Tag: Shoegaze

Upcoming Releases All the Cool Kids Are Excited About

In regards to emo and pop-punk, 2018 has not been off to a particularly bangin’ start. I imagine you’re probably thinking something along the lines of: that’s because those genres died, like, ten years ago. But that’s where you’re wrong. Whatever wave of emo is currently happening is still sputtering on, asphyxiating slowly resultant of its cultural irrelevancy. Despite the poor state of the scene at present, however, there are still a few upcoming releases everyone can look forward to, both in and out of the genre.

Why You Should Be Excited About Shoegaze in 2017

via Twitter

So perhaps you’ve seen the pink guitar album, or at the very least seen praise heaped upon Bullet For My Valentine and thought it odd that not only have they been a band since the late ’80s but that they’ve also done anything worth mentioning in the same sentence as the words “critical acclaim.”

The Year Thus Far: What You Might Have Missed

The passing of a new year for most signifies a time of change– well-intentioned resolutions are made as we wave goodbye to the previous 365 days and undergo the ritualistic purging of meticulously catalogued year-end movie, music, and video game lists for a fresh start with a blank slate come January 1st

A Very Metal Valentine’s with Alcest

Neige (right) and Zero (left) of Alcest trade off dense and dreamy guitar parts

To say the situation was “uncomfortably wet” Tuesday night as we pushed through clouds of cigarette smoke into the dark confines of The End would be a bit of an understatement, but for some reason the trudge through the cold rain that plagued most of Valentine’s Day was almost a welcome warmup for the experience that lie ahead.

DIIV Lights Up High Watt on November 12

DIIV's Zachary Cole Smith at the High Watt, November 12. (photo: Meredith Mattlin)
DIIV’s Zachary Cole Smith at the High Watt, November 12. (photo: Meredith Mattlin)

One thing that DIIV has undeniably cultivated is a certain, for lack of a better word, aesthetic—that quintessentially millennial, carelessly cool, baggy-shirt-baggy-pants-European-jazz-shoes Brooklynite look that perfectly matches their laid-back, yet guitar-heavy, washed-out sound. Despite their niche persona (or perhaps because of it), they have wide appeal, and wowed the crowded High Watt last night at their show.

Chillwave: Has The Next “Big Thing” Arrived?

In the past decade, a new style of music has wormed its way onto the music scene. While dubstep rose in popularity late in the first decade of the new millennium, with its driving, syncopated rhythms and epic bass drops, a completely opposite subgenre of quasi-electronic music also became popular. Chillwave, also known as glo-fi or shoegaze, is a much more ambient style that is reminiscent of popular music from the 1980s. It incorporates a lot of effects processing, sampling, use of synthesizers, and ambient background noise. Its slower tempos, light, ethereal vocals; relatively simple and singable melodies, and ample synthesized effects remind its listeners of the sounds of the summer, especially since its sudden explosion in popularity occurred during the summer of 2010.