Weekly Playlist (4/3/2025): Shoegaze, Noise, and Experimental Rock Week
Image Courtesy of my bloody valentine Official Instagram
This week, Irish shoegaze pioneers my bloody valentine announced a string of UK tour dates for November of 2025, their first shows since 2018. Despite only releasing three full length albums (1988’s Isn’t Anything, 1991’s Loveless, and 2013’s m b v), my bloody valentine is largely considered one of the most influential alternative rock acts of the 1990s, with Loveless being (arguably) the seminal album of the “shoegaze” genre. So, in celebration of that, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite shoegaze and other experimental / noise rock songs.
“When You Sleep” – my bloody valentine
Probably the most popular song from my bloody valentine, this song is featured on their second album, 1991’s Loveless. “When You Sleep” serves as a great introduction to the band to get used to their very distinctive style of music, especially the airy, dreamy vocals of Bilinda Butcher and the swirling feedback and gliding sound of Kevin Shields’ (the band’s creative mastermind) guitar playing.
“Schizophrenia” – Sonic Youth
This song comes off of my favorite Sonic Youth album, 1987’s Sister. “Schizophrenia” features guitarist Thurston Moore and bassist Kim Gordon sharing vocals, with the first half featuring Moore’s signature flat style of singing, while the second has Kim Gordon’s melodic, droney vocals. Coming out of the New York “no-wave” movement, Sonic Youth’s earlier work featured abrasive, atonal sounds, but Sister marked their transition into a more traditional alternative rock approach, while still keeping the aesthetic of their work. The band became highly influential in the alternative rock scene and indie rock scene.
“Pish” – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is the main musical project of guitarist Anton Newcombe, who has remained the only consistent member of the band. Influenced by both alternative rock, shoegaze, country, and 1960s psychedelic rock, the Brian Jonestown Massacre has created albums spanning across each of these genres, and often blending them together into a bizarre amalgamation. “Pish” comes from the band’s 2015 EP Mini Album Thingy Wingy and features a droning guitar loop that has a hypnotic effect. The band’s name comes from a combination of founding Rolling Stones guitar player Brian Jones and the Jonestown Massacre, the name given to the 1978 murder-sucide where cult leader Jim Jones poisoned 900 people. This is a good visual representation of one of America’s oddest bands, a juxtaposition of the peace and love of the 1960s with one of the most shocking tragedies of the 20th century, exemplifying the band’s bizarre sound.
“Evergreen” – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
This song from Brian Jonestown Massacre was the opening track on their 1995 album Methodrone, and owes its sound to my bloody valentine, with its echoing vocals muffled underneath a wall of hypnotic guitar work.
“Revolution” – Spacemen 3
Before Jason Pierce (AKA J Spaceman) was the frontman and sole permanent member of the British experimental rock band Spiritualized (who’s 1997 album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space has been considered one of the best albums of the 1990s by many different publications), Pierce was the leader of neo-psychedelic rock band Spacemen 3 from 1982 to 1991. “Revolution” comes off their 1989 album Playing With Fire, and was hugely influential for the shoegaze, and sort of bridges the gap between post-punk and shoegaze.
“40 Days” – Slowdive
English band Slowdive’s second album, 1993’s Souvlaki, is a quintessential shoegaze album, second only to Loveless when it comes to defining the shoegaze sound of the early 1990s. “40 Days” is a delay and reverb heavy track, with shared vocals from guitarists Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell singing about having been separated from a love for 40 days.
“Breadcrumb Trail” – Slint
Coming from my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, Slint came and went from 1986 to 1991, with sporadic reunions since. Having only released two albums, their final album, 1991’s Spiderland, is their definitive album, having been critically acclaimed as a masterpiece of the post-rock genre, influencing bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and a favorite album of artists like PJ Harvey and Robert Nastanovich of Pavement. “Breadcrumb Trail” is the opening song on the album. Running at around 6 minutes, it is made up of mostly the same guitar riff and spoken word lyrics about walking around an amusement park, but it builds throughout, becoming heavier and heavier, until it ends with a huge breakdown of guitar feedback and pounding drums.
“Touched” > “To Here Knows When” – my bloody valentine.
The two songs “Touched” and “To Here Knows When” are my favorite parts of Loveless. “Touched” is only 57 seconds long, made up of completely distorted guitar and synth noises, which creates a droning, hypnotic effect. Followed immediately by “To Here Knows When,” the jump into the looped keyboard effects of that song is fantastic. Paired with the breathy vocals of Bilinda Butcher and the gliding guitar sound of Kevin Shields, “To Here Knows When” is the definitive my bloody valentine (and shoegaze as a whole) song to me.