Where to start with Shoegaze and Dreampop
Shoegaze and Dreampop is a genre from Thames Valley and London, UK, 1982–1997. Its principal artists include My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride and Cocteau Twins. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 16 dated events.
Start here
- 1
Garlands
Cocteau Twins · 1982Original release: 4AD · CAD 211 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1982It laid down the ethereal, effects-soaked guitar approach and wordless vocals years before shoegaze had a name.
- 2
Psychocandy
The Jesus and Mary Chain · 1985Original release: Blanco y Negro Records · BYN 7 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1985It fused pop melody with feedback and distortion, pushing My Bloody Valentine to change direction entirely.
- 3
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine · 1991Original release: Creation Records · crelp 060 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1991It set the production standard the genre would be measured against for decades.
Go deeper
- 4
Isn't Anything
My Bloody Valentine · 1988Original release: Creation Records · CRELP 040 CD · CD · UK 1988Isn't Anything is the record where My Bloody Valentine found their own language.
- 5
Nowhere
Ride · 1990Original release: Creation Records · CRECD074 · CD · UK 1990Nowhere, Ride's debut, reached number 11 in the UK and stands as one of shoegaze's most acclaimed records, its dense guitar layers never losing the melodic thread underneath.
- 6
Just for a Day
Slowdive · 1991Original release: Creation Records · CRELP 094 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1991Just for a Day, Slowdive's debut, captured the dreamier, more melodic side of shoegaze just as the UK press turned against the genre wholesale.
- 7
Going Blank Again
Ride · 1992Original release: Reprise Records · WPCP-4776 · CD · Japan 1992Going Blank Again, Ride's second album, peaked at number 5 in the UK, with lead single "Leave Them All Behind" reaching number 9—shoegaze's commercial high-water mark.
- 8
Souvlaki
Slowdive · 1993Original release: Creation Records · crecd 139 · CD · UK 1993Souvlaki paired Slowdive with Brian Eno, who contributed to two tracks, and met hostile reviews on release in 1993—only to be recognized later as one of shoegaze's essential records.
For the obsessed
- 9
Pygmalion
Slowdive · 1995Original release: Creation Records · crecd 168 · CD · UK 1995Pygmalion, Slowdive's final album of their original run, moved toward ambient minimalism just as Creation Records dropped the band—effectively ending the genre's first wave.
- 10
m b v
My Bloody Valentine · 2013Original release: mbv records · mbv cd 01 · CD · UK 2013m b v arrived 22 years after Loveless to near-universal acclaim, proving the wait had been worth something and that the sound Kevin Shields pioneered still had somewhere to go.
The stories behind every record are in Shoegaze and Dreampop.