shoegaze

noun

shoe·​gaze ˈshü-ˌgāz 

variants or less commonly shoegazing

ˈshü-ˌgā-ziŋ 

: melodic rock music typically characterized by heavily processed electric guitar and indistinct often distant-sounding vocals

The centrality of the guitar to the generic characteristics of shoegaze is articulated through a textural approach to the instrument that eschews traditional rock virtuosity in favor of the foregrounding of timbral qualities.

—Robert Strachan

Shoegaze is about capturing the … melancholia at the edge of existence, that too-stoned sense of being unmoored in the world.

—Cat Zhang

Their unique blend of sleepy vocals and disorienting guitars connected to armies of effects pedals became known as shoegazing, a term that stemmed from watching performers look down at their pedals while singing.

—Joseph Krebaum

… a dreamy, primarily instrumental piece that blurs late-eighties shoegazing with lo-fi electronica …

—Mike McGrath Bryan

—often used before another noun

Frontman Emil Nikolaisen's flamboyant version of shoegaze pop squanders his and his co-vocalist sister's promising melodies with songs that drone on interminably.

—Mikael Wood

Released in the early '90s, the ShredMaster is a simple distortion pedal that packs a serious punch. It was also used by … My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields to help create the shoegaze band's massive wall of sound.

—Scott Wilson

My Bloody Valentine's' 'Loveless' was the magnum opus of the shoegazing genre …

—Clash Magazine (online)

shoegazer

ˈshü-ˌgā-zər 

noun

plural shoegazers

Thurston Moore influenced a generation of noise-heads, from grunge rockers to shoegazers.

—Rolling Stone

… a loose collection of mop-topped British and Irish musicians who explored guitar textures, converted noise into dreamy melody and experimented with hip-hop beats made some of the most compelling music of their era. The British media dubbed the groups "shoegazers" for their introverted live shows and bashful, glamorously depressed posture.

—Scott Timberg

a shoegazer band

shoegazer rock

Examples of shoegaze in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pale Saints formed in Leeds in the late 1980s, originally playing jangly indie-pop before expanding, on their 1989 debut EP, Barging Into the Presence of God, into the more atmospheric sound that would come to be associated with dream-pop and shoegaze. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2024

Slowdive These British rockers were among the leading figures on the shoegaze scene that did so much to shape the sound of British music in the early '90s. —Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 31 Mar. 2024

Formed in New York in 1997, Interpol quickly rose to fame with their unique blend of post-punk, shoegaze and dark wave influences. —Natalia Cano, Billboard, 1 Apr. 2024

Duster’s return demonstrates the way that shoegaze has morphed over time. —Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 14 Dec. 2023

Powered by Will Anderson, the album is an exhilarating blend of driving indie and alt-rock, power-pop, and shoegaze. —Spin Staff, SPIN, 12 Dec. 2023

The prolific, and anonymous, South Korean songwriter and producer combines shoegaze, post-rock, emo, ambient, and pop with bold originality—every song is a pixelated lightshow of live and electronic instrumentation. —Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023

On Rat Saw God, the band reaches shoegaze transcendence, screamo heaven, and the kind of catharsis that leaves you exhausted in the most glorious way. —Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023

Even when the words and guitars are stretched-out and smeared around, Hotline TNT’s music is immediate—shoegaze spiked with hooks that bring to mind power-pop heroes Teenage Fanclub or even early Foo Fighters. —Quinn Moreland, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

shoe entry 1 + gaze entry 1, probably as back-formation from shoe-gazing or shoe-gazer

Note: The name allegedly originated in reference to performances of the British rock group Moose in 1991: "They [members of the group] inadvertently began the so-called 'shoegazing' movement, so dubbed because of the static nature of bands who focused on the floorboards instead of their audience, when [Russell] Yates [the group's vocalist] read lyrics taped to the floor." (The Guinness Who's Who of Indie New Wave Music, 2nd edition [Enfield, England, 1995], p. 239)

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above