From Rolling Stone · Rob Sheffield · · 1m 50s
Shoegaze has never been bigger than right now
Once dismissed as a Nineties fad, shoegaze is exploding with new bands, Gen Z fans, and endless creative offshoots.
In brief
Once dismissed as a Nineties fad, shoegaze is exploding with new bands, Gen Z fans, and endless creative offshoots. Shoegaze isn't a revival anymore, it's a thriving musical language with more inventive bands and global scenes than ever before. Originally reported by Rolling Stone.
Shoegaze pioneers are more beloved now
My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Ride are far more influential today than during their original Nineties lifetimes. The bone-shaking noise keeps hitting listeners in the darkest places of the soul.
The term was born as an insult
Like goth or Trekkie, shoegaze started as a pejorative before fans reclaimed it as a badge of honor. Ironically, the original British legends still refuse to use the term, even decades later.
Gen Z is making shoegaze accessible
Wisp created a viral TikTok hit at 18 by singing into her phone over a shoegaze track she found online. Young artists like Quannnic and Flyingfish prove this isn't a revival, it's a boom.
Underground scenes are exploding nationwide
Philadelphia's Julia's War label spawned bands like Full Body 2 and Bleary Eyed. They Are Gutting a Body of Water released one of 2025's most powerful albums with LOTTO, a harrowing account of pain and addiction.
The sound keeps getting reshaped
Nashville's Total Wife blend hyperpop fantasies, Phoenix's Glixen get romantic, and Kansas City's Forever Star work in drum-and-bass breakbeats as junglegaze. Offshoots include doomgaze, grunge-gaze, twang-gaze, and surf-gaze.
The original legends are touring again
Swervedriver and Slowdive toured last year, Ride the year before, and My Bloody Valentine played massive UK shows last fall. Their 2013 comeback now sounds prescient of where we are right now.
TikTok made shoegaze boom again
Both shoegaze and drum-and-bass are TikTok-friendly, perfect for quick-hit social-media impact. That's a big reason why both genres are booming now, long after experts pronounced them dead.
The essence
Shoegaze isn't a revival anymore, it's a thriving musical language with more inventive bands and global scenes than ever before.
