MaiZure, 2003

What were British artists up to between the years of the 80s Heavy Metal and the appearance of Suede? Why they were shoegazing of course! To the uninitiated listener, the genre name draws more than a casual glance at this particular collective of British indie pop artists. What's in the name? Shoegazing was aptly coined for the curious performance these bands showcased during at their gigs. While the music was usually full of energy, the performers were very calm. Members sang and played their instruments with eyes locked on the floor in front of them. Much of the music was noisy; stuffed with sonic textures painted by flangers and distorton, yet the musicians remained stoic throughout the act. Even during the height of their popularity (~1992), the artists maintained this unusual stage disposition. Thus, Shoegazing earned its name as one of the few subgenre centered around visual style as opposed to musical taste.

Aside from the performance style, the common thread among the Shoegazers were that they were all from Great Britain, they were all indie rock acts, and many of them had short one word names. The movement began quite inadvertently with the group 'My Bloody Valentine' during their early years around 1985. Hailing from Ireland and bringing with them tricks leanred from other indie greats, Valentine had earned a reputation for being perfectly still during their live shows, not even acknowledging the audience. Contrary to what performers would tell you, this actually brought the upstart group more attention with their blatant lack of action. The shoegazing term was applied to them courtesy of the British Music Press, and other groups crawled out of the woodwork to imitate and out-do them.

Loop formed in London, 1986, with their first their LP Heaven's End, a year later. As an album, the material can be described as spacey, and drug induced. Tense rhythms, feedback noise, and sampling are the predominant characteristics, especially on the album's title track. The shoegazing approach fit more with Loop's hallucinogenic atmosphere compared to other similar artists using this performance approach; moreover, they didn't present themselves as abnormal compared to other shoegazers. Loop may have enjoyed the stage during the birth of Shoegazing, but they were overshadowed by the greats who had yet to make a significant impact on the scene.

"I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over"
-2001 A Space Odyssey, sampled by Loop on the song "Heaven's End"

The next year saw Valentine still at the top of the shoegazing world with their new LP Isn't Anything, and the future gazer greats had begun to form in various cities around the British Isles. These soon to be icons were as follows: The Boo Radleys, Chapterhouse, Lush, and Ride. The first of this new bunch to take the step-forward as a shoegazing force were the female led Londoners, Lush. Lush released an EP in '89 by the name of Scar, which had good enough reviews to get them into support slots for Loop on British tours. This break enabled them to release a whole collection of EPs, but the gazing crowed had to wait 3 more years before Lush would unveil their first LP.

Ride probably enjoyed the most commercial success of all of the shoegazing acts during this time frame, most due to the fact that it was obvious there was musical knowledge and dynamics within their ranks. This Oxford quartet managed to get themselves signed to a decent label before they had released any original material. Thus, with record company support, they were able to release 2 EPs and a critically acclaimed LP, Nowhere, in 1990 that shot into the UK Top 20. Nowhere is, without a doubt, one of the top records of the shoegazing culture. The dreamy pop lyrics and chiming guitars create a unique sense of lull and anticipation strong enough to keep interest track after track. "Dreams Burn Down" and "Vapor Trail" are the perfect examples from this record. Ride followed up 2 years later during the height of gazing with Going Blank Again. This record was very similar to the first and generated a similar response. Ride turned to a more conventional pop formula after this record contributing to the quick decline of Shoegazing after 1993.

The Boo Radleys probably didn't intentionally try to be labeled part of the shoegazing crowd, but their use of noise and sparse melodies drew critics to place them there with the release of the LP Ichabod & I in 1990. The shoegazing crowd picked up on this and gave them support despite their lively stage performances. After all, the music coming out of the speaker doesn't change if the band is dancing around or not. The Radleys took their second album, Everything's Alright Forever, a step closer to standard pop with less noise and more direct lyrics. From then on, they said goodbye to their old ways and became a true pop act, even scoring a place on the popular Lollapalooza tour in 1994.

Shoegazing popularity sank after 1992 for the same reasons the 80s hair metal did in the states. The grunge act, ushered in by Nirvana, caught on to pop and underground fans alike creating a fatal backlash to many formerly accepted musical styles. The gazers may have had a respectable following on their home turf, but they were not immune to the change that the boys from Seattle had brought. A handful of artists from this period did manage to adapt quickly and hold onto their following as the Radleys had. My Bloody Valentine was an established act at this point so they were able to tough it out.

For those still interested, other shoegazers to look for are: Catherine Wheel, Curve, Lilys, and Swervedriver.

MaiZure rating: 5/10