Distrokid became the rebellious indie antidote to the corporate Spotify. Social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (Now X), helped in the revival of the introspective pedal brigade, the seemingly millennial generational habit to revive retro fashion, art and culture played vital roles in the resurrection of a genre / scene written off as part of a bygone era by many. Boutique pedals had matured with the likes of the Keeley - Loomer, based on My Bloody Valentine’s fuzz and reverb sound and algorithmic monsters such as the Strymon - Big Sky. There were even hybrid pedals which combined hardware with software by allowing users to create custom patches and tweak settings on a computer before uploading them back into the pedal; manufacturers such as TC Electronic with their Hall Of Fame 2 and Zoom with their Multistomp series made this customisation a reality. 

On top of all this, the old guard re-emerged; no doubt encouraged by the loyal fans but also because the landscape was not so fickle now with the press being less influential due to the lack of newspapers and magazines that needed to be sold. They were stepping back into a world where anything goes. My Bloody Valentine’s sudden return in February 2013 with MBV, an album twenty two years in the making, is often pinpointed as being the first gunshot of the revival. Loveliescrushing ,Medicine and Kitchens of Distinction, whether coincidentally or not, returned with new releases the same year. 2014 saw Slowdive re-enter the ring with a bang as they immediately headlined Primavera Festival in Spain that summer. At the end of 2014, Ride announced that their reunion was happening in May 2015 with tickets put on sale in November 2014 for Glasgow Barrowlands, Manchester, Albert Hall and London, Roundhouse before treating long-term UK fans to a set of twenty-fifth anniversary of Nowhere, album-in-full shows in the autumn. Bleach also played a one-off show in their hometown of Ipswich in 2015 and Swervedriver who had been reformed since 2008, were the first of the old British guard to release an album after MBV with their magnificent I Wasn’t Born To Lose You album. If that was not enough, Lush then announced their return at the end of 2015 for a run of shows in 2016, whilst releasing the Blind Spot EP in April 2016. Adorable jumped on the runaway Shoegaze train when they re-emerged in 2019 with a very limited number of shows, finally calling it quits at The Scala, London in November 2019. Even Catherine Wheel was rumoured to be close to coming back!  

But it was not just a nostalgia - fest for old-time gazers, it was the new guard that sprung up in the 2010’s that made it so special. Ringo Deathstarr, Pinkshinyultrablast, Nothing, Whirr, Diiv, Miniatures, Flyying Colours were the juggernaut giants of the 2010’s.  

Sam Mortley stood with three out of four members of Diiv. The drummer was too busy packing away at this time

Zachary Cole - Smith in action at Bristol, SWX, February 2020. Just a few weeks before the global pandemic came in to haunt us all and stop my gig going for a while

The backdrop for the Bristol gig was an image of the artwork for Diiv’s latest release at that time, 2019’s Deceiver which saw the band switch from a post - punk direction to a more distorted alternative rock sound which was probably prompted by the band’s touring as support act to My Bloody Valentine around the late 2010’s

KEY TRACKS

Doused (Oshin, 2014) 

A post - punk classic with its infectious lead guitar melody rivalling Bernard Sumner’s work with Joy Division. 

Hailing from Leuven in Belgium, Slow Crush are one of the breakout acts of the late 2010’s, playing festivals such as Archtangent. The only non-Belgian entity in the band is frontwoman, Isa Holliday who hails from Manchester originally. The band have capitalised on the more Grunge - Gaze leanings of late 2010’s by adding doomy down-tuned riffs and dronings to their sound; much akin to the likes of Narrow Head or Whirr or Cloakroom. 

Sam Mortley poses with Slow Crush  before they played a show at The Exchange, Bristol in 2023.

Hailing from Philadelphia, USA, Nothing started life as a hardcore punk band with frontman Dominic Palermo spearheading it. 

Live at The Fleece, Bristol, December 2018

Brandon Setta stomping away at The Fleece, Bristol

Brandon Setta pedalboard

Dominic Palermo’s pedalboard

Rev Rev Rev performing and being the headliners for the first Shoegaze All-Dayer at The Victoria, Dalston, London in 2021

Sebastian Luigi wearing a DKFM t - shirt 

THE SONIC GENIUSES

Robin Guthrie 

“I’m not playing a guitar – I'm playing the sound, I'm playing the pedals, I'm playing the reverb”

Inspired by the likes of Rowland S. Howard of ‘The Birthday Party’, Robin Guthrie set out to play dark post - punk guitar but with added finesse. Guthrie is arguably the man who took guitar playing from being rigid, riff - based and aggressive to a place of serene tranquillity by the use of sustaining notes via various types of delay and modulation (delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, pitch shift and phase). Formed in 1979, his band, The Cocteau Twins were truly unique, possessing a vocalist who sang in a made - up language; Using her incredible voice as an instrument, throwing phonetics and syllables around like a gymnast. Elizabeth Fraser’s impressionist and surrealist vocal style matched the groundbreaking sounds of Robin Guthrie’s guitar enveloping the listener into a new world. It take time to get there but as the 1980’s progressed, The Cocteau Twins’ sound grew like a butterfly slowly emerging from the pupa. 

 

SOLO CAREER 

Particularly for his solo career that started in the 2000’s, he uses a loop pedal often  in order to provide more layers and uses a laptop for further backing track effects. 

PRODUCER / MIX ENGINEER

Guthrie is also known for his production / mixing work. In contrary to Alan Moulder who works for the sound that the artist desires, Robin Guthrie provides his own signature sound, therefore meaning that artists go to him in an attempt to achieve a particular set of sonics that is unique to Robin Guthrie. In other words, you know exactly what you are getting when you come to Robin! 

He is probably most synonymous with the production work on Lush’s debut album ‘Spooky’ in 1992. 

Guthrie also mixed a couple of tracks off of Chapterhouse’s debut album ‘Whirlpool’ in 1991; those being track 3 ‘Autosleeper’ and track 8 ‘Something More’. 

In the 2000’s he produced and mixed a South American band named ‘Resplandor’ for their sophomore album ‘Pleamar’ that was released in 2008. Again, it has the Guthrie sonic staple all over it but even more enhanced due to new technology becoming available to him and the artist. This album also featured Scott Cortez from ‘Loveliescrushing’ and ‘Astrobrite’ providing bass guitar duties; a sort of Shoegaze supergroup if there ever was one!

Associated gear

Fender Jazzmaster ‘59

Fender Stratocaster ‘59

Chandler Custom 

EHX - Big Muff Pi

Roland GP-8 

Yamaha SPX-90

Electrix Repeater (Loop pedal)

Roland TR - 808 (Drum Machine)

Linn LM-1 (Drum Machine)

Akai MPC series (Drum Machine)

Scott Cortez

“ 

Performing for Astrobrite in 2025. Credit to Scott Cortez for permission to use this image

Forming Loveliescrushing in the early 90’s, Scott Cortez has gone on to push the genre further than most; not just in terms of longevity, making it somewhat relevant in the difficult years of the 2000’s, but also in terms of taking the sonic boundaries to new extremes. An artist that does not compromise and does completely what he wants, Scott Cortez has been part of many bands and projects that include Star, Polykroma, Transient Stellar and Resplandor as well as hisd core bands of Loveliescrushing and Astrobrite. 

Record Labels

 

The trouble for artists that had this new sound in the first wave (1988 - 1994)  was that they came about at an incredibly competitive time for  music. There was the heavy, self-deprecating, self-loathing, low raspy voiced, scruffy flannel wearing grunge scene from The USA that was taking mainstream guitar music by storm. In the UK, the Indie/ alternative guitar scene had many facets. There was Trip - Hop starting in Bristol (Massive Attack - Blue Lines). There was a new version of grebo (Carter USM, Jesus Jones, EMF, The Wonder Stuff). The first signs of what was to become the national phenomena,  ‘Britpop’ was already on the tracks with Suede and Blur in 1992. Then there was the Baggy / Madchester scene which was probably the biggest UK indie scene at the time. (Happy Mondays, The Charlatans, The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Northside, The Farm, Flowered Up) to name a few. Plus you still have classic rock, hip-hop, huge 1980’s pop artists like Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston pumping out huge hits. 

Therefore, Shoegazing was buried a little and it wasn’t until the 2010’s when the internet gave them the space and press-free opinions were at large, in favour of the style. This, and the development of recording accessibility, the ability to mix and master at home and the boutique pedal explosion of the 2010’s meant that artists that wanted to carry the torch for the sound could do it without many barriers. 

The 2000’s was perhaps the period where everything from the 90’s struggled the most because a very clean production style where clarity shine through was preferred rather than psychedelic textures that was prominent across all 90’s scenes, hence Shoegazing styles were niche and underground. The heady days of Creation were finished with Alan McGee and Dick Green deciding to call it a day in 1999 due to McGee’s foresight of the internet revolution that would be the final nail in the coffin for independent labels in the fashion of the 20th century industry model. Creation Records were fortunate to hold on for so long (Courtesy of major label backing from Sony). In contrast, Rough Trade and Factory both declared bankruptcy as far back as 1991 and 1992 respectively. 4AD remained but Ivo Watts-Russell, the label boss handed over the keys and retreated to live in the USA at the end of the 90’s. 

However, that did not mean that one could not establish a new independent label themselves. It just meant that as the 21st century rolled around, one would have to operate in a new business model. One which was not as economically viable as the previous model due to major labels capitalising on the weak economy of indie labels by either signing their artists in a pact of mutual ambition or by spawning their own artists that sound like the most successful artists on an indie label, through the help of A & R people that majors can afford to hire. The plight of magazines due to the ability for the press to publish on an online format, meant that indie labels could no longer rely on newspapers to create sensational and controversial stories that helped to further promote their artists (Something that McGee at Creation Records was a professional at). Illegal downloading and later, streaming would alter the model completely, resulting in a wild west of music that is over - saturated. 

All was not lost though, and on the other hand, the 2000’s saw less pressure for independent labels to keep up with the mainstream, as the charts became more and more obsolete mainly due to the sales of physical items such as Compact Discs dwindling due to the aforementioned downloading. Labels that had an agenda to cater for a niche genre seemed to be the most successful now, because they had a clear target audience that created a filter in the midst of a major label and talent  show dominated music landscape. The days of indie labels making dogged attempts to mingle with the big pop stars were dying and instead, indies were better off devising a scene around the artists they sign, using the genre as a selling point and hope they people sift them out due to their liking of that music style. That has been the way forward ever since, and the 2000’s saw the likes of Saint Marie Records, Club AC30 and the legendary Sonic Cathedral catering for the Shoegaze or ‘Nu-gaze’ scene as it was called from the 2nd wave onwards by some.  

The 2010’s saw Fuzz Club, Shoredive Records and Felt Trip Records emerge as the new forerunner record labels for Shoegazing artists, despite the added threat of streaming (looking at you, Spotify) as yet another platform to contend with. However, this ensured that the indie labels were arguably more essential than ever because it gave artists a moral high ground and safety net away from the unfairly divided royalties that streaming services provide. Long live the indies!  

THE GEAR

One major aspect that gets overlooked on the topic of Shoegazing and of any style / movement / genre is the evolution of sound technology that makes it all possible. 

It is important to consider the very real possibility that if My Bloody Valentine and The Cocteau Twins did not have the availability of MIDI - Controlled Multi - effect rack mounts and effects pedals, their music may sound very different.

The same can be said regarding modern Shoegazing artists such as Blankenberge or Healees who reside in an era where by the latest evolution is ‘in the box’ or hybrid recording, mixing and mastering setups, plug - in software and boutique pedals that can have phone application custom patch presets loaded into them. Would their music sound any different from those 20th century artists if it wasn’t for these evolutionary steps forward?

This is one of the main reasons why Shoegazing in hindsight was one of the most forward thinking genres. The fact that the retrospective 60’s and 70’s indulgent Britpop swiftly followed this movement highlighted this after the party of Britpop was hungover.  

The digitization of music can be traced back to scientific experiments in the 1950’s which developed early algorithmic models for sound synthesis at institutions such as Bell Labs in the USA, IRCAM in France and Stanford University.

The studio technology of the 1960’s improved rapidly with mad mavericks like Joe Meek and Phil Spector experimenting with acoustics. Ken Townsend, Geoff Emerick and George Martin at Abbey Road were all revolutionary figures and Abbey Road was where the magic happened. Alan Parsons’ work on ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ was another innovative leap forward. Pink Floyd’s ambitions led them and people they worked with to develop a quadraphonic PA with the intention of providing a more immersive experience. As well as trialing quadraphonic configurations, the 1970’s also saw a healthy dose of effects pedals being built, particularly from Roland who went by the name of Boss for their guitar department. Electro Harmonix manufactured the Big Muff hard clipping fuzz pedal and Proco unveiled the RAT distortion pedal.

However, it would be the 1980’s that saw the biggest development with MIDI  (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) being introduced in 1983 which provided a way for differing pieces of musical equipment to synchronise with each other. This resulted in digital effects being introduced and to be able to be manipulated to a player’s content. These algorithmic systems were advanced enough to allow delay times to be as long as one wanted them to be and reverb to be large enough to engulf an entire ocean. It was this, in conjunction with MIDI) foot controllers that could be hooked up to these digital rack effect processors for remote control, combined with expression pedals that could adjust the parameters on the fly, that led to the freedom of sonic tapestry, that Shoegazing would thrive upon. 

Meanwhile, effects in stompbox format were still developing and were still popular because it allowed guitarists to mix and match different manufacturers and to efficiently swap pedals in and out of their chain, rather than having to buy another brand of digital rack effect unit which was much more financially expensive and more space consuming. In comparison to today’s limitless options of all-in-one, bluetooth compatible boutique pedals, the late 1980’s and early 90’s were fairly limited with DOD, Boss, Digitech, Electro Harmonix being some of the only and the most popular manufacturers for effects in the stompbox format. 

From the early to mid - 2000’s, a number of companies were established who now rank as Shoegazer’s essentials. Death By Audio was founded in 2001 by A Place To Bury Strangers noise merchant, Oliver Ackermann. (The Sonic Annihilator 2 can be found in this chapter!). Catalinbread and Devi Ever were both devised in 2003. The former notable for the CSIDMAN, Bicycle Delay, Octapussy, Echorec and FX40 whilst the latter boasts the appropriately named Shoegazer and Godzilla (Kevin Shields owns both of these pedals). 2005 witnessed the birth of Empress Audio, 2006 was the foundation of Wampler and JHS was conceived in 2007. 

The coming of age of the computer-based DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) has seen a significant change in the way records have been recorded over the past thirty years. The internet has offered us the ability to edit our gear in ways that TC Electronic’s Toneprint has executed and to be able to download third - party plug - ins and virtual instruments / virtual pedals to help enhance our sounds. 

Audible Disease - Rupture rp-2

BBE - Sonic Stomp

Biyang - Tonefancier EQ

Boss Graphic Equalizer GE-7 (1981) 

Boss - Noise Gate NF - 1

BOSS TREMOLO / PAN PN-2 (1990)

This is a stereo pedal which means that it can be heard out of two speakers rather than just the one. The Boss PN-2 capitalises on this perfectly with its pan feature that allows the spliced up sound to travel between two speakers in a live environment which makes the sound more ethereal due to its floating quality. This was a huge staple for plenty of 90’s Shoegazers, with the likes of Kevin Shields, Neil Halstead and Mark Gardener confirmed to have used one or more on recordings and live. 

BOSS Distortion / Feedbacker DF-2 (1984) 

Adam Franklin of Swervedriver made this 1984 pedal famous by owning one with a faulty wire in the circuitry that produced a siren-like sound when held down. For a fully functional version of the pedal, holding down the Boss pad would create a feedback harmonic overtone which randomised with each press. Franklin still has not repaired it and this is probably because he likes its uniqueness. What a genius way to turn a problem into a positive! 

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff 

The sound of Siamese Dream. This smashing bit of gear is a fuzz box with one of the most distinctive tones in all of music. The unmistakable sound can be heard on My Bloody Valentine records; its thick syrupy gargle is a trademark of alternative rock and is especially good for Shoegaze because it becomes soothing if the guitar is strummed. There are many incarnations of the original oversized 70’s Muff such as the Russian Big Muff, The Big Muff Pi, The Big Muff Op-Amp and The Nano Big Muff (pictured below).

PROCO RAT (Vintage,Turbo, Deucetone)

Largely associated with the 90’s guitar sound, the RAT is famous for that grungy sizzly tone. As Proco advertises it on the packaging as “The Sound of the Underground”; this epithet is very apt considering its favourability amongst alternative rock guitarists. It has a unique ‘Filter’ mode that acts as a built-in Equaliser for precise tone shaping. 

BOSS Phase Shifter PH-3 (2000)

This lean, mean, green machine offers ‘Rise’ and ‘Fall’ modes for unidirectional phasing, as well as twelve stages of phasing. It can be used with an expression pedal that controls depth, rate and tempo. It is an effect that is not subtle! It can over-power everything no matter where it sits in the chain!

BOSS Flanger BF2 (1987) AND BF-3 (2002)

Miki Berenyi used them both. The BF-3 introduced a pan and gate mode that create stereo flanging a slicer type effect, much like the Tremolo / Pan PN-2. There is a momentary mode that works like a latch. 

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah-Wah

The sound of Nowhere. Andy Bell used this extensively on Ride’s early EP’s and debut album to create a sense of mayhem. Used in conjunction with the Roland GP-16’s phaser and high gain, bell mustered a sound that was like ocean spray being fired at your face. The airy sound cut through the mix and andy used to leave it cocked at different positions to create swampy, underwater tones before rocking it forward to boost the higher frequencies. Listen to Chelsea Girl and Seagull as well as live renditions of Nowhere and Unfamiliar to hear the wah pedal blasting away! 

Boss Compression Sustainer CS-3 (1986)

Boss Digital Delay DD-3 (1986)

This has a hold function which allows players to hold and loop a phrase of play whilst being able to continue playing underneath the loop. 

Boss Reverb RV-2 (1987)

Boss Pitch Shifter/ Delay PS-2 (1987)

So good, that they even named a song after it! Kitchens Of Distinction’s Patrick Fitzgerald declared that the subject of the band’s song titled Blue Pedal was indeed about this very pedal! Julian Swales, the band’s guitarist was the utiliser of it, laying down layer after layer of ambient destruction using this, an Electro - Harmonix Memory Man and the Alesis Quadraverb whilst recording the group’s third effort, The Death of Cool at The Sawmills in Cornwall. It was also a favourite of Neil Halstead of Slowdive; The ending of Souvlaki Space Station is the sound of the PS-2 self - oscillating!

TC ELECTRONIC: Hall Of Fame 1 & 2

 

The Hall Of Fame 2 was designed in collaboration with then Nothing guitarist, Brandon Setta, offering a Shimmer mode which can have a super long decay time and can sound both bright and dark depending on where the tone knob is facing. It also has an expression mode that is engaged by holding your foot down on the True Bypass button. It works well in Stereo as going through two amplifiers gets the most potential out of its rich high fidelity sounds and expansive capabilities. 

Wampler The Doctor 

Universal Audio 1176 stompbox

Based on Bill Putnam’s (The founder of Universal Audio) Urei 1176 FET (Field Effect Transistor) from 1967 which was a compressor unit that offered very fast attack and release times unforeseen at that time. This is another example of outboard gear being compacted down to a stompbox that can be used in live situations. Perfect for those moments where you need that extra boost or attenuation to your signal on the fly; Bringing the studio to the stage has always been the aspiration for Shoegazers. 

Boss Loop Station RC-3

The looper, famously used by Nick MacCabe in The Verve, allows the user to keep a phrase going whilst playing over the top of it. A true delight for those guitarists who have to do it all themselves in a one guitarist band. 

Boss - Acoustic Simulator - AC-2 (1997) 

Want to turn your electric into an acoustic for those more chilled out verse parts? Well,.here is the device you have been looking for. Make the seamless transition to a wooden sound hole beauty without the need to get your tech to quickly rush out on stage and hand you one! Although quite unnatural sounding for some, it is perfect for a bit of The Cocteau Twins magic. (Think, Iceblink Luck from Heaven or Las Vegas to imagine the tone of this!)

Catalinbread - CSIDMAN (2016)

Pronounced ‘Discman’, this weird and wonderful pedal mimics the skipping of a compact disc. It is a glitch delay meaning that it can yield different results at random. You strike the guitar with your pick and you never know what it is going to do. You stroke it the same way again, and again, it could do something different, or it could be the same delay you just heard, or it may even do nothing and not delay at all! It could make live shows a train wreck or it could be ideal for jamming interludes away from strict song structure conventions. However, it can also be used as a simple predictable delay as well if you want it to be, but that surely just defeats the object!  The CSIDMAN is an incredibly fun experimental pedal that every exploratory artist should own. 

Catalinbread - Octapussy (2012)

This Jimi Hendrix inspired octave fuzz is modelled after vintage transistor fuzzes like the Octavia. 

DOD - Gonkulator Ring Modulator (2015)

The opening guitar sound of My Iron Lung by Radiohead, these ring modulators are a strange beast to tame. An effect that makes the guitar sound like it has ten different octaves on one note! It is also reminiscent of a robot talking 

Electro - Harmonix - Small Clone (1979) Re-issue (2000)

A deep and lush chorus that creates that doubler effect that great chorus pedals are known for. Famed for its usage in Nirvana, this works well with distortion. 

Electro - Harmonix - 2020 Tuner

 

An essential for any pedalboard. You cannot go wrong with a tuner. Enough said. 

Source Audio - EQ2

Fender - ABY Pedal

If you do not possess the luxury of having a pedal somewhere in your chain with a stereo output, an alternative way of connecting to more than one amplifier is to use one of these. That two or more amplifier cabinet approach is a common one in Shoegaze as it helps to achieve that all-enveloping surround sound and to also split pedals in order to achieve a wet / dry blend or whatever mixture of sounds you desire. 

Fender - Distort 

JOYO - Classic Flanger

Marshall Bluesbreaker 

Morley Wah 20/20

Mu-Tron Phasor 3

As well as being much more compact, the Phasor 3 adds a few new features to the classic hefty size of the 1970’s Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, such as a stage selector and CV (Control Voltage) control.  

Rainger FX - Liquid Analyser

Death By Audio - Sonic Annihilator 2

Strymon Zuma & Ojai Power Supply

TC Electronic - Stereo Chorus + Pitch Modulator & Flanger

TC Electronic - Sustain + Parametric Equalizer

TC Electronic - Infinite Sample Sustainer

Walrus Audio - Fathom

DIGITAL RACK EFFECT PROCESSOR UNITS

Yamaha SPX90 1 & 2 

(1985) & (1987)

Roland GP-8 (1987)

THE CLASS OF ’89

Roland GP-16 (1989) 

The Roland GP-16 could also come equipped with a MIDI foot controller labelled the FC - 100 Mk2. The Roland EV-5 is an expression pedal that controls parameters that you can edit  on the GP-16 unit itself and can be assigned to control rate, depth, volume, pitch, reverb, delay, mix and so on. This is connected to the foot controller which is attached to the GP - 16 via a MIDI cable. 

 

Alesis Quadraverb

(1989)

Yamaha FX500

(1989)

Catalinbread FX40

This is based on the algorithms of the FX500. Catalinbread compacted its specifications into a stompbox making bypassing possible without the need of a MIDI foot controller and a mix knob to determine the wet / dry balance that was not possible on the FX500. 

Alesis Midiverb 1, 2, 3 & 4 

(1986, 1987, 1990, 1995)

The class of ‘07

 

Boss Space Echo RE-201 (2007)

The famous Space Echo RE-20 has been with us since the days of Pink Floyd and The Police in the 70’s. But it wasn’t until 2007 when the bulky unit was compacted into a stompbox effect pedal. This has two pedals with the left being a simple on/ bypass switch and the right pedal controlling oscillation if the user holds down on it for any duration of time which creates this sci-fi spaceship landing sound that you hear in blockbuster movies, further consolidating that the unit lives up to its name. It is a staple of Slowdive pedalboards.

Electro - Harmonix - Cathedral (2007) 

A stereo swiss army knife of reverbs. From Room Mode to Reverse to Grail Flerb which results in a flange-like warbling sound.  This is the pedal for you if you are looking for Kevin Shields in pedal format. Simon Rowe used it for its glistening bell - like quality for Chapterhouses’ reunion shows between 2008 - 2010.  You will find it on most Shoegazers boards!  

 

  

       

 

  

 

Accessories

E-BOW - PLUS

  

  

THE GUITARS

FENDER JAZZMASTER

Ubiquitous, iconic, indispensable. If Shoegaze had a symbol, an image of a Jazzmaster would surely be it. Used by nearly every band that categorises themselves within the scene or around it use at least one of these in the studio or on the stage. It is the iconic image of a young man or woman having one of these strapped around them whilst wearing the Breton, stripey, hooped neck t-shirt / jumper and sporting curtains or a bowl cut that first comes to mind when thinking about a defining image of the genre.  

FENDER JAGUAR

Rickenbacker 330

   

 THE GIGS

The inaugural Shoegaze All - Dayer took place in 2021 at The Victoria pub in Dalston, London. It was organised by Otherside Promotions and has remained an annual event with Italian legends, Rev Rev Rev headlining in 2021, Secret Shine in 2022, Cruush in 2023 and Rev Rev Rev once again in 2024. 

THE ROLLERCOASTER TOUR 1992

The Rollercoaster Tour was established after The Jesus And Mary Chain members demanded something more exciting to do instead their usual run of the mill UK tour. Coinciding with the release of their fourth album, ‘Honey’s Dead’, The Mary Chain would headline every night every night of the tour with the the other three bands constantly in rotation from gig to gig. 1992 in Britain was a time of economic recession after the hedonistic days of the 1980’s, the inevitable crash had happened, and this tour was designed to bring some excitement, particularly to impoverished and marginalised areas of the UK, hence why Plymouth Pavilions was included.  

With the likes of The Jesus And Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. onboard, this would prove to be a high decibel affair with all three of those notoriously being known as some of the most consistently loudest bands in the world. Blur were the newbies in this noise fest with them being in the midst of promoting their debut album Leisure which showcased them in their Baggy phase with bits of Shoegaze tropes thrown in. Certainly songs such as Sing, Slow Down, Come Together and Birthday would qualify them into being apart of the dreamy pedal brigade, and Oily Water from sophomore effort, Modern Life Is Rubbish which has been confirmed by Graham Coxon as being a direct My Bloody Valentine inspired song was played during this tour.

Dinosaur Jr, the American alternative rock representatives, were in the midst of promoting 1991’s Green Mind. Although, not really Shoegazing, especially as we see it in 2025, it cannot be denied that they were a huge influence on a lot of the British and Irish counterparts with Kevin Shields becoming a great friend of frontman and bonafide alt-rock guitar hero, J Mascis over the years. They were more traditional rockers with lengthy and virtuosic guitar soloing and riffage and were more akin to a Grunge band.

My Bloody Valentine were in the midst of their Loveless tour, having only just been released a few months before in November 1991. This meant that their shows were higher volume than ever before and that the more dreamy set list that we are familiar with now, would have been implemented for the first time. The prolonged noise section of You Made Me Realise shook the foundations of every night of this wild tour. 

 

 

 

  

   

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