Shoegazing

Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze) is a style of alternative rock that emerged in southern England in the late 1980s.

Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze) is a style of alternative rock that emerged in southern England in the late 1980s. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine, released in 1991 (see 1991 in music) is said to have defined the sound, although this is increasingly disputed by those artists associated with the genre who claimed a closer identification with the more hypnotic, rhythm based bands like Loop.

Shoegazing is characterised by a self-deprecating, introspective, non-confrontational feel. Common musical elements are distortion and fuzzbox, droning riffs and a Phil Spector-esque wall of sound from noisy guitars. Typically two distorted rhythm guitars are played together and give an amorphous quality to the sound. Although lead guitar riffs were often present, they were not the central focus of most shoegazing songs.