The alt-rock and grunge music scene of the 1990s drew heavily from the rock music of the 1970s and 1980s, but it also owed a significant debt to the early shoegaze sound.
An offshoot of late ’70s/early ’80s new wave blended with emerging goth rock and emo-forbearers like Joy Division, shoegaze is a fusion that, when paired with straightforward rock ‘n’ roll, made for an exciting era of music in the ’90s.
Let’s take a stroll through some of the bands who made it all possible…
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Gun to my head… I have to pick a favorite shoegaze band… It’s The Jesus and Mary Chain, easy.
Their experiments with fuzz and distortion set a standard that is widely present in ’90s alt music, but also the way they balanced that with melodic sensibilities is of importance as well. For example, “Happy When it Rains” is a solid example of their skills at crafting a pop song, which feels like it made way for bands like Semisonic or the Gin Blossoms.
Then there’s “Taste the Floor,” which you’d think Blur used as a blueprint for their shift away from Britpop when they wrote their 1997 self-titled album.
Hüsker Dü
I know, I know… “Hüsker Dü’s a punk band.” Look, you’re not wrong… You’re just an asshole.
Hüsker Dü definitely is punk/hardcore, I concede that, but they incorporated a lot of other elements into their music, and they have been credited as an early shoegaze influence by music historians and journalists much more educated than myself.
I think if you listen to songs like “Something I Learned Today,” you can see how they were probably a solid influence on Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. Conversely, their 1985 song “Makes No Sense At All” feels like it could have been an influence on, say, the Counting Crows. Especially tracks like “Angles of the Silences.”
My Bloody Valentine
The thing about My Bloody Valentine is they always feel like an easy reference, but that’s because their sophomore studio album, Loveless (1991), is considered to be one of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time.
There are tons of bands that have credited them as being an inspiration, and their influence is felt through bands from Hole to the Deftones to Starflyer 59.
Dinosaur Jr.
Formed in Massachusetts in 1984, Dinosaur Jr. has probably never received the credit it deserves for how much their style of garage-shoegaze was a precursor to a lot of the elements found in alt-rock and grunge in the ’90s.
I believe you can absolutely hear their influence in bands from across the spectrum, from Soundgarden to the Toadies. Specifically, I would point to Dinosaur Jr.’s 1987 sophomore album, You’re Living All Over Me, as being especially influential on a lot of bands that came after.
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