subject: Guitar echo effects and loud train horns = The Most Underrated Shoegazing Bands Pt. 2 [print this page] Author: Kasan Groupe Author: Kasan Groupe
The shoegazing genre of the early 90s was based around a loose sound description by the music press for bands that often used heavy echo guitar effects and soft, often indecipherable vocals mixed with almost classic Brill Building pop melodies. Here is a list of the most underrated and often forgotten great shoegazing bands, some of which are still making great music to this day mixing odd sounds and loud train horns into something of beauty. Ultra Vivid Scene More influenced by British pop music than the Velvet Underground like most shoegaze bands, Ultra Vivid Scene nonetheless made some noisey and catchy British pop in the late 80s and early 90s that has been largely ignored by current music critics and bands as a huge influence many groups today. While he was influenced by the Velevet Underground and Jesus and Mary Chain, Ultra vivid Scenes main member Kurt Ralske put a slightly darker and catchier spin on the shoegazer noise than many of his peers. Ralske is currently a Visiting Professor of Digital Art at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, MA. He is also on the faculty of the School of Visual Art, in NYC which is proof that his credentials in music and media in the early 90s have impressed enough people to get him where he is today. Piano Magic Piano Magic didnt start making music until the end of shoegazing, around 1996, but their work is still largely underappreciated as working within the genre and doing new things with it. The group is ever changing and expanding and is mainly led by Glen Johnson who is greatly influenced by groups like Dead Can Dance and other ambient pop and dark wave pop bands that mix in droning or dark tones with pop sensibilities. Their early work was marked by its atmosphereic tone and female vocals. Their 2002 album Writers Without Homes was met with confused reviews as critics were not sure how to take the sound of the band which was able to garner guests appearance by such luminary bands as Cocteau Twins, Life Without Buildings and Vashti Bunyan.About the Author:
