The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

Dream pop style · 1984–

Shoegaze takes dream pop’s halo voice, reverberant guitar, and still stage and raises gain into a pedal wall.

Influence
Indie rock style · 1983–

Shoegaze keeps indie-rock’s independent scale and guitar-song and buries the vocal in treated-guitar wash.

Influence
Psychedelic rock style · 1966–1969

Shoegaze takes psychedelic rock’s treated-guitar wash and studio-as-instrument and buries the vocal.

Influence

Shoegaze

style · 1988–

Also called shoegazing

Kind of Rock

Late-1980s–early-90s British guitar style: buried vocals, treated-guitar wash, and a still stage (My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive). It hears Indie rock for independent scale and the guitar-song, Dream pop for the 4AD halo-voice, and Psychedelic rock for treated-guitar wash. Noise-pop leftover as a Jesus and Mary Chain neighboring name. Nu-gaze leftover as a 2000s revival on this node. Britpop leftover as a press rival, not a child.

Listen

  1. Soon My Bloody Valentine (1991) YouTube · Spotify
  2. Only Shallow My Bloody Valentine (1991) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  3. Vapour Trail Ride (1990) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  4. Alison Slowdive (1993) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon
  5. Leave Them All Behind Ride (1992) YouTube · Spotify · Amazon

Passed on

Blackgaze style · 2007–

Blackgaze takes shoegaze’s treated-guitar wall and blended vocal and locks it to black-metal blast and scream.

Influence

Dream pop → Shoegaze

timbre and productionmelodyperformance practicestrength: highscholarly consensus1988–1991recording

Mechanism

Shoegaze takes dream pop’s halo voice, reverberant guitar, and still stage and raises gain into a pedal wall. Strength high. Noise-pop leftover as a Jesus and Mary Chain neighboring name, not a filed parent.

Evidence

MBV/Slowdive against Cocteau Twins 4AD records (Grove).

Debate

Whether shoegaze is already dream pop. The 1984 4AD glow is dream pop’s; the 1988–91 named pedal-wall press school is shoegaze’s.

Mediators

artist: My Bloody Valentine; artist: Slowdive

Indie rock → Shoegaze

timbre and productionperformance practiceform and structurestrength: highscholarly consensus1988–1991recordingoral

Mechanism

Shoegaze keeps indie-rock’s independent scale and guitar-song and buries the vocal in treated-guitar wash. Strength high. Dream-pop leftover as a neighboring texture name. Post-punk waits one step (indie). Other parents wait on the shoegaze node.

Evidence

My Bloody Valentine / Ride / Slowdive on the UK indie circuit, 1988–91 (Grove, Starr).

Debate

Whether this is already indie rock. The college-radio song job is indie’s; the pedal-wall and buried vocal are shoegaze’s.

Mediators

artist: My Bloody Valentine

Psychedelic rock → Shoegaze

timbre and productionform and structurestrength: mediumscholarly consensus1988–1991recording

Mechanism

Shoegaze takes psychedelic rock’s treated-guitar wash and studio-as-instrument and buries the vocal. Strength medium. Independent scale remains indie-rock’s parent hop. Noise-pop leftover as a neighboring 1980s texture name.

Evidence

My Bloody Valentine against 1960s psychedelic guitar production (Grove, Starr).

Debate

Whether this is already indie. The independent guitar-song job is indie-rock’s; the psych wash is this hop.

Mediators

artist: My Bloody Valentine

Shoegaze → Blackgaze

timbre and productionperformance practicestrength: highwell documented2007–2013recording

Mechanism

Blackgaze takes shoegaze’s treated-guitar wall and blended vocal and locks it to black-metal blast and scream. Strength high. Black metal is the metal parent. Nu-gaze leftover as a 2000s indie revival on the shoegaze file.

Evidence

Alcest Souvenirs d'un autre monde and Deafheaven Sunbather against 1991 shoegaze wash (Grove).

Debate

Whether this is already metal. Blast/scream grammar is metal’s; the pedal-wall blend is shoegaze’s transfer.

Mediators

artist: Alcest; artist: Deafheaven