10 GAZE BANDS YOU'VE probably NEVER HEARD OF - AND NEED TO

Love the punk and droney edge of grunge? Easily swept away in the rivers of shimmers and reverb shoegaze has to offer? Enjoy a harsher edge of metal, punk, post-rock or emo?

THIS IS A SISTER POST TO THE '10 GAZE BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR BEFORE THEY COME TO AUS' BLOG, AND THERE MAY BE SOME CROSS OVER!

Before I get into my list, I want to talk a bit about how the list came to be, iF YOU WANT TO JUST READ MY TOP TEN, CLICK HERE!

it started off as a 'top 10 grungegaze bands' list but the more i considered the new genre, the more i found bands that didn't quite fit the bill that deserve to be heard - and so we will be discussing new (15 years or less (less than 10 in most cases)) gaze bands that need to make more playlists.

one last thing - i want to acknowledge the bands that have paved the way for shoegaze to branch out into new genres and bring forth a new wave of modern gaze bands My Bloody Valentine, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, Failure, Title fight, and Superheaven to name not nearly enough.

and the newer ones that have begun popularising the modern wave, like Fleshwater, Glare, and  Narrow head.

(disclaimer!! When considering this list I looked at last.fm and spotify listens as basic indication of how popular a band may be, and some are starting to get well recognised, but I chose to include them to bring them to MORE EYES. This list has also been influenced by my own personal taste - so this will be subjective!!)

If you want a taste of the bands I'm DISCUSSING, you can find the link to a Spotify playlist HERE!

I present you with my top 10 underrated gaze bands!!

10. lockstep

(Tennessee)

THIS THREE PIECE IS DRENCHED IN NOISE, TO THE POINT WHERE IT BECOMES A SMOOTH RIVER OF GUITARS AND SIGNATURE GAZE REVERB THAT WASHES THE GENTLE VOCALS BACK. AT TIMES, LOCKSTEP CAN BE CRUSHING AND CRISP, BEFORE YANKING YOU DOWN INTO A SLOW FLOWING SEA OF EMOTION. THEIR LATEST SINGLE, 'DRAG ALONG' AND 'WEAVE' AWAKENS SOMETHING SAD IN ME EVERYTIME . definitely THE PERFECT BAND OF A MELANCHOLIC AFTERNOON. I'M KEEN TO SEE WHAT'S NEXT FOR THEM.

9. Simmer

(United Kingdom)

Simmer sits on the chilller end of the spectrum, and if you like title fight, it's almost certain you'll like Simmer. They lack the punk bite, but their guitar tones and riffs at times could nearly be off Shed. At the same time, Simmer knocks everything back into day dream states that make time gently roll by. They're great if you're not into a droney gaze sound, a lot of their sound is brighter - if you like a sunny day rather than a cloudy one, YOU'LL LIKE SIMMER.

8. Superbloom

(New York)

For ages I kept hearing Pollen and thinking this release had been around for the last decade, as it felt so familiar to me. When I decided to put it on one day, I realised that it was the perfect mix of late 90s/2000s grunge, fuzzy and raw, with the saturated guitars I love from shoegaze releases. Fans of Superheaven and Smashing Pumpkins will love Superbloom.

7. PALEHORSE/PALERIDER

(DENVER)

PALEHORSE/PALERIDER CAN BE BLEAK, THEIR SONG 'fIRE gONE ouT' SUCKED ME STRAIGHT IN WITH A SLOW, CREEPING INTRO AND A WICKED BASS LINE. tHEY FUSE DOOMY PACE AND LOW VOCALS, WITH DISTANT REVERB THAT MAKES YOU FEEL FAR OUT IN NO WHERE. wHILE i AM FOND OF THEIR MOODY 2-TRACK RELEASE FROM 2019, THEIR 2025 EP wAVES i CONTINUES THE EVOLUTION OF SOUND - WICKED IF YOU LIKE TENDER EMOTION AND GLITTERY GUITARS WITH YOUR DOOM.

6. SHELL

(WALES)

This band is fucking sick. Harsh, reverbed vocals, knocked back to let bass and guitar shine, and crisp drums in some of the best sound production I’ve heard. We’ve got shoegaze treatment over a grunge metal band and I don’t think you could realistically put an accurate label on the sound, and so their bio often reads "Songs To Soothe Anxiety". It itches that desolate part of your brain that feels like you’re standing alone on a rock somewhere looking over an expanse you can’t imagine in everyday life, while grounding you with heavy guitars. SHELL'S 2022 release is a bit heavier, and their 2024 EP is a bit more ambient, but you can’t go wrong with either.

5. UPSETTER

(QUEENSLAND)

Upsetter has blended so many elements of different genre’s into a neat, tidy ball and they are so deserving of more recognition. They have these harsh (post) hardcore vocals, like Title Fight or even Drug Church at times, pushed back with harsh, fuzzy guitars, that have all been saturated in heavy tones and reverb. They are an emerging sound in the modern gaze scenes, and could easily slip into a hardcore, shoegaze, doom or alternative rock line up with no worries at all. If you like Fleshwater or Shell, you should definitely check out Upsetter.

4. Deafcult

(Queensland)

(oKAY, IF YOU'RE INTO THE AUSSIE SCENE, ESPECIALLY FOR GAZE AND ALT ROCK, YOU HAVE PROBABLY HEARD OF THESE GUYS - BUT THEY STILL AREN'T GETTING THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE!!)

Hailing from Brisbane, Deafcult sit closer to the shoegaze and dream pop end of the genre, especially for their first two albums. They're similar to Slow Crush, with sweet vocals knocked further back into the mix, but the guitars can get aggressive at times. In 2023, the band released Future of Illusion, the band left a lot of their previous sound behind. Featuring fuzzy bass, reverb heavy and ominous vocals, with a modern grunge and punk edge slipped in. 

3. SEMAPHORE

(NEW YORK)

I’ve picked up Semaphore’s 2023 album I Need A Reason To Stay very recently and holy shit. I love any kind of gaze spin off and this is somehow so many rolled into one. The band is relatively unlistened - all tracks less than 10k listens on Spotify and I think we are all sleeping. They blend so many different elements together, at times venturing into a black metal blast beat in ‘Porcelain’, to a grunge fuzz in ‘Nothing’ and closing out with ‘What A Way’ with a gorgeous shimmer pedal.  I’ve had this album on repeat, probably twice a day, for at least the last four weeks.

2. Gloam

(Western Australia)

I discovered Gloam at New Bloom Fest (SYD) this year, and it was instant love. They flew all the way from Perth and have a lot of the shoegaze sound baked into them, fans of Slow Crush will probably really like this band. I described them in my gig review as a daydream on a warm afternoon, which I still stand by. They aren't moody as some shoegaze tends to be, and the grungier aspects of the sound sit in their guitars, which bite through after letting you simmer in their gazey mix. Their 2024 EP, Well Dwelling, has taken me by storm and deserves more recognition by the Australian and international music scene. 

1. Dosser

(Maryland)

It was a hard pick between spots one and two, but Dosser won out with their heavier, RAW, riffs. They fit the alt rock/grunge sound with rawer vocals and early 00s guitar tones, especially on their album Violent Picture/Violent Sound (which is a must listen, by the way). Dosser still has the effects AND heavy sound that comes along with a lot of gaze bands, and songs like ‘Caught In A Web’ they recline into that dreamy sound. 

There are so many more bands that could have been included on this list, and no doubt many more bands I haven't heard of yet, so honourable mentions go to: Gleemer, Soft Blue Shimmer, Hundredth, and Trauma Ray.

IF YOU'RE A SPOTIFY USER, PLEASE CONSIDER CHECKING OUT THE PLAYLIST i'VE PUT TOGETHER OF WHAT i FEEL ARE THE BEST TWO SONGS FOR EACH BAND HERE, OR CONSIDER PURCHASING MUSIC DIRECTLY FROM THE BANDS THROUGH THEIR BANDCAMP (CLICK ON THEIR NAMES) - THIS ENSURES THESE HARD WORKING ARTISTS MAKE MORE MONEY PER SONG, AND THAT IT'S YOURS FOREVER.