DAZED DREAMING — Return of the 90’s Music Genre Inspiring Everything In Your Library
Born in the 90’s, shoegaze — sometimes referred to as dream pop- gave birth to bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive. An eclectic and varied genre, it focused on deep, emotional basslines and industrial sounds, distorted guitar lines and heavy effects.
Shoegaze paved the way for modern musicians over genres no one would expect — chillwave artists like Beach House or Toro y Moi and more popular indie rock like London Grammar or the Japanese House. Though on the surface they couldn’t sound more different, these bands are linked by the other-worldly sound to their music, and their ‘pulling the curtain away’ style of production.
One of the bands embracing the space-vintage genre is Lemondaze, a queer 3-piece based in London who describe themselves as shoegaze crossed with punk-rock.
‘A lot of people listen to shoegaze, they just don’t realise it.’ Says Isis, vocalist and joint frontperson. ‘Upon discovering shoegaze about three years ago, I then went over to bands like Wolf Alice and thought yeah, that fits.’
Meeting Isis and Jaunty, two out of three of Lemondaze’s current members (missing only co-frontwoman Rosie), was like picking a metal singer out of a haystack — honestly not hard at all. Spotting them was spotting Isis’ signature pink panda eyes, the two standout individualists in the London Bridge coffee shop we were meeting at.
Every band has their own unique look; Isis (vocals, guitar) stresses that they’ve never tried to be edgy but that ‘one day, we all just decided to be goths’. Shoegaze became the moniker for dream pop the way bands used to stare at their feet, concentrating hard on their reverberating basslines. But this isn’t Lemondaze either; trying not to try too hard just isn’t cool anymore.
What else makes Lemondaze different? Wilding, deep emotional basslines tweaked by Jaunty’s (the newest Lemondaze member) make for a melancholy but other-worldly sound.. With a more-is-more kinda vibe vis-à-vis production, Lemondaze sound as though one has tuned into the sad musings of an alien. Wailing, and what feels often very introspective and personal, their deep sound resonates with anyone that hasn’t always felt like they fit in (including Isis and Jaunty themselves).
‘I think I want to make it heavier, but I’ve got some push back on that.’ Jaunty’s struggle is reflective of the wider shoegaze trends — Isis’s inspirations range from The Japanese House to My Bloody Valentine, a difficult mashup. Offshoots of shoegaze range anywhere from neo-psychedelia and new electronic genres like you’ll hear in those ‘lo-fi hiphop beats’ Youtube videos — it’s that ethereal sound, taking precedence over any vocals and lyrics, that characterises someone inspired by dream pop.
One of the biggest criticisms of shoegaze’s younger siblings is how apolitical they are, which is perhaps why shoegaze is finding its feet again after many were quick to write off the rise of feel-good chill wave. As a self-stated queer punk band, this doesn’t stand for Lemondaze — even though ‘the lyrics come last’, according to Isis, lyrics like hers (about girls who like girls) can be insanely important for queer youth. ‘Listening to like, for example, The Japanese House — she doesn’t try and hide it at all. It’s prevalent in the music because I’m writing about she/her pronouns. I don’t wanna not express myself — it’s important. It’s important in our community you want to be able to community in that scene and have spaces you feel safe.’
Lemondaze have been making a name across the country — they played Cambridge’s first pride to thousands of people and finally feel as though they’re making fans. Their first single ‘Neon Ballroom’ was released on Spotify November 15th , meaning Lemondaze are finally starting to reach an audience outside of there are big things to come for this group of queer punk rockers — and, hopefully, redemption for the genre that snaked its way into an eclectic collection of nu-naughties genres.
