Nu gaze

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An instrumental sample of Silversun Pickups's song "Panic Switch", from their 2009 album Swoon . The song features distorted guitars, walls of sound, and modern synthesizers.

Nu gaze (sometimes called newgaze) refers to a form of alternative rock that originated in the 2000s that is directly influenced by the primarily British shoegaze scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. [1] A renewed interest in shoegaze occurred in the early 2000s when bands such as Maps, My Vitriol, Silversun Pickups, and The Radio Dept. first emerged across both sides of the Atlantic. The origin of the moniker "nu gaze" has been credited to an interview in 2001 with My Vitriol frontman Som Wardner [2] in which he denied his band was shoegaze, instead stating humorously, "I guess you could call us nu gaze".

According to an article in The Oxford Student , music from the genre features "droning riffs, subdued vocals and walls of distorted, messy guitar or synth". [3] The style of the music relies on using various effects such as looping, effects pedals and synthesizers to distort the music. [4] The shoegaze revival draws inspiration heavily from shoegaze but incorporates more modern synthesizers and drum tracks.

Examples

Related Research Articles

Alternative rock is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s with the likes of the grunge, shoegaze, and Britpop subgenres in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. During this period, many record labels were looking for "alternatives", as many corporate rock, hard rock, and glam metal acts from the 1980s were beginning to grow stale throughout the music industry. The emergence of Generation X as a cultural force in the 1990s also contributed greatly to the rise of alternative rock.

Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.

Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.

Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drumming, languid vocals, synthesizers, and lyrical themes of outer space and science fiction.

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Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoegaze, another noise-based genre that developed in the 1980s, drew from noise pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Vitriol</span> British rock band

My Vitriol are a British alternative rock band, formed in 1999 in London. The band currently comprises singer and guitarist Som Wardner, drummer Ravi Kesavaram, guitarist Seth Taylor and bassist Tatia Starkey. The band had success with their debut album Finelines in 2001, which spawned three top-40 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart, before announcing a hiatus in 2002. The band were credited as spearheading a new shoegazing movement, dubbed nu gaze. They released new material in 2007, and released limited fanbase album The Secret Sessions in October 2016. The band name is taken from the Graham Greene novel Brighton Rock.

Hinterland is a Canadian indie pop band from Vancouver. Hinterland's music is best described as dream pop/shoegazing/new wave with soaring, ethereal vocals, and is currently released by Submerged Records. Hinterland's second album The Picture Plane spent three months in the Canadian college radio top 50. Hinterland's debut album Under the Waterline won the band several Georgia Straight Music Awards, including best local album, best vocalist, and most underrated band. Hinterland has been featured on MuchMusic and CBC Television's ZeD.

<i>Finelines</i> 2001 studio album by My Vitriol

Finelines is the debut studio album by the British rock band My Vitriol. It was released on 5 March 2001 through Infectious Records. Initially consisting of a duo, My Vitriol released their debut EP Delusions of Grandeur (1998), before expanding to a four-piece. They signed to Infectious Records in December 1999, and began recording their debut album at Linford Manor in Milton Keynes, with Chris Sheldon, and frontman Som Wardner co-producing. Described as an alternative rock album, Finelines was compared to acts such as the Smashing Pumpkins, My Bloody Valentine, and Foo Fighters.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silversun Pickups</span> American rock band

Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester.

<i>Carnavas</i> 2006 studio album by Silversun Pickups

Carnavas is the debut studio album by alternative band Silversun Pickups. It was released on July 25, 2006. "Carnavas" is a surname from the Greek side of lead guitarist and vocalist Brian Aubert's family. Some suppliers were also given copies of The Tripwire Session: Live in Chicago, a four-track EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lazy Eye (Silversun Pickups song)</span> 2007 single by Silversun Pickups

"Lazy Eye" is the first single from Silversun Pickups' debut album Carnavas, written by lead singer and guitarist Brian Aubert. The band performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Later With Jools Holland, and Last Call with Carson Daly. The song is a playable track on Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour.

<i>Swoon</i> (Silversun Pickups album) 2009 studio album by Silversun Pickups

Swoon is the second full-length studio album by Los Angeles alternative rock band Silversun Pickups, released through Dangerbird Records on 14 April 2009. The name of the album comes from a line in the outro of the first track "There's No Secrets This Year."

The Laurels are an Australian neo-psychedelic four-piece based in Sydney's Inner West. They formed in 2006 after the members met through mutual friends at a silly hat party, each of them originally living in disparate parts of the East Coast of Australia. The band garnered critical acclaim in the Sydney live music scene after playing extensively throughout the latter 2000s in both headline and international support slots before releasing their debut single "Art School Girl"/"Wandering Star'" in 2009 and their full length Plains album in 2012.

<i>Better Nature</i> 2015 studio album by Silversun Pickups

Better Nature is the fourth studio album by Los Angeles alternative rock band Silversun Pickups. The album was produced by Jacknife Lee, and was released on September 25, 2015. It is the first of the band's albums to be released on their own label, New Machine Records; as well as their first to be supported by a Pledgemusic campaign. The album was announced on July 15, 2015. The lead single for the album, "Nightlight," was released to radio on August 6, 2015. It was accompanied by a music video, directed by Mark Pellington and starring Boardwalk Empire actor Meg Steedle. The album's second single, "Circadian Rhythm ," was premiered via The Daily Beast on September 10, 2015. An accompanying video, directed by Scott Weintrob, was released to YouTube and Vevo the following day.

<i>Widows Weeds</i> (Silversun Pickups album) 2019 studio album by Silversun Pickups

Widow's Weeds is the fifth studio album by American rock band Silversun Pickups. The album was released on June 7, 2019 through the band's own imprint, New Machine Recordings.

<i>Physical Thrills</i> 2022 studio album by Silversun Pickups

Physical Thrills is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Silversun Pickups. It was released on August 19, 2022, and was their second album to be produced by Butch Vig and their third album to be released on their own label, New Machine Recordings.

References

  1. Rogers, Jude (27 July 2007). "Diamond gazers". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  2. "Paint It Back // My Vitriol ~ Finelines - GoldFlakePaint". Goldflakepaint.co.uk. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. Travers, Katherine (6 October 2010). "Hidden Treasures: Nu-Gaze". The Oxford Student. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  4. "Shoegaze Music Profile: Distortion, Reverb and Flange". Altmusic.about.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. "Finelines by My Vitriol". BestEverAlbums.com.
  6. Matera, Joe (21 July 2009). "Silversun Pickups: 'We Like When The Guitar Is Used As A Texture'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.