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.
Duster is an American indie rock band from San Jose, California that was formed in 1996. The group has consisted of multi-instrumentalists Clay Parton, Canaan Dove Amber, and Jason Albertini for most of its history; Albertini left the band in 2022. Duster were closely associated with the burgeoning slowcore and space rock revival movements during the 1990s.
Elley Frances Duhé is an American singer.
Nilüfer Yanya is a British singer, songwriter and musician.
Maia, known professionally as mxmtoon, is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her music is characterized by emotionally transparent, confessional lyrics and often employs the ukulele. She released her first EP, Plum Blossom, in 2018; her debut album, The Masquerade, was released in September 2019. This was followed by the twin EPs Dawn and Dusk in 2020, and second studio album Rising, which was released on May 20, 2022.
Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, known professionally as Beabadoobee, is a British singer and songwriter. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays under the independent label Dirty Hit: Lice (2018), Patched Up (2018), Loveworm (2019), Space Cadet (2019) and Our Extended Play (2021). Her debut studio album Fake It Flowers was released in October 2020 and received critical acclaim. Her second studio album Beatopia was released on 15 July 2022, which spawned the hit "The Perfect Pair." Her third studio album This Is How Tomorrow Moves was released on 9 August 2024, it became her first album to peak atop the UK Albums Chart.
For music from a year in the 2020s, go to 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
Tamia Monique Carter, known professionally as Flo Milli, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence after her 2018 single "Beef FloMix" and its 2019 follow up, "In the Party" both reached virality on TikTok; the latter received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In late 2019, she signed a recording contract with Justin Goldman's '94 Sounds, an imprint of RCA Records.
Black Dresses was a Canadian noise pop duo consisting of Ada Rook and Devi McCallion, formed in 2017. Their debut album, Wasteisolation, was released independently in 2018. The duo released three additional albums, Thank You (2019), Love and Affection for Stupid Little Bitches (2019), and Peaceful as Hell (2020), before breaking up in 2020 in response to harassment received by McCallion. Despite maintaining their declaration of disbandment in 2020, Black Dresses released three additional albums, Forever in Your Heart (2021), Forget Your Own Face (2022), and Laughingfish (2024). Upon releasing Laughingfish, the band announced that it would be their final album.
Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, popularly known as That Vegan Teacher, is a Canadian animal rights activist, internet personality and former educator, mainly known for promoting veganism. Before she started her online career, Diekmeyer was a nurse and later an ESL teacher but eventually left the latter job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Diekmeyer is known for her TikTok and YouTube accounts that promote veganism. Some of Diekmeyer's content has been controversial, and has prompted accusations of racism and homophobia.
Penelope Scott is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer. She has produced all of her own music. After releasing the compilation albums Junkyard (2020) and The Junkyard 2 (2020), Scott released her debut album, Public Void, in August 2020. Her song "Rät" peaked at no. 29 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart. Scott released the EP Hazards in 2021 and the EPs Girl's Night and Mysteries for Rats in November 2023.
Elizabeth Catherine McAlpine is an American singer-songwriter. Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, McAlpine began gaining recognition by posting original songs and covers online on the platforms SoundCloud and YouTube.
Will Kraus, known mononymously as Kraus, is an American shoegaze musician. In 2021, Carly Wu of Far Out Magazine elected his second studio album Path as the 18th best shoegaze album of all time.
Victoria Beverley Walker, known professionally as PinkPantheress, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her songs, which are frequently short in length and include samples of music from the 1990s and 2000s, span a number of genres, including alt-pop, bedroom pop, drum and bass, and 2-step garage. She has been nominated for three Brit Awards and was named Producer of the Year by Billboard Women in Music in 2024.
"Your Face" is the debut single by American musician Wisp. It was released on April 4, 2023 as the first single from her debut EP Pandora.
Sophie Brown, known professionally as ratbag, is a New Zealand musician and multimedia artist. Active since 2021, her music draws influence from grunge, shoegaze, punk, and pop, and often features surreal horror-inspired visuals centered on a fictional cartoon band of monsters, which she depicts in various artistic mediums. After building a following on TikTok, Brown released her debut EP, why aren't you laughing?, in December 2023.
Pandora is the debut EP by American shoegaze musician Wisp, released on April 5, 2024, through Music Soup & Interscope Records. It was first announced on March 15 with the release of a single, "Enough For You", alongside a U.S. tour announcement. The EP includes the previously released tracks "Your Face" and "See You Soon".
"Nasty" is a song by American singer and songwriter Tinashe. It was released on April 12, 2024, via producer Ricky Reed's Atlantic Records imprint Nice Life Recording Company, as the lead single from her seventh studio album, Quantum Baby, which was released in August 2024. A sexual R&B song written by Tinashe and Reed and produced by Zack Sekoff and Reed, it has a sparse beat and various innuendos, with Tinashe rap-singing in a deadpan tone about looking for a lover who has an equivalent sex drive to hers. Its release coincided with her performance at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and with the release of its music video.
Quannnic is an American musician. Initially presenting a digicore sound, they began releasing music as Quannnic in 2020 and released their debut studio album, Kenopsia, in February the following year. A track from the album, "Life Imitates Life", unexpectedly became viral on TikTok and charted on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs. Quannnic's second studio album, Stepdream, was released in November 2023, and they later co-headlined an American tour with Jane Remover. On Quannnic's musical style, sources mostly described it as shoegaze, with Kenopsia mixing glitch elements and Stepdream emo.
