My Top 14 Shoegaze Albums
Submitted by doubtomatic on Fri, 11/11/2005 - 06:21
Tags:
- My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (duh)
- Slowdive - Just For a Day
- Pale Saints - The Comforts of Madness
- Ride - Nowhere
- Chapterhouse - Whirlpool
- Blind Mr. Jones - Stereo Musicale
- The Boo Radleys - Everything's Alright Forever
- Catherine Wheel - Ferment
- Lush - Spooky
- Verve - A Storm in Heaven
- Adorable - Against Perfection
- Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
- Kitchens of Distinction - Strange Free World
- Medicine - Shot Forth Self Living
Author Comments:
(not necessarily in order; one per artist)
Now this is a list to appreciate; I love shoegazer myself. I second the "duh" on Loveless, and I see that you are only listing one album per artist, but I'd almost recommend breaking that rule because Isn't Anything is also so good. Ride, Catherine Wheel, and Lush are right up there with MBV as my four favorite shoegazer artists, but I've never heard the Pale Saints or Boo Radleys albums...might have to check them out.
Johnny Waco
Isn't Anything is excellent, too. I was also tempted to put the Tremolo and Glider EPs up there, since they're so Loveless-ish.
I definitely recommend both the Pale Saints and Boo Radleys. I've heard the Saints described as sort of a "male version of Lush", which isn't too far from the truth. Their first album, Comforts of Madness is a little more "raw" than most Lush stuff, while In Ribbons (also a great album) is closer to the kinda standard, "overproduced" 4AD sound. Come to think of it, one of the original members of Lush joined Pale Saints before this album, which partly explains that. Their singer/main songwriter left after In Ribbons, though, and I've heard their later stuff is somewhat dire-sounding Britpop (haven't actually heard enough of it to agree with that opinion).
The Boo Radleys' Everything's Alright Forever is up there with my favorite albums ever, though I guess it's not 100% shoegazer, really. Sort of a cross between shoegaze and regular Britpop. Their album after that, Giant Steps is also worth checking out, albeit a bit more on the neo-psychedelia/Britpop side. They also have a compilation of early stuff called Learning to Walk which fits more squarely into stereotypical shoegaze (but is still good).
Ok, I think I've rambled on about this long enough. =) Thanks for the comment!
- Alanna