Fried Awake: the First Generation of Shoegaze, Part 2, 1992-1993
This playlist highlights the notable songs and artists that formed the first generation of shoegaze music. This is part two, covering the years 1992 and 1993, and continues from part one which traced the rise of shoegaze from the mid ‘80s through 1991. Both parts are in a single playlist, so if you are continuing from part one continue listening and resume reading below. If you are starting from here, click below on the streaming service of your choice to access the playlist and scroll down to the first song by Velocity Girl.
Velocity Girl
My Forgotten Favorite \ Velocity Girl (1992) – Part one finished with a lesser known band, The Belltower, that used shoegaze elements to underpin their pop style. Velocity Girl was a similar act though employed more of a power pop style with a heavier guitar sound. They were formed by Kelly Riles and Archie Moore in 1989, taking its name from a B-side song by Primal Scream. Coming out of College Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, the pair teamed up with Sarah Shannon, Brian Nelson, and Jim Spellman (later a CNN reporter) to round out the line-up. They released a plethora of singles over 1992 and 1993, first through Slumberland Records and then with the renowned Sub Pop label. They would issue three albums in 1993, 1994 and 1996 before disbanding, never managing to crack the charts.
As noted, their sound was power pop with a brighter, more melodic sound than most of their contemporaries, led by the female vocals of Riles or Shannon, and occasionally a male vocal from Moore. Their early singles used a heavier, layered guitar approach that brought the shoegaze influence into the pop mold. “My Forgotten Favorite” was their second single, issued in January 1992. It was a wonderful, relentless romp of shoegaze power chords offset by the high-pitched vocal from Sarah Shannon and a great example of their power pop/shoegaze blend. The song received greater attention in 1995 when it was included on the soundtrack for the film, Clueless.
The Playlist, Part 2 - artist \ song
1992
Velocity Girl \ My Forgotten Favorite
Ride \ Leave Them All Behind
Curve \ Ice that Melts the Tips (YouTube playlist only)
The Jesus & Mary Chain \ Good For My Soul
The Boo Radleys \ Lazy Day
Pale Saints \ Babymaker
Spiritualized \ I Want You
Adorable \ Sunshine Smile (YouTube playlist only)
Spectrum \ How You Satisfy Me (YouTube playlist only)
The Verve \ She’s A Superstar
Drop Nineteens \ Winona
Swallow \ Tastes Like Honey
Lilys \ Claire Hates Me
Medicine \ Defective
Ultra Vivid Scene \ Blood and Thunder
Brian Jonestown Massacre \ She Made Me
The Jennifers \ Just Got Back Today (YouTube playlist only)
1993
Swirlies \ Jeremy Parker
Suede \ She’s Not Dead
Revolver \ Cradle Snatch
Cranes \ Sun and Sky
Slowdive \ Alison
Red House Painters \ Mistress
The Verve \ Star Sail
Catherine Wheel \ The Nude
Stereolab \ Jenny Ondioline
Swervedriver \ Duel
The Boo Radleys \ Barney (…and Me)
Rose Chronicles \ Awaiting Eternity
Mazzy Star \ Bells Ring
Yo La Tengo \ From a Motel 6
Medicine \ Fried Awake
Leave them All Behind \ Ride (1992) – I usually try to avoid lengthy tracks on Ceremony playlists since they often extend already long playlists. But to make a shoegaze playlist and not include “Leave them All Behind” would be unforgivable, and there is no better track to highlight Ride’s progression as they prepared to release their second LP, Going Blank Again.
After the celebrated achievement of their Nowhere album, Ride released the Today Forever EP in 1991, which shifted a bit away from the power and noise of Nowhere. When “Leave them All Behind” was released as a single in February 1992, it mixed the two sounds into an epic result. The keyboard intro led to a meaty bassline before guitars exploded the song into its vast melody with searing guitar sequences. It featured many crashing moments propelled by the frenetic beat from drummer, Loz Colbert. The extended intro led to the lovely vocal sequence more than two minutes into the song, bringing the faraway vocals in over the wall-of-sound song. After a quiet guitar and bass interlude at the five-minute mark, the song exploded again into an extended outro in which all of the song’s incredible elements came together into a sonic crescendo before ending abruptly after eight minutes.
I was at my favourite Toronto dance club, The Dance Cave (upstairs from legendary live music venue, Lee’s Palace), where my friend Stephen Scott was DJing. He played “Leave them All Behind” after having just received it that evening and only sampled it briefly before putting it on. He was caught unprepared when the song ended so suddenly, leaving the club in an eerie moment of silence before he managed to hit ‘play’ on the next song. He wouldn’t make that mistake again and it was a popular track at the club, especially for DJs who loved its lengthy opportunity to hit the bathroom.
“Leave them All Behind” was shoegaze’s epic track, its own version of “Stairway to Heaven.” After the throwdown of Loveless by MBV, the song was an emphatic reminder of Ride’s pre-eminent shoegaze status. Yet despite it’s wall-of-sound, crashing style, it led off an album of surprisingly lighter, pop-styled fare released in March. The second single, “Twisterella,” released in April, showed off that sound, employing greater melody and bringing the vocal harmonies further forward. Going Blank Again was a great album, but perhaps signified the pending shift of shoegaze away from the darker, heavier guitar sound and more into the dream pop style. When the album went to #5 in the UK, making it one of the highest charting shoegaze albums yet, and “Leave them All Behind” cracked the top ten in the UK singles chart, it solidified the perception that shoegaze artists couldn’t make a go of it with the more esoteric, hard-edged and swirling guitar compositions such that Nowhere and Loveless had deployed. For the genre to make a mark, a brighter more accessible approach was needed.
Ride would go on to release two more albums in 1994 and 1996 amongst greater strife and fatigue within the band. The albums charted well and moved further away from the shoegaze mold and into the Britpop sound of the mid-‘90s, making Ride one of the more notable and successful UK acts of the decade. They broke up in 1995 with Andy Bell briefly forming a new band before joining Oasis for a ten year stint, playing on their final four LPs. Ride reformed in 2014 and have since issued two more, very solid albums, touring regularly and allowing new audiences to discover their joyous shoegaze sound.
Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia of Curve
Ice that Melts the Tips \ Curve (1992) (available on YouTube playlist only) – Following their fantastic run of three EPs in 1991, Toni Halliday and Dean Garcia moved on to Curve’s first LP, Doppelgänger, released in March 1992. Driven by the fantastic singles, “Faît Accompli” and “Horror Head,” both of which cracked the top forty in the UK singles chart, the album made it to #11 in the UK album chart. The duo continued their mix of electro-dream pop, with rock-edged guitars and ethereal vocals over dense, wall-of-sound production. The album was a little more polished and less edgy than the initial EPs but still packed a wallop. “Ice that Melts the Tips” was a great example of the guitar-washed, electro-pop sound that Curve brought to shoegaze. It was energetic, relentless, dense, and irrefutably seductive.
I had the immense pleasure of seeing Curve twice in 1992. The first was their headlining show at the Opera House in Toronto which was on my twenty-second birthday. I went with my friend Jorge and it was an unforgettable experience, with us riding high through the entire show. We then saw them again on Halloween as part of the ‘Rollercoaster Halloween’ show at the Skydome, a fantastic line-up of Pure (a solid Canadian alt-rock act) and a shoegaze trio of Spiritualized, Curve, and Jesus & Mary Chain. Even in the larger venue, Curve resonated and put on a great show.
Good for My Soul \ Jesus & Mary Chain (1992) – Speaking of J&MC, the band that had helped launch the sound that would become shoegaze was continuing on in fine fashion. After the ground-breaking Psychocandy waaaay back in ’85, the band released two solid LPs with 1987’s Darklands and 1989’s Automatic. In 1992 though, they raised their game again with their fourth LP, Honey’s Dead. Evolving their sound with greater use of electronics and beats, the band melded their dense guitar sound with a pop sensibility that brought an undeniable catchiness to their songs, without sacrificing the dark and moody atmosphere of their brand.
The album featured three singles: “Reverence,” “Far Gone and Out,” and “Almost Gold.” The first invited controversy with its lyrics (“I wanna die just like Jesus Christ” and “I wanna die, just like JFK”) but it’s irrepressible mix of dense guitar power and catchy beats delivered the band their second top ten single in the UK. “Far Gone and Out” reached #3 in the US alternative chart while “Sugar Ray,” a US-only release as a single, reached #22 on the same chart.
However, Honey’s Dead was a shift for the band and the abrasive, electro-pop format was a further remove from the shoegaze standard. J&MC had inspired shoegaze but had never cleanly fit into its mold. However, their natural sound often tipped its hat to the genre, and on this album it was a song like “Good For My Soul” that showed that inclination. The mid-paced tempo, buoyed by a lovely little beat riding under a hypnotic, catchy guitar riff, offered their own take on the dream pop style. Even if J&MC wasn’t a pure shoegaze band, they couldn’t be set aside given the similarities of their style and quality of their work. This album track was pure testament to that truth, and Honey’s Dead ranks as one of the best albums of the ‘90s, regardless of genre.
Lazy Day \ The Boo Radleys (1992) – This band came out of Wallasey, England (across the River Mersey from Liverpool) and, after a brief stint with Rough Trade Records, through which they released their debut LP, Ichabod and I, they were yet another shoegaze act to sign with Creation Records. After forming in 1988 and going through a couple line-up changes in addition to the label change, the band hit their stride with the second LP, 1992’s Everything’s Alright Forever and with a stable roster of Simon ‘Sice’ Rowbottom on vocals, Rob Cieka on drums, Tim Brown on bass/keyboards, and Martin Carr on guitar/keyboards (also the primary song writer). The album reached #55 in the UK albums chart though neither of the singles, “Lazy Day” or “Does this Hurt?”, charted. Everything’s Alright Forever was a mix of shoegaze and a rough, noisy art-pop that would align best with the Britpop movement that would emerge in the coming years.
Pale Saints: Graeme Naysmith; Ian Masters, Chris Cooper, & Meriel Barham
Babymaker \ Pale Saints (1992) – After cracking the top 40 with their debut LP, Pale Saints weren’t able to match the success with only a #61 spot in the UK albums chart with their second LP, In Ribbons. It deserved better as they refined their noise-pop sound into a cleaner, dream-pop sound that was very catchy, though perhaps lacked enough spark to capture a larger audience. In between the albums Meriel Barham, original member of Lush, joined the line-up and played on the single, “Kinky Love” (a Nancy Sinatra cover), their only charting single hitting #72 on the UK singles chart, and the Flesh Balloon EP. The album’s single, “Throwing Back the Apple,” was a solid single but album tracks like “Babymaker” better displayed their shoegaze style.
There would be one more album, Slow Buildings, in 1994 before the band shut it down in 1996. Original member Ian Masters left the band in 1993 and was replaced with ex-Heart Throbs bassist Colleen Browne.
I Want You \ Spiritualized (1992) – We finally get to Jason Pearce (aka J. Spaceman) and his follow-up act to Spacemen 3, the band Spiritualized. Listening to the debut LP, Lazer Guided Melodies, it’s hard to tell much difference to his predecessor band, but that was ok when it was all so good. Likely one reason for the similarity was the new band carried forward four Spacemen 3 members; in addition to Pearce there was also Jonny Mattock (drums), Mark Refoy (guitar), and Will Carruthers (bass). Steve Evans (keyboards) was the only member not to originate out of the prior band, though he was replaced by Kate Radley by the time of the first LP’s recording.
Spiritualized’s Lazer Guided Melodies LP
“Run” was the album’s lead single, released in August ’91 and it reached #59 in the UK singles chart. It was a cover of J.J. Cale’s song, “Call Me the Breeze.” The album, released the following March, reached #27 in the UK albums chart. Lazer Guided Melodies was an album I listened to a lot, often as I was falling asleep, easing into my dream state with its moody, atmospheric, subtle layers of keyboards and guitars, often explored over lengthy tracks of six or seven minutes that would provide euphoric payoffs after stretches of minimalist, repetitive sequences. “I Want You” was the B-side to “Run” and the album’s third track. I also saw the band play at Toronto’s Skydome in ’92 as part of the previously mentioned ‘Rollercoaster Halloween’ show with Curve and Jesus & Mary Chain.
Spiritualized wouldn’t release their next LP, Pure Phase, until 1995, but with a #20 UK album chart spot it raised the band’s profile. The third LP, 1997’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space reached #4 and the band was then an established presence on the UK music scene. Since then five more albums have come out, usually in four to six-year intervals, with one more top ten result. They have been one of the few shoegaze era bands to remain active and relatively successful over the almost three decades since the genre’s arrival.
Adorable
Sunshine Smile \ Adorable (1992) (available on YouTube playlist only) - What an enigma this band was! So good yet so underappreciated. Coming out of Coventry, England in 1990, the quartet of Pete Fijalkowski (vocals/guitar), Robert Dillam (guitar), Stephen ‘Wil’ Wlliams (bass), and Kevin Gritton (drums) was another act on the Creation label. They were a (minor) hit from the start, with initial single “Sunshine Smile” going to #1 in the UK indie chart, followed by three top five indie singles, “I’ll Be Your Saint,” “Homeboy,” and “Sistine Chapel Ceiling.” Surprisingly, loaded with all those songs the LP, Against Perfection, only reached #70 in the UK albums chart.
The album went against its title by being a near perfect mix of raucous, hook-filled, noisy, guitar-oozing brilliance. There were few noise-pop songs as catchy as “Sunshine Smile” or “I’ll Be Your Saint,” while the throaty basslines of “Homeboy” leading to its explosive choruses was as exhilarating a music experience as any rock fan could wish. How the album didn’t become a smash hit remains a puzzle to me. Their link to shoegaze was tenuous, but when you heard the guitars raging through “Sunshine Smile” while the vocals echoed overhead, it was hard to deny the link.
Adorable released a second LP in 1994, Fake, which didn’t fare well and the band broke up shortly after its release. Despite a retrospective of their work released in 2008 their music is hard to find on streaming services and risk being lost in the archives.
How You Satisfy Me \ Spectrum (1992) (available on YouTube playlist only) – Let’s check in again with Pete Kember, who we last visited in this playlist in 1990 performing as Sonic Boom. By 1992 the ex-Spacemen 3 founder was performing as Spectrum, joined by Richard Formby and Mike Stout, continuing to explore the variations of droning, spacey music that had marked his predecessor acts. In 1992 they released the LP, Soul Kiss (Glide Divine), that included the garage rock styled single “How You Satisfy Me.” That year also saw the release of the single, “True Love Will Find You In the End”, a cover of a song by Daniel Johnston which reached #70 in the UK singles chart. Although not burning up the charts, the shoegaze sound was making itself known a little more and more in the broader music scene, certainly within the UK.
The Verve: Simon Jones, Peter Salisbury, Richard Ashcroft, & Nick McCabe
She’s A Superstar \ The Verve (1992) – Despite its rich musical history, especially when it came to modern rock, it’s interesting that Manchester didn’t originate many participants in the shoegaze genre. In 1992 that was changed with the arrival of The Verve (originally just titled, Verve), who were formed in Wigan, a town in Greater Manchester just north and in between Manchester and Liverpool. Coming together out of a group of schoolmates in 1990, Richard Ashcroft (vocals/guitar), Nick McCabe (guitar), Simon Jones (bass), and Pete Salisbury (drums) developed their sound through extensive jam sessions, bringing a traditional blues feel into a dark, rich, layered sound that resulted in dreamy, expansive, explosive sonic landscapes. Less noisy and dissonant or as pop as the core shoegaze and dream pop acts, The Verve nonetheless contributed to the increasingly multi-faceted genre.
Initially signed to Hut Records, the band issued its single, “All in the Mind,” in March 1992, followed by another single, “She’s A Superstar,” in June (which was also included on their first, self-titled EP issued in December). From the opening notes, “She’s A Superstar” announced this was a band with which to take note. An echoey guitar riff laid into a bass-filled, deeply textured blues melody that sounded like it could fill a valley. The song repeated this effect as quiet, dreamy verses led back into that expansive, explosive sound for each chorus. It was a mightily impressive arrival for a new band. The song went to #1 in the UK indie chart and #66 in the singles chart.
Drop Nineteens
Winona \ Drop Nineteens (1992) – The certainty that, by the second half of 1992 and into 1993, shoegaze and dream pop had established itself as a bona-fide sub-genre of alternative/indie rock was evident via the burgeoning list of new bands plying their trade within its sounds. This playlist naturally focused on the pioneers and champions of the genre in the first half, and now will see greater artist variety in the second half, reflective of the genre’s growth in its short time. It will also make a noticeable geographic shift with greater American representation as the alt-rock scene there embraced shoegaze as a nice variant to the grunge sound.
Drop Nineteens were from Boston. Like other US-based bands of the genre, they were better appreciated in the UK, though never charted. They were with Caroline Records in the US and Hut Records (same as The Verve) in the UK, issuing their first full length in June 1992. It was a great shoegaze record. Their music alternated between the male (Greg Ackell) and female (Paula Kelley) vocal mixed into the guitar noisescape. The album’s single, “Winona,” a catchy, droning pop song, had a male vocal. Kelley went solo after the first release and was replaced by Megan Gilbert on Drop Nineteen’s second and final LP, 1993’s National Coma.
Louise Trehy & Mike Mason of Swallow
Tastes Like Honey \ Swallow (1992) – Another 4AD band, Swallow was the duo of Louise Trehy and Mike Mason. They only released one LP, 1992’s Blow (yes, the sexual innuendos of the band and album names are irrefutable), which was a classic of the shoegaze genre. It had the perfect mix of the lighter, dream pop sound layered with the noisy, fuzzy, guitars of the core shoegaze sound. “Tastes Like Honey” was just one of the many intriguing, seductive songs on the LP. “Sugar Your Mind” and “Follow Me Down” were other fantastic tunes. There would be an additional EP, Hush, in 1994 through Rough Trade Records before the duo broke up.
Claire Hates Me \ Lilys (1992) – This Washington D.C. band has chiefly been the vehicle for Kurt Heasley, who has been joined by a variety of artists through the career of Lilys, which managed eight albums through 2006 and still exists today in some way, shape, or form. The exploration of shoegaze and dream pop mostly marked their first three releases, 1992’s debut LP, In the Presence of Nothing and the 1993 releases, mini-album A Brief History of the Amazing Letdowns and the LP, Eccsame and the Photon Band. After, Lilys moved into a more rock and pop sound. The debut LP was pure shoegaze, featuring noisy, dissonant passages over melodic interludes and buried vocals under walls of guitar. It included musicians from Velocity Girl. The single, “Claire Hates Me,” was one of the more pop influenced and accessible tracks on the LP. Lilys has never been a charting act.
Defective \ Medicine (1992) – Formed in Los Angeles in 1990 by principle member, Brad Laner, Medicine came together when he needed a band to flush out his demo recordings and get a label signing. Joined by Jim Goodall (drums), Jim Putnam (guitar), Beth Thompson (vocals, replacing original singer, ex-Bangles member, Annette Zilinskas), and Eddie Ruschas (bass), Medicine became Creation Records’ first American act. They also signed with Rick Rubin’s label in the US, Def American.
The debut LP was 1992’s Shot Forth Self Living, featuring the band’s even noisier brand of shoegaze. On top of mesmerizing melodies and rhythms rode ear-piercing guitar and feedback, creating a layer of sonic fuzz that, at times, could be hard to push through. As the ear adjusted though, it was rewarded with the subtle intricacies and wonderful payoffs of the band’s many strong compositions. Of course, amongst the noise was the buried female or male vocal. It was the My Bloody Valentine formula once again. “Defective” was a great, pop-styled album track, while the singles were “Aruca” and “5ive.” Despite the strength of the LP, it’s likely its noisy wrapper was too much for most audiences and kept it off the charts, even in the UK.
Ultra Vivid Scene’s album, Rev
Blood and Thunder \ Ultra Vivid Scene (1992) – After the ’88 debut, which was featured earlier in this playlist, UVS’s Kurt Ralske had released a second LP in 1990 and assembled a proper band for touring (including Josephine Wiggs from The Breeders, while Kim Deal also performed on a song on the LP). In 1993 he released UVS’ final LP, Rev, with new band members Julius Klepacz and Jack Daley. It was a fantastic album, mixing dark pop with classic rock riffs all presented under a thick, gauzing layer of guitars. The highlight of the LP was the song, “Blood and Thunder,” an epic ten-minute tune (the abbreviated, single version is used on the Spotify playlist) which was released in November 1992 and was a joyful journey of slide guitar and propulsive beats. The album also featured great tracks like “Candida,” the psychedelic swirl of “Thief’s Love Song,” and the eight-minute dream pop opus, “Medicating Angels.” Moving only on the fringes of shoegaze, the album was too good to be ignored for fans of the genre. Of course, it failed to chart or make a mark, likely the reason why Ralske packed up UVS after, only doing solo or collaborative work before eventually moving into the visual arts.
She Made Me \ Brian Jonestown Massacre (1992) – San Francisco’s BJM’s droning, dreamy, psychedelic rock channeled the shoegaze sound through its many early recordings. Formed by Anton Newcombe in 1990, the band was a collective of artists that mostly released singles through Bomp! Records from 1992 before issuing LPs and EPs from 1995 onwards. The band has been prolific, having now issued eighteen albums and counting. “She Made Me” was the first single and perfectly captured the band’s young dream pop sound. BJM hasn’t been a big-selling or charting act, but has built a substantial and loyal following, influencing legions of artists over its almost thirty years.
Just Got Back Today \ The Jennifers (1992) (available on YouTube playlist only) – This is one of the rarer tracks on this playlist that I discovered thanks to the excellent compilation disc series, Independent 20, of which I picked up a couple back in the day and where many of the bands on this playlist appeared. The Jennifers were a quartet of Gaz Coombes (vocals), Nic Goffey (guitar), Danny Goffey (drums), and Andy Davies. From Oxford, the band played a pure dream pop style, with spacey, pop arrangements. Despite being together from 1990 to 1993, they only managed to release this one single on Nude Records. Danny Goffey and Gaz Coombes went on to form Britpop band, Supergrass, which became on of the more successful acts of that genre over the next twenty years.
Swirlies
Jeremy Parker \ Swirlies (1993) – One of the things I love about writing this blog is that, even with starting with a solid knowledge base I still learn so much and uncover more and more music. Boston’s Swirlies is a band that originally escaped my notice and, having now discovered them, am thoroughly enjoying the discovery and uncovering wonderful gems like this song, “Jeremy Parker.” It’s a brilliant play of thick, gauzy, shoegaze guitar with the requisite buried male/female vocal a la MBV, and the use of fantastic breaks that intersperse the song with dissonant passages that were the hallmark of shoegaze. What a wonderful song to kick-off our final year of this playlist.
Swirlies were formed around the duo of Seana Carmody (vocals) and Damon Tutunjian (vocals/guitar) in 1990, who when joined by Andy Bernick (bass) and Ben Drucker (drums) brought their shoegaze sound to fruition. The band’s name suitably captured their sound, rife with noisy samplings and off-tune guitar passages. Signing with Taang! Records the band released a mini-album in 1992, What to Do About Them, before issuing their first LP in the spring of ’93, Blonder Tongue Audio Baton. By the time of that release Bernick and Drucker had been replaced by Morgan Andrews and with sampling from Ron Regé Jr. The album was a strong addition to the American dream pop scene and launched Swirlies on an unlikely career which continues to this day, though with releases few and far between. Carmody left after the first LP to be replaced by Christina Files and then eventually Deborah Warfield. For the past twenty years the line-up has been Tutunjian, Warfield, Rob Laakso, Bernick (who returned a year after his departure), Adam Pierce, and Regé.
She’s Not Dead \ Suede (1993) – This band and their self-titled debut were a sensation, making them one of the primary bridges between the dream pop era and the ascension of Britpop. Like contemporaries Blur, Pulp, and The Verve, their mix of moody dream pop and straight-ahead rock mixes found broader audiences and launched the last major period of guitar rock. Formed in 1989 by college-going couple Brett Anderson and Justine Frischmann along with Mat Osman, things started to gel when joined by guitar virtuoso Bernard Butler. Drummer, Simon Gilbert joined in 1990 to complete the line-up, though soon after Frischmann left when tensions rose after she and Anderson broke up and she started dating Blur frontman, Damon Albarn. She would go on to form the band, Elastica.
Suede: Brett Anderson, Simon GIlbert, Mat Osman, & Bernard Butler
Hewing to an ‘80s pop sound with inspiration from ‘70s glam, the band moved outside the core music circles of early ‘90s England. However as their sound matured and more people, fans and critics alike, started to take notice, the band’s profile grew. Just as they signed a two-single deal with Nude Records in 1992, Melody Maker put them on the cover and declared them, “The Best New Band in Britain.” Suede did a pretty decent job living up to that, starting with their self-titled debut LP in March 1993, now with Geffen Records.
Led by late ’92 singles, “The Drowners” and “Metal Mickey,” the album shot to #1 in the UK. It was further helped by the single, “Animal Nitrate,” reaching the top ten in the UK singles chart. The album was indeed an impressive debut and one I listened to often that year. “She’s Not Dead” better captured the airy, dream pop side to the band’s music, displaying Butler’s guitar skill and Anderson’s faraway vocals. “Moving” was another great example that also mixed in their pop-rock sound. While not a pure fit to shoegaze, the album’s success made it a leading introduction to the genre’s influence and indicative to how fans’ listening habits had moved towards the dream pop style.
Despite following the album with another top ten single in ’93, “Stay Together,” which saw the band move into more of a pure pop-rock style, the band faced adversity through Butler’s decision to leave the band under disagreement over their musical direction. Anderson also was fighting against the band’s natural inclusion in the emerging Britpop scene as their sound continued to dwell in that sound. Regardless, as Suede moved on (known as The London Suede in the US due to copyright conflicts), they continued to rack up successes, with the next LP going top ten in the UK followed by two #1 albums. They would also enjoy six more top ten singles, though never managed to hit #1 in the UK. They would never see as much success in the US.
Cradle Snatch \ Revolver (1993) – After the success of the compilation album, Baby’s Angry, Revolver got to releasing their first, and what would be their only, full length album, Cold Water Flat. Released in April, the rougher shoegaze guitar was downplayed, leaving a less compelling and more pop sounding LP. The weaker album resulted in weaker sales and the band was dropped by its label, Virgin, after the second single, “I Wear Your Chain,” deservedly didn’t chart. However, the album did offer the first single, “Cradle Snatch,” which was a lovely mix of beats and echoey guitar and vocals, building to a satisfying wall-of-guitar crescendo over the final minute. If only they’d leaned into that sound further they might have gotten more out of the album.
Cranes
Sun and Sky \ Cranes (1993) – Portsmouth, England siblings James and Alison Shaw had been performing together since 1985 as Cranes (named after construction cranes), self-releasing a cassette and mini-LP before landing a Peel Session and then signing with Dedicated Records in 1990. After several EPs they issued their first LP, Wings of Joy, in 1991. It was a fantastic album that reached #52 in the UK albums chart. It displayed the bands dark, echoey, sparse arrangements underpinning Alison’s youthful vocal sound. Their 1993 follow-up, Forever, featured a richer, more repetitive and layered sound that joined them more forcefully to the shoegaze sound. I saw them open for The Cure in Toronto in the summer of ’92, and they were wonderful to hear, even in the expansive environment of the Skydome stadium. Forever cracked the top 40 in the UK albums chart while the single, “Jewel,” reached #29 in the singles chart. Cranes have continued through different iterations over the years, releasing six more albums.
Alison \ Slowdive (1993) – Slowdive further entrenched their reputation as a leading shoegaze band with the release of their second LP, Souvlaki, in 1993. Completed after arduous recording and re-recording sessions, including collaboration with Brian Eno, a producer and artist whose work aided in the atmospheric approach to music loved by shoegazers, it must have prompted Alan McGee of Creation Records to consider abandoning shoegazers after this and his MBV Loveless experience. The new Slowdive album only reached #51 on the UK albums chart, falling short of the #32 spot the debut had achieved. Regardless, its excellence, displayed in the single, “Alison,” showed the band’s mastery of the shoegaze sound. Its lack of success was an indication of how the music press and fans were already moving on to the next thing as Britpop was taking hold, and shoegaze’s seriousness and overwrought sound and production were comparing unfavourably to the fun and spirit of that ascending scene.
Slowdive released one more album in 1995, Pygmalion, before being dropped by Creation almost immediately after its release – an odd time to make such a move but perhaps more reflective of Creation’s financial struggles, no doubt hampered by its shoegaze roster’s lack of commercial success. Slowdive was then shut down as Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, and Ian McCutcheon, at that point three-fifths of Slowdive, began a new project that explored a shoegaze-meets-country music blend in the form of band, Mojave 3. The other band members, Simon Scott and Christian Savill, went on to other acts that continued to explore the shoegaze form in other milieus, such as electronica.
In 2014 Slowdive reformed and in 2017, released their first single in 22 years, the fantastic “Star Roving.” Their fourth album followed shortly after and they have toured regularly. I caught their show that year and it was fantastic. Ironically, they seem more popular now than in their early days, selling out the show I attended and being approached with a reverence that didn’t exist when they were originally trying to gain such appreciation. Such is the situation with shoegaze in modern times. Having influenced subsequent generations of artists, the originals now have an exalted status from which they can now finally gain reasonable benefit.
Mistress \ Red House Painters (1993) – Red House Painters was a good example of how bands were melding the shoegaze sound into more straightforward alt-rock mixes. A low-key band that was part of a movement eventually dubbed slowcore, their reflective, moody downtempo songs occasionally mixed-in a raw, rough guitar sound that shifted their sound into a shoegaze mold.
Formed in San Francisco in 1988, starting with singer, guitarist, and song writer Mark Kozelek along with drummer Anthony Koutsos, guitarist Gordon Mack, and bassist Jerry Vessel. Red House Painters signed to 4AD in 1992 and released the 6-song debut album, Down Colourful Hill, the same year. It was followed by a second LP in 1993, a self-titled LP that was also dubbed ‘Rollercoaster’ (or Red House Painters I) when the band released a third LP that was also self-titled. It was from the second LP that the song, “Mistress,” appeared and best showed the band’s shoegaze flavour. It was just a beautiful, subtle composition in which Kozelek’s echoey vocal rode along a mossy bed of guitar fuzz and a jazzy little beat. It’s a song I never tire of hearing.
Red House Painters went on to release six LPs in total, with Gordon Mack being replaced with Phil Carney in 1995. The band came apart after the recording of their final LP in 1998 and before its eventual release in 2001. During that time Kozelek recorded and released his first solo works. In 2003 he started Sun Kil Moon along with Koutsas and Carney, an act that carried on the Red House Painters vibe and has survived until today.
A Storm in Heaven
Star Sail \ The Verve (1993) – After the success of their initial singles and EP, The Verve released their debut LP, A Storm in Heaven, in June 1993. It was a fantastic album, expanding and deepening the lush, bluesy sound of their early releases and carried along by beautiful, shimmering layers of guitar. “Star Sail” was the album’s lead track and an emphatic, bombastic, vast arrangement that told you this was going to be a seriously deep and satisfying listening experience. The album had ten tracks and, really, not one was worth skipping. It was a moody, generally downtempo listen, but punctuated enough with invigorating and uplifting interludes to keep from it getting boring or setting the listener into a malaise. Perhaps the sound through the album was a bit too consistent, but when it was so lovely to hear, it wasn’t a problem for a forty-six minute experience. These weren’t radio friendly songs, and thus the two singles, “Blue” and “Slide Away,” only achieved #69 and #90 on the UK singles chart. The album, however, did better with a #27 showing.
There would be a second LP in 1995, A Northern Soul, and then 1997’s stupendous, Urban Hymns, which went to #1 in the UK and #23 in the US, bolstered by the success of the single, “Bittersweet Symphony,” which reached #2 in the UK singles chart and #12 in the US. It was bested by the LP’s next single, the brilliant “The Drugs Don’t Work,” which reached #1 in the UK. “Lucky Man,” the album’s third single, also cracked the top ten. They had, by then, moved away from the broader expanses of their initial, shoegaze LP, but the influences still remained evident.
Always a contentious membership, Ashcroft first broke up The Verve after the second LP before re-assembling it for the third album. Guitarist Nick McCabe left the band for a second time after the third LP, and Ashcroft moved onto solo work, with The Verve announcing its split finally in 1999. However, they reformed in 2007 and released the very excellent LP, Forth, in 2008. By 2009 there was again rumours of another break-up, and though there has been no official pronouncement on their status, there have been no further releases or performances since, with the members moving on to other work.
Another iconic, shoegaze album cover
The Nude \ Catherine Wheel (1993) – After the excellent debut LP, Catherine Wheel did the impressive work of releasing an even better follow-up with July 1993’s Chrome. Mixing the shoegaze sound with a tougher rock sound, the album moved wonderfully through dreamy, moody pieces and aggressive rock tunes. It only reached #58 in the UK charts, falling below the debut’s #36 finish, but I suspect that was as much due to shoegaze’s declining momentum by the second half of ’93. The first single, “Crank,” reached #66 in the UK and #5 on the US Modern Rock chart, while the second, “Show Me Mary,” reached #62 in the UK. Those songs, good as they were, only scratched the surface of the album’s wonderfulness, revealing the poppier side of the band.
Digging deeper the album provided the propulsive rhythms of the album’s opening track, “Kill Rhythm,” followed by the moody shoegaze-pop of “I Confess,” and in the second half more of the same, but better, with the infectious, “The Nude,” or the moody, sultry ambience of “Fripp.” Overall it was a more open, accessible form of shoegaze, which is what Catherine Wheel always offered when, say, compared to a My Bloody Valentine or Medicine, that made it an important ambassador of the genre. They deserved better success than they got.
Three more albums followed between 1995 and 2000 in the face of declining sales, label problems, and a shifting music scene. Since then the band, without any formal, conclusive announcement, stopped releasing music or touring, effectively leaving Catherine Wheel as a dormant entity. Given the recent resurgence in shoegaze interest, they would be a great choice to reform, same as MBV, Ride and Slowdive.
Stereolab: Laetitia Sadier, Mary Hansen (deceased 2002), and Tim Gane. The line-up for the LP, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements, also included Duncan Brown, Sean O’Hagan, and Andy Ramsay.
Jenny Ondioline \ Stereolab (1993) – Since their debut series of singles, mini-LPs, and EPs, and a first LP over 1991-‘92, Stereolab had built a strong following and the interest of music labels. Signing with Electra Records in the US, the band released their second LP with the lengthy title, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements. Continuing to mix their droning, easy-listening vibe interspersed with retro keyboards and layers of fuzzy guitar, all accented by Laetitia Sadier’s French-accented vocals, the album was a standout for its unique sound and highly engaging songs, despite featuring many repetitive sequences and the title-referenced, ‘random-noise bursts.’ The album hinged on the epic, eighteen-minute, “Jenny Ondioline,” understandably shortened to a four-minute version for its release as a single. It was one of the most impressive and ambitious entries in exploring the repetitive, droning, dream pop formula for shoegaze taken to its fullest scope.
Stereolab has always employed a colourful, playful, and somewhat abstract design approach to their albums.
The album reached #62, giving Stereolab its first taste of chart attention, and though the single for “Jenny Ondioline” didn’t see the charts, critics loved it as did many fans, including an additional track on the 12” version, “French Disco” (later re-issued as “French Disko”). The band would sustain its cult following, releasing a total of ten albums by 2010 before taking a break, having just come back together for a tour in which I recently saw their excellent, sold out Toronto show. Like other re-formed bands of the era, appreciation for the original shoegaze acts are much higher now than before.
Duel \ Swervedriver (1993) – In the two years after their debut, Swervedriver had toured to raise their profile and released an epic single/EP in 1992, “Never Lose that Feeling,” that included both an eleven-minute version of the song and a shorter, four-minute version. It carried forward the rocking, shoegaze sound of their debut but added more sweeping, subtler mixes, explored in the song’s extended, mid-song blues-jazz jam.
The single was included in the second LP, Mezcal Head, which was promoted with a new single, the album’s second track, “Duel.” It was a great song, distilling the band’s sound into a catchy, accessible shoegaze-rock sound that seemed to rev up to a fantastic pace and guitar strength before settling back into softer, bluesy interludes with a slick chorus and an extended outro. It was evidence of how this album was going to have a more varied approach to their sound. The album was further promoted by another EP, built around the album track, “Last Train to Satansville,” with its chugging western riff under the usual layers of guitar and a catchy vocal melody.
All these tracks were evidence of a very strong offering from this tougher version of a shoegaze band. And while they couldn’t get these excellent songs to chart, the album managed a #55 spot on the UK chart, roughly similar to the #44 spot of their first LP. After their third LP was released in 1995, the band was dropped by Creation, same as what happened to Slowdive. They then released one more album in 1998 before going on an indefinite hiatus. They came back together in 2008 and have released two more LPs in 2015 and 2019 and are touring regularly. I saw them earlier in 2019 and will be seeing them again this month.
Barney (…and me) \ The Boo Radleys (1993) – After the Boo Radley’s 1992 LP, Everything’s Alright Forever (featured earlier in this playlist), they came out with their third LP in ’93, the excellent Giant Steps. It was another album that bridged the shoegaze sound into the Britpop world, mixing straight pop styles with edgy, fuzzy guitar accents. Opening with the super-catchy, “I Hang Suspended” and leading into the reggae dub-influenced, “Upon 9th and Fairchild,” the album revealed itself as an ascendant and challenging work.
The shoegaze influences are rife, yet not as in-your-face as past compositions, now working the fuzz into the deeper regions of the songs and in subtler ways. Guitars abounded but were worked in as truer rock styles than in the layered, repetitive styles of dream pop. A song like “Leaves and Sand” started as a light, acoustic pop song before breaking into a noisy, fuzz-laden break, but then reverted back to the pop style. The pop songs too had a somewhat sparse, Britpop feel tinted with shoegaze dreaminess in places. Basically, the album shifted from genre to genre as it explored an intriguing array, not just across the songs but within them.
Of the album’s many epic tracks, perhaps the most impressive was “Lazarus” (with its Pink Floyd, Atom Heart Mother horn bursts), but for its shoegaze bona fides we have to go with its fourth single, “Barney (…and Me).” Starting as an acoustically driven pop song it spun into a dream pop, electric guitar tune a minute in and later included noisy interludes before settling into an increasingly intense, layered guitar finale over the final two minutes. It was a great example of how the album moved constantly through its influences, engaging the ear at every turn.
Giant Steps was critically acclaimed but was a challenge for audiences. The four singles didn’t chart highly (or at all), but the album reached a respectable #17 in the UK album chart. It did, however, set the stage for the band’s next LP, Wake Up!, which went to #1 buoyed by the top ten single, “Wake Up Boo!” However, that album moved completely away from shoegaze and embraced fully the Britpop sound. The Boo Radleys followed with two more LPs in 1996 and 1998, before breaking up in 1999.
Awaiting Eternity \ Rose Chronicles (1993) – Every act on this playlist has originated from the UK or US except for MBV out of Ireland. In Canada’s Rose Chronicles we have the only other exception. Though Canada supported many shoegaze acts, or at least Toronto did based on the many shows I attended, few acts from my native land ventured deeply into the genre. The closest during the original era was Rose Chronicles, out of Vancouver, which offered a dream pop sound.
Rose Chronicles
Formed in 1992 the band included Richard Maranda (guitar), Steve van der Woerd (drums), Judd Cochrane (bass), and perhaps most importantly the ethereal and operatic vocals of Kristy Thirsk. Making a quick impression on the local music scene, they signed with Nettwerk Records, the label created by ‘80s Vancouver act, MOEV. It was building a solid roster with the likes of industrial act Skinny Puppy and pop singer Sarah McLachlan, who at the time was shifting from a rock and pop sound (with a little dreamy influence) into an emotive pop style that would catapult her into international stardom.
Rose Chronicles first release was the 1993 EP, Dead and Gone to Heaven, followed later by their first full length release in ’94, Shiver, both of which were built around the epic, “Awaiting Eternity.” Sounding like a pleasant pop song carried by Thirsk’s forceful vocals, the song exploded with the chorus into a splendid shoegaze guitar, building and building the layers and wall-of-guitar to support Kirsty’s impressive, high-pitched vocal crescendo through the song’s climax. It was a great mix of dream pop and shoegaze, blending the heavier guitar with the lighter pop style. The album featured a longer mix by producer Alan Moulder, a shoegaze master who had also produced Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Curve, and Lush.
The band struggled in finishing a second LP and keeping the label’s interest, despite the success of the debut LP which won a Juno (Canada’s music award) for Best Alternative Album. A second LP did eventually arrive in ’96, but by then the band was done. Thirsk would lend her vocals to Canadian electro-dream pop act Delerium over the coming years and release a solo LP in 2003, followed by additional self-released albums in 2008 and 2014 that were in electro-dance styles.
Hope Sandoval & David Roback of Mazzy Star
Bells Ring \ Mazzy Star (1993) – Evolving out of the underground psychedelic scene in ‘80s Los Angeles, Mazzy Star was formed in 1988 when the band Opal was dissolved as a result of singer/bassist Kendra Smith leaving during a tour with Jesus and Mary Chain. Guitarist/song writer David Roback brought Hope Sandoval in to replace her after having recently offered to produce her band, Going Home, which had scored an opening slot for Sonic Youth. Contractually obligated under Opal to Rough Trade Records, Roback and Sandoval continued to perform under that name and even started recording a new Opal album until Rough Trade folded. Under Sandoval’s insistence they sought a new beginning and instead recorded a new album under the name Mazzy Star.
Their debut LP was released in 1990 and featured sparse, alt-rock recordings that showed off Hope’s haunting, lovely vocals. It was dream pop without the layered guitars, though with some doses such as on the song, “Ghost Highway” (one of the only Opal compositions to be carried forward into Mazzy Star). The second LP, 1993’s So Tonight that I Might See, provided another lovely mix of sparse, dark alt-pop songs and fuzzy dream pop. The single, “Fade Into You,” would become a minor hit a year later, with the album eventually reaching #68 in the UK albums chart and #36 in the US. Its haunting, echoey sound was brilliant and one of the best tracks of the era, but for the true dream pop sound, the album’s second track, “Bells Ring,” delivered a stronger mix of the band’s sound with the requisite, layered guitars.
Mazzy Star released a third LP in 1996, Among My Swan, before Roback and Sandoval turned to work on other projects. Sandoval recorded with Jesus and Mary Chain and then formed the act, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, along with Colm Ó Cíosóig from My Bloody Valentine. They have released three LPs together between 2001 and 2016.
Yo La Tengo: James McNew, Ira Kaplan, & Georgia Hubley
From a Motel 6 \ Yo La Tengo (1993) – By late 1993 Yo La Tengo was issuing its sixth LP, Painful. It was a series of firsts for the band, now in its tenth year. It was their first for the Matador label, first of what would be many albums with producer Roger Moutenot, and first as a trio with bassist James McNew now permanently in the band, joining husband and wife founders Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley. Featuring fantastic fuzzbomb songs like “From A Motel 6” and “Big Day Coming” in their typical droning style, the album was a fresh take for Yo La Tengo and elevated their sound to a more accessible, intoxicating mix. It also had lighter, dream pop moments such as “Double Dare” along with grinding, classic downtempo shoegaze tracks like “Sudden Organ” and “I Was the Fool Beside You For Too Long.” Never a commercially successful act, their critical and fan support grew nonetheless with this highly appreciated release. The band has consistently released music to this day, now having issued fifteen albums.
Medicine: Beth Thompson, Brad Laner, & Jim Goodall
Fried Awake \ Medicine (1993) – With their second LP, 1993’s Buried Life, Medicine continued to revel in its caustic guitar sounds. From the hypnotic, piercing opening of the album’s first track, “The Pink,” through to the driving hooks of “Baby Doll” and “Slut” and fuzzy melodies of “Never Click,” and finally to the dream pop of “Fried Awake,” the band managed one of the purest, most noisily enjoyable albums of the shoegaze genre. Even the off-kilter chaos of “I Hear” was a mesmerizing listen. The album did everything a great shoegaze album should do, it entertained, it challenged, it lifted you, dropped you, and left you spent, deaf, and deeply satisfied by its finish.
Of course, the album was generally ignored despite its excellence. Medicine did receive some increased exposure when their song, “Time Baby 3” was included in the soundtrack for the 1994 movie, The Crow, but otherwise the band continued to toil in relative obscurity through another LP in 1995 before breaking up. Variations of the band have reformed to issue four more albums between 2003 and 2019.
It’s no mistake the adjectives fuzzy, noisy, layered, dreamy, mesmerizing, and guitar-laden have been used more times in this profile than good writing form would allow. But hey, how else do you describe seventy songs connected by those very aspects?
Shoegaze was an acquired taste and necessarily lived in the more obscure corners of the alt-rock world of the early ‘90s, despite the broad fascination with guitar-rock in that era. More appreciated and popular now thanks to legions of acts that have carried on the tradition, the experimentalism, creativity, and vision of these early acts deserves all the attention we can give. Maybe it is time to life our gaze.
