Top Shoegaze Albums of 2023
Shoegaze Albums
Our indie music buyer Brad is also our resident shoegaze expert. Shoegaze has always appeared in his annual year-end lists of his favorite albums and Brad's Top 50 of 2023 is no exception. The genre has experienced a renaissance lately, attracting new listeners who have discovered the music through TikTok and algorithms. Given that the genre is 30 years old, it's especially notable how many bands were putting out new shoegaze albums in 2023! In fact, there were so many new shoegaze albums released last year that we wanted to highlight the genre by itself. As Brad says, it's always fun to hear bands working within this genre and putting out new and inspiring albums to get lost in.
So read on for Brad's top shoegaze recommendations from 2023, listed in alphabetical order.
bdrmm - I Don't Know
A beautiful album of modern shoegaze songs to get addicted to from British band bdrmm. I Don't Know is a perfect album to daydream to or get lulled off to sleep with.
Flyying Colours - You Never Know (Poison City)
This Melbourne band has released another album of fantastic shoegaze. Unlike some shoegaze acts you can actually understand these guys as the vocals are not just lost in the background. “Goodbye To Music” is one of the standout tracks, along with “Modern Dreams.”
Hotline TNTIt is always nice to find more shoegaze from America. These alt shoegaze dudes from NYC make a super fun album full of swirling guitars and dreamy vocals.
Mint Field - Aprender A Ser (Felte Records)
Mexico City's Mint Field created a gorgeous shoegaze album during pandemic times. Out of isolation and tragedy comes some beautiful music for sure. Bands like this make the world an easier place to deal with. Music therapy is real.
Parannoul - After the Magic (Topshelf)
Parannoul is a mysterious South Korean shoegaze band and no one seems to know anything about them. After the Magic is one of those albums that I can somehow sing along to even though I don’t speak Korean and can often barely distinguish the lyrics from the instruments. For fans of Ulrich Schnauss and bands like Manual and Darla Records.
Slowdive - Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans)
I honestly never thought this band would still be active in my life. I just thought they would be one of my favorite bands destined to live only in my mind. But Slowdive came back into our lives years ago and gifted us with yet another comeback album and tour in 2023. The album is short but I can listen to “kisses” and “the slab” over and over again. Nothing makes me happier than the multiple generations that are now into and obsessed with this band. It is hard to think of a band that has been more important to me than this one.
Squirrel Flower - Tomorrow’s Fire (Poly Vinyl)
Like a country music Pale Saints. My new favorite genre is country grunge shoegaze. Dreamy and melancholic songs with beautiful vocals. For fans of '90s era dreamy jams.
Tanukichan - GIZMO (Company Records)
Bay Area shoegaze in the style of darker shoegaze bands like Curve. Dark, swirly music to help lull you to sleep. Dark and moody while being sugary sweet, all at the same time. ”Make Believe” will make you love this band. Or something might be wrong with you.
Wednesday - Rat Saw God (Dead Oceans)
Not many bands can pull off a sound somewhere between shoegaze and country. Wednesday's fifth album is full of angst and sounds like it came right out of the late '90s. This album caught me by surprise and became one of my favorites of 2023.
Wild Nothing - Hold (Captured Tracks)
It seems like just yesterday I first got obsessed with Captured Tracks and bands like Beach Fossils, Blank Dogs, Soft Moon, DIIV, Craft Spells, and Wild Nothing. I never stopped liking this label and most of these bands are still very active and releasing great albums. They are a very consistent label and remind me of Sarah Records in the '90s. Wild Nothing is a bit dream pop and a bit jangly. One of those bands that you would swear came from the British '90s. Jack Tatum has perfected his sound and made another fantastic, tight album.
If you want to explore even more shoegaze, here are some recommendations of classic shoegaze releases from the '90s (in alphabetical order):
Adorable - Against Perfection (1993)
British shoegazers Adorable released their often criminally overlooked debut, Against Perfection, in 1993. Album single "Sunshine Smile" spotlights what the band did best: fusing hazy, warm romanticism with intense, brooding guitar riffs.
Catherine Wheel - Ferment (1992)
Catherine Wheel's debut album, Ferment, is a sweeping, soaring affair. On this album, the band combines shoegaze and neo-psych for tracks that feel like instant nostalgia, a tidal wave of emotion.
Chapterhouse - Whirlpool (1991)
Chapterhouse's first album, Whirlpool, feels like a wistful dream. The band's hypnotic grooves, swirling melodies, and hazy vocals will make you feel like you're falling in love.
Curve - Doppelgänger (1992)
Curve brings a gothic edge to the kaleidoscopic Doppelgänger. The darkly alluring vocals of Toni Halliday will get under your skin, while the industrial meets shoegaze meets noise-pop melodies will get you dancing.
Drop Nineteens - Delaware (1992)
One of the few American bands in the overwhelmingly British shoegaze genre, Boston's Drop Nineteens are having a bit of a resurgence. Their debut, Delaware, is being reissued on vinyl in Feb. 2024. It's packed with entrancing, emotionally rich songs that balance yearning, bitter-edged vocals with distorted, droning guitars.
Hum - You'd Prefer an Astronaut (1995)
Hum gets even heavier than your typical 'gaze band on their third album, You'd Prefer an Astronaut. The band finds power in deceptively quiet vocals paired with practically metal guitars and percussion, as evidenced on their biggest success, the single "Stars."
LushLush's debut, Spooky, is essential dreampop listening. Produced by Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie, this is a haunting, enthralling album with heady shoegaze guitars, swirling melodies, and otherworldly vocals.
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
My Bloody Valentine's Loveless is basically synonymous with the phrase "shoegaze." Screeching guitars, opaque vocals, and out-of-this-world tunings make this an album that's every bit as beautiful and unforgettable as its reputation would lead you to expect.
Pale Saints - In Ribbons (1992)
One of the 4AD label's greatest, Pale Saints, are utterly captivating on In Ribbons. The tracks are captivating, unexpected, and baroque, with velvety, sometimes distant vocals, woozy melodies, and an almost folkloric sense of mystery to the proceedings.
RideRide's Nowhere is a must-have for fans of the genre, an urgent, no-holds-barred record with an unparalleled intensity. Singer/guitarist Mark Gardener called Nowhere a "nighttime sort of record," a label that makes perfect sense for this mysterious, lovely, and sometimes disconcerting album.
SlowdiveSouvlaki has become a classic in the realm of shoegaze and dream-pop, featuring stronger ambient music influences than before, and personal lyrics regarding the break-up between vocalists/guitarists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead.
Swervedriver - Raise (1991)
Swervedriver's debut album introduced a heavier grunge sound with shoegaze elements that proved to be a satisfying combination. Headbangers like "Son of a Mustang Ford" and "Sandblasted" remain solid rock songs with timeless appeal.
