On the Topic of Shoegazer

With the mind-altering news that JESUS & MARY CHAIN will be headlining Coachella this year, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at bands on the current scene whose sound is directly influenced by the seminal band and/or the movement they came from.

The sound actually dates back to the 60's with THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. Many years later, 1984 to be exact, a new band exploded with a fresh new sound that drew elements of The Underground's heroin-tinged guitar noise. That band was Jesus & Mary Chain. But ultimately, the genre's most defining album didn't come out until 1991, when MY BLOODY VALENTINE's 'Loveless' was released.

Over the last decade, a whole crop of bands have found a niche in reviving the 'shoegazer' sound - ultimately fuzzy electric guitars, lots of drone, a melancholy voice and a hint of Spector-era melody - including, but not limited to BRMC, RAVEONETTES, AUTOLUX and THE KILLS. EDITORS and INTERPOL also incorporate the sound, but draw more heavily from the post-punk goth hues of JOY DIVISION and ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN.

More recently, a new wave of bands have come onto the scene, solidifying the power of JAMC's defining sound.

THE RADIO DEPT. - recently made famous by Sofia Copola's MARIE ANTIONETTE soundtrack, are as shoegazer as it gets today.

ASOBI SEKSU - at times this NY based band sounds like THE CRANBERRIES modernized, but their overall tone is one of dream-pop, a genre basically spawned by shoegazer, culminating in bands like GALAXIE 500 and COCTEAU TWINS in the early 90's.

SERENA MANEESH - Sweden has a thing for shoegazer right now. These guys probably hit the sound most on the mark as of late. Playing their CD is like stepping back in time to 1991.

DEERHUNTER - an Atlanta band that I discussed previously. Just today one of their songs came on and I thought it was CHAPTERHOUSE for a second.

THE MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDES - their Myspace page lists a who's who of shoegazer bands as influences, and from the sound of their song 'Skulls', I can see why.