Shoegaze

[SteveXFR]

I've been listening to a lot of 90's shoegaze bands this week (Swervedriver, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine etc) but I'm not finding any new shoegaze bands. Do they exist?

[chriswareham]

There were quite a few on the London scene a few years ago, but most didn't reappear after the COVID lockdown. One band that is definitely still around and making a bit of a name for themselves are Black Doldrums. They have a friend of mine on bass - he's actually a lead guitarist normally but had made the transition to being a melodic bassist very well. I'd suggest checking them out on YouTube, although the studio recordings haven't quite captured the intensity of their live sound yet so if you get the chance I'd highly recommend seeing one of their concerts in person.

[AMV001]

9 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

90's shoegaze...Swervedriver

I once tied a pair of Converse trainers to the lighting rig at a Swervedriver gig in protest at that term. As far as I know only one person understood the action. The rest either didn't notice or didn't get the joke.

Edited March 2 by AMV001

[SteveXFR]

5 hours ago, AMV001 said:

I once tied a pair of Converse trainers to the lighting rig at a Swervedriver gig in protest at that term. As far as I know only one person understood the action. The rest either didn't notice or didn't get the joke.

 

Didn't the name originally refer to guitarists always looking down at their pedal boards because they were constantly changing effects? Always going from heavily distorted with a ton of delay to slightly different heavily distorted with a ton of delay. 

[toneknob]

Have a look at Whitelands. They supported Slowdive on the recent reunion tour and are headlining Gazefest sometime this year.

 

[AMV001]

31 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Didn't the name originally refer to guitarists always looking down at their pedal boards because they were constantly changing effects?

Something like that. Hence the shoes in the lighting rig. Some footwear to look up at instead of down.

 

34 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Always going from heavily distorted with a ton of delay to slightly different heavily distorted with a ton of delay. 

Which doesn't describe Swervedriver at all.

[SteveXFR]

1 hour ago, AMV001 said:

Which doesn't describe Swervedriver at all.

 

That's true. I think they're possibly a bit more post rock

[Cliff Edge]

Genuine question in case I have heard some and didn’t know. How does Shoegaze differ from other sub genres of rock? Not talking about a live performance here, just the recorded music. 

[Kyndainverse]

Check out the Sonic Cathedral label/promoter for new shoegaze acts and some of the original artists releasing new stuff. I’ve enjoyed listening Deary and BDRRM. 
I was a big shoegaze fan at the time as a teenager. Swervediver were definitely part of the scene. The bassist from Sweredriver has been on here trying to track down a stolen bass from back in the day. 

[SteveXFR]

2 hours ago, Cliff Edge said:

Genuine question in case I have heard some and didn’t know. How does Shoegaze differ from other sub genres of rock? Not talking about a live performance here, just the recorded music. 

 

It's definitely a distinctive sound. I'd suggest looking up some shoegaze playlists on the streaming service of your choice. 

[Leonard Smalls]

We gigged quite a few times in 1990ish with a shoegazey band called The Fury Things... We did very weird line up gigs involving them, us (shouty dressign-up punky-funk) and the Meanies (featuring Bic of The Cardiacs)

[Cliff Edge]

4 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

It's definitely a distinctive sound. I'd suggest looking up some shoegaze playlists on the streaming service of your choice. 

Thanks, I’ll do that. 

[AMV001]

8 hours ago, Kyndainverse said:

The bassist from Swervedriver has been on here trying to track down a stolen bass from back in the day. 

Yep. Still looking too...no luck yet.

[Kyndainverse]

Hopefully it will turn up one day.
I’m a big fan of your work. Still play the old 12inches every so often.  Love the bass on ‘Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn’. 
Saw you play at the Polytechnic of Wales. Great gig. 

[AMV001]

52 minutes ago, Kyndainverse said:

Hopefully it will turn up one day.
I’m a big fan of your work. Still play the old 12inches every so often.  Love the bass on ‘Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn’. 
Saw you play at the Polytechnic of Wales. Great gig. 

Thank you. Very kind.