An analytical history of the shoegaze genre from its roots in late ’80s UK rock to its surprising resurgence amongst Gen Z musicians and infiltration of the mainstream

When began as a noisy off-shoot of alternative rock has grown into a globally celebrated style of music with a self-sustaining underground ecosystem and one of the most fiercely dedicated fanbases of any rock sub-genre. This unique breed of music, historically characterized by introverted artists staring down at a mess of guitar petals by their feet, is more popular than ever.

Tentpole shoegaze albums by My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive are among the most critically acclaimed rock records of all time, and classic shoegaze bands are experiencing career-best record sales. All while new shoegaze songs are receiving unprecedented Billboard charts, A-list pop stars are dabbling with shoegaze sounds, the genre has a stranglehold on alternative TikTok culture, and the international shoegaze underground is more musically fertile and socially diverse than it’s ever been.

Music journalist Eli Enis traces shoegaze’s lineage from its avant-garde inception in the late ’80s, its zeitgeist takeover in the early 1990s, and unceremonious decline later in the decade; to its subterranean proliferation in the 2000s, its unusual resurgence among totally different audiences in the 2010s, and its wildly popular explosion among teenagers of all identities in the 2020s.

It’s a story about an idiosyncratic sub-genre of music — both beautiful and abrasive, celestial and melancholy, tuneful and experimental — that entire festivals, labels, radio stations, and internet communities have been built around. Shoegaze is a world unto itself, chronicled in When the Sun Hits in all its dreamy, ear-bleeding glory — without leaving one guitar pedal un-clicked.

Eli Enis earned his BA in Journalism at the University at Albany and began his career as a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh, covering all types of music for publications including Rolling Stone, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, Stereogum and more. He’s a former Editor at Revolver Magazine, runs the music blog Chasing Sundays, and is a co-host of the indie-rock podcast Endless Scroll. Through his former shoegaze column at music blog The Alternative, and many other detailed articles about the style’s renaissance in the 2020s, he’s become a leading authority on the genre. He lives in Pittsburgh and When the Sun Hits is his first book.

「Shoegaze has enjoyed a shocking resurgence from Gen-Z in recent years, and I don’t think I’d know the half of it without the authoritative coverage of music journalist and genre historian Eli Enis.」－Chris Payne, author of Where Are Your Boys Tonight?

「Eli Enis is one our best young rock critics. His great talent is writing about vital scenes before other music writers catch on. I can’t think of a person more qualified to write a book about the modern evolution of shoegaze, and I can’t wait to read what he comes up with.」－Steven Hyden, author of Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me, There Was Nothing You Could Do and Twilight of the Gods