This will be a rare post where I keep my rambling to a minimum and just present some music I like for your consideration. I’ve been trying to listen to as much shoegaze as I can on Bandcamp and think these are some of the best releases in the genre from 2017.
Overlake – Fall
This band chose a fitting album title, since their music is firmly in the autumnal style of shoegaze popularized by bands like Yo La Tengo. The trio has a fairly massive sound on some songs, but for the most part this is more subtle shoegaze with hazy guitar and perfect man/woman vocal harmonies.
The Cherry Wave – Shimaru
This group of Scots has a fairly different take on the genre than most that I’ve heard. They ditch the typical breathy vocals for a more post-hardcore style, which is combined with aggressive guitars and drums to make a sound that is like “normal” rock music, but retains the genre’s naturally dreamy, psychedelic qualities. It’s also really loud, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Tashaki Miyaki – The Dream
The Dream is a fairly standard take on the dream pop side of shoegaze that is clearly influenced by bands like Mazzy Star and Best Coast, who each added twinges of country to the style and are both also obsessed with California. Tashaki Miyaki make cinematic ballads about big city dreamers in L.A., but there is a darkness beneath their majestic sound that comes out in their lyrics, which often contain cutting social commentary.
Deafcult – Auras
Australia’s Deafcult has a bunch of guitarists and singers and uses all of them to make loud music that sounds good. Not the most in-depth description, but this is just classic shoegaze executed a high level, and it sounds the way I want it to.
Plant Cell – Flowergaze
Flowergaze is a compilation of tracks this Japanese and Chinese band has been trickling out for the last couple of years. Sort of like Deafcult, they’re a six-piece that goes for a big, expansive sound, with tracks that focus more on instrumentals and are inspired by the natural world.
Las Robertas – Waves of the New
There are a couple bands every year that I’m convinced are making music meant to cater to me personally. Costa Rica’s Las Robertas basically sound like what I wish every band would sound like, with noisy guitars, girl group harmonies, and catchy hooks. This style of sunny psychedelia is fairly common, but few bands have done it this well.
The Noise Made By People 