Ten Great Shoegazer Jams of the 21st Century
In celebration of the sonic majesty that the Arcade Fire achieve on “Empty Room” and other choice cuts from their latest triumph The Suburbs, here are ten more recent jams to swoon and ear-bleed over. (The qualification is hardly necessary though, as these are some of my most beloved and most played songs ever.) One of these bands is a survivor of the early 90s shoegazing scene, the others find inspiration in various aspects of the older bands, but they all make big, big sounds. I’ve singled out each track’s hottest moment, usually a noise onslaught or some other bit where you find yourself miles high and reeling.
The Twilight Sad – “And She Would Darken The Memory” (Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, 2007)
2:29 – When I say “noise onslaught” you probably expect I mean cascading guitars and booming drums, but James Graham has as much furious energy as a whole army of shoegazers and their vast arrays of effects pedals…in his vocal chords! There’s a delirious heaven-sent guitar maelstrom later on, but you’ll need to hear this for the moment that beautiful scream first erupts.
The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross” (The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, 2010)
3:03 – The rare moment that isn’t dominated by the cool-as-heaven lead vocal of Olga Goreas, though her bass glides in like thunder and one senses that she has commanded her band to create The Greatest Rock Song. Pretty darn close.
The Sleepover Disaster – “Funnel Cloud” (Hover, 2009)
0:12 – A monster riff that a Black Sabbath fan might also love, but what makes these guys The Great Revivalists is the way they dress it up like vintage ’92.
A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “5:15 Train” (Scribble Mural Comic Journal, 2007)
0:24 – The song starts with a rattle of noise, so the cherished moment is when the drums go soft and deep and pull everything back to a whisper.
M83 – “Teen Angst” (Before The Dawn Heals Us, 2005)
0:51 – It builds and builds and just when you’re expecting a Big Moment, it drops you ever so dizzily.
Wye Oak – “Please Concrete” (If Children, 2008)
2:02 – In my small circle of music-loving friends, this is perhaps the most discussed moment in modern music.
The Joy Formidable – “Austere” (A Balloon Called Moaning, 2009)
1:15 – I didn’t know so much sound could fit into my speakers—like all the giddy highs from the first Elastica album overlaid on top of each other and yet rendered so impeccably clean.
Secret Shine – “Know” (All Of The Stars, 2008)
1:01 – Almost absurdly shrill, but these veterans know what they can get away with.
She, Sir – “Lieutenant” (Who Can’t Say Yes, 2007)
0:01 – It never lets up, so even if this is the only moment that surprises, the remaining 2:29 blazes with restless energy.
The Depreciation Guild – “My Chariot” (Spirit Youth, 2010)
0:49 – Let’s return to the ground. These relative newcomers remember that a pretty voice can keep all those cascading guitars from launching you into the stratosphere. When the singer tries to replicate the song’s opening 8-bit melody, it’s understated but very groovy.
