Ah, shoegaze. That warm, fuzzy, often depressive guitar-led assault on my precious eardrums.
For decades, since putting down roots in the late 70s and early 80s, the genre has continued to reinvent and redefine itself. So when we talk about the “best” albums, that conversation can get tricky.
Luckily for us, I’m very confident in my ability to both choose the best ones AND infuriate traditionalists at the same time. So, please, at the risk of your own elevated blood pressure, read on and see which shoegaze albums are the best ones from the past four decades!
1980s: ‘Psychocandy’ by The Jesus and Mary Chain (1985)
The Jesus and Mary Chain’s debut album, Psychocandy, might not be the first definable shoegaze album (that honor more than likely goes to the Cocteau Twins), but it’s pretty damn close.
Released in 1985, the album was a breakout for the 80s rock scene, bringing a louder, darker New Wave sound. The band took the foundation laid by bands like Joy Division and then built some big a** walls of sound all around it.
Everything that came after it was inspired by what these Scottish boys had forged across these 14 tracks.
1990s: ‘Loveless’ by My Bloody Valentine (1991)
So, if the Cocteau Twins and The Jesus and Mary Chain defined shoegaze, My Bloody Valentine perfected it. The band’s debut album, Isn’t Anything (1988), was a very impressive entry into the genre. However, it was the 1991 follow-up, Loveless, that changed everything.
The use of sounds and experimentation on this album feels fluid, but somehow hits your ears like a vapor while being deeply solid in its use of melody. What I’m saying is, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless is so important that it is the musical equivalent of H2O, water, a life-sustaining element.
2000s: self-titled by Jesu (2004)
If I say “shoegaze went somewhat dormant in the 2000s,” then a bunch of you purist nerds are gonna give me s**t and cite a bunch of bands/albums that prove me wrong. So I am not saying that.
Suffice it to say, the 2000s were not a huge decade for shoegaze. Except for bands like the Deftones continuing to incorporate elements, many shoegaze bands went deep underground.
It was around this time that Justin Broadrick of Godflesh started a new musical project, Jesu. His self-titled 2004 debut shoegaze endeavor would go on, at least in my opinion, to be the most crucial thing to happen to the genre during this time. It proved that incorporating heavier elements with shoegaze could deliver results no less melodic than what its forbearers were doing decades prior.
2010s: ‘Sunbather’ by Deafheaven (2013)
At that, bring us to Deafheaven’s Sunbather, which is definitely going to get me in trouble with the aforementioned purists.
Sunbather is a very divisive album. It’s like those old Reese’s ads where the peanut butter guy is like “you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and the chocolate guy is all, “you got peanut butter in my chocolate!” Only here it was shoegaze guys and black metal guys. (Which is weird because no one seemed to care when Alcest did it.)
I think all this ties into why Sunbather was so important. Deafheaven had created some of the most evocative art that either shoegaze or black metal had seen in years. They crafted something that not only brought the blackgaze sub-genre to the surface but also shed new light on all forms of shoegaze, which is invaluable visibility.
Bonus / 2020s (So Far): ‘Homecoming’ by Scarlet House (2024)
There are still four more years left in this decade. So, maybe we’ve not heard the best shoegaze album of the 2020s yet. However, the best one so far has been Scarlet House’s Homecoming, and it’s going to be hard to beat. In fact, he’ll probably have to be the one to do so.
I’ve exhaustively praised the work of this Charlotte, North Carolina, one-man shoegaze band, and I’m not about to stop now. He is, hands down, the future of the genre. Come August 28, 2026, Scarlet House will drop his new album, Angels, giving only himself a run for the money at the best shoegaze album of the 2020s.
The post The 4 Best Shoegaze Albums From Each of the Past Four Decades appeared first on VICE.
