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Shoegaze Honors Project Notes

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Sam’s Top 5 Shoegaze Albums of All Time 5. Blonder Tongue Audio Baton by Swirlies Blonder Tongue Audio Baton by Swirlies was Swirlie’s debut album released in 1993. Swirlies is a band from Boston that makes noisy shoegaze guitar-based pop. That sound is very evident on Blonder Tongue Audio Baton. Blonder Tongue Audio Baton is an 11 track album with each song ranging about 3 to 5 minutes long. Blonder Tongue Audio Baton was named after a vintage tube equalizer, the album plays around with a lot of different sounds and is very experimental. Songs like “Bell”, “Jeremy Parker”, and “Pancake” definitely have a very shoegaze feel to them with noisy guitar riffs and dreamy vocals. While songs like “Wait Forever” are a little more relaxed and lowkey. As far as Shoegaze albums go, Blonder Tongue Audio Baton is very diverse. Mixing in both elements of shoegaze, indie, rock, and grunge the album has a lot going on and does not get too repetitive. Vocals from Damon Tutunjian and Seana Carmody are traded off throughout the album giving many different vibes and sounds on each song. The energy on the album is strong, really making you want to get up and play some guitar. Overall Blonder Tongue Audio Baton is a very strong shoegaze album. The length is just where it needs to be and the diversity is definitely there on most tracks. Shoegaze is a very experimental genre already and Swirlies took that to another level on Blonder Tongue Audio Baton. 4. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine Loveless by My Bloody Valentine is commonly discussed as the greatest shoegaze and indie album of all time and one of the best albums to come out of the 90s. Loveless was My Bloody Valentine second studio album straight out of the UK. My Bloody Valentine was a pioneer in the shoegaze era and really changed shoegaze with their groundbreaking album Loveless which came out in 1991. Loveless is 11 songs but each song is about 4-6 minutes long on average. The feeling on the album is pretty melancholy and sad with songs like Sometimes, Loomer, and Come in Alone. On the other hand songs such as When You Sleep and Only Shallow has a more hyped-up feeling. As defining a shoegaze album Loveless would be a great definition for one. The album does get a little repetitive and that's why it’s not in my top 3. Diversity on the album is not the strongest. Loveless is a great shoegaze album and definitely, one of my favorites and the feeling from the music is very strong making it a great album. 3. Stratosphere by Duster Stratosphere by Duster can be coined as a slowcore album (genre similar to shoegaze) but definitely falls into the shoegaze realm. Duster is an American band and released Stratosphere on February 24th, 1998. Stratosphere was Duster’s first studio album and although Stratosphere is not as popular as some of the other albums on this list it is still a very strong album. Stratosphere is 17 songs but some songs are only around 1 minute while others are 5 minutes. Stratosphere has a lot going on it with instrumentals, long songs with great progression, and slowcore vibes. Heading for the Door the second song on the album is a great example of strong progression by Duster. The song starts off with a nice shoegaze sound and then turns into a relaxing slowcore masterpiece. Heading for the Door like the rest of the album definitely has a sad and melancholy tone and mood to it. Duster on Stratosphere is able to convey that tone throughout the album even on songs like Gold Dust where there are no words. Stratosphere is definitely different from a lot of shoegaze albums since it was in a little bit of a different era where the guitar ambient sound was fading and the slow guitar riffs were picking up. Stratosphere is a great experimental shoegaze/slowcore album and Duster was able to accomplish a lot on Stratosphere 2. MBV by My Bloody Valentine Out of all the albums on this list, MBV by My Bloody Valentine is one of the more recent albums to come out. MBV is the third studio album from My Bloody Valentine and was released in 2013. Two decades later from Loveless, MBV was released after breakups in the band and reuniting. The album was recorded between 1997 and 2011. MBV has sounds similar to Loveless on songs like Only Tomorrow and She Found Now but also on MBV My Bloody Valentine’s progression is very evident. This is especially evident in songs like If I Am and New You. MBV mixes the sounds of shoegaze from its most popular era in the 90s and new sounds of shoegaze in the 2010s to create a wonderful album. The album is short, only 9 songs but has length in the songs. The tone of the album is definitely a lot more happy and positive compared to Loveless and a lot more chill. The album does have a trippy feel to it on songs like In Another Way. My Bloody Valentine really progressed on MBV and although many thought they couldn't top Loveless they did just that. MBV is a happy shoegaze album that has relaxing sounds and good feelings. 1. Souvlaki by Slowdive At the number one album of Sam’s shoegaze list is none other than Souvlaki by Slowdive. Souvlaki was written and recorded after the breakup of co-vocalist and guitarists of Slowdive, Goswell, and Neil Halstead. The breakup is seen throughout the album as both express their feelings for one another and love as a whole. Souvlaki was released in 1993 under Creation Records. Alan Mcgee of Creation Records at the time put a lot of time and effort into Slowdive. Upon the release of Souvlaki it was hated and disliked by many but as time went on it became more and more popular and eventually was claimed as one of the best shoegaze and indie albums of all time. Souvlaki is 10 songs, each song ranging about 4 minutes or so. Allison is the most popular song off the album and has a dream pop feel to it. Unlike the other albums on this list, Souvlaki does have a dream-pop sense to it instead of an ambient rock sense although there are songs that are like this. Dream-pop has more of a melodic feel to it than shoegaze does. The tone and feel of the album are definitely a little depressing and sad especially since it was after the breakup of two members of the band. Songs like 40 days and Dagger really show off this sad side of the album. On the other hand songs like When the Sun Hits have an uplifting feel to them. In addition Souvlaki, like the other albums on this list, has a controlling feeling to it. Souvlaki Space Station, the 6th song off the album gives off this controlling feeling. It feels as though you're getting a sense of deja vu and something you have felt before. Souvlaki is not the most diverse but the quality of each song makes it so the diversity is not a factor in the overall listening of the album. Each song makes you feel something new and exciting and never fails to disappoint. Souvlaki is a great album and my number one shoegaze album of all time..
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