The Re-emergence of Shoegaze and Dreampop

Graphic By Alekhya Maram

By Sahana Garg

The experimental guitar synthesizer sound of dream pop began to rise in popularity in the early 1970s, and its incredible musical influence remained popular until the early 1990s. Such sub-genres of music are hard to describe, but dream pop could be best explained as a crossbreed of 60s psychedelic rock, pop, indie rock, and British alt-rock. The most notable feature about dream pop is the fact that the vocals aren’t the primary focus of the songs. Instead, the voices are used in an almost background music-like fashion, and instead, the focus lies on the instrumentation of the guitars, synthesizers, and fast-paced drums.

Shoegaze was heavily influenced by Dreampop and  contains a hazier, louder, and distorted sound. Although both are categorized separately, they shared many similarities, and therefore fans. Shoegaze is primarily a neo-psychedelic category of dream pop that reached peak popularity in England in the early 1980s.

Both genres were curated by groups such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, the Cocteau Twins, and Ride. The way that many people identify what category certain albums should belong in is by comparing the songs to My Bloody Valentine’s star hit, “When You Sleep.” If a song doesn’t sound similar to “When You Sleep,” the Shoegaze community doesn’t accept it as a part of their genre.

Although they emerged many decades ago, Dreampop and Shoegaze are rising back to popularity with Gen-Z’s often retro-obsessive, and sometimes outcast-feeling teenagers. The reason why such genres have risen back to popularity in the last 10 or so years does not have a direct explanation. Many attribute  it to teenagers searching for a comfort genre in lonely times especially during the pandemic while others say that it is due to the rise of more recent groups such as Jay Som, the Beach Fossils, Cigarettes After Sex, Salvia Plath, and the re-emergence of Mazzy Star, the 80s hit duo of Hope Sandoval and David Roback. Their most notable song is “Fade Into You” which was recently re-released as well as covered by country turned pop-rock star, Miley Cyrus.

Although many groups have brought Dreampop back to popularity, I would like to highlight the duo, Beach House, founded in 2004. Started by members, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, the alternative Dreampop group has redefined “lonely” with their hit single, “Space Song,” which has been increasing in popularity with teens on social media platforms such as TikTok. The pair has released 7 albums throughout the last 12 years the most notable being, “Depression Cherry” in 2015, a personal favorite from the album being “PPP”. Beach House reports the Cocteau Twins being their largest musical influence, underscoring  the reemergence of Shoegaze. To learn more about them, click on the Spotify link listed below.

With the moody but ethereal varieties of such categories slowly rising back into popularity in this post-Covid world, musical experts predict an exponential increase in listeners across all platforms and therefore increases in related genres such as indie rock and alternative music as well.

Some final playlist, song, and album recommendations:

Dreampop Classics

Shoegaze Classics

My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless” Album

The Cocteau Twins’ “Heaven or Las Vegas” Album

Mazzy Star’s “So Tonight That I Might See” Album

Beach House