Waves Crashing is an Olympia, Washington-based alternative indie-rock trio formed in 2019, known for blending 80s/90s alt-rock nostalgia, shoegaze and dream pop textures, and post-punk pulses. The band consists of Joshua Calisti (vocals/guitar), Bryce Albright (drums), and Zach Olson (bass). Their sound features loud drums and heavy guitar feedback paired with melodic, often submerged and soothing vocals. They released several EPs, including Sea of Wires, High/Low, and The Viewing (2023). Their debut full-length album, Effection, was released in 2025 to critical acclaim while their sophomore album, In The Blur, is scheduled for release on May 20, 2026, via Audiomanic Records. RIYL: Nothing, DIIV, Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo

Mad Honey is an Oklahoma City-based indie/dream-pop and shoegaze band formed in 2018, known for a "dark, yearning, and hazy" sound. Founded by Tiff Sutcliffe and Branden Palesano, the group has evolved into a key act in the local scene, featuring, among others, guitarist Keegan Ball and drummer Austin Valdez.

Joyer is a Brooklyn-and-Boston-based band formed in New Jersey in 2017 by brothers Nick and Shane Sullivan. Their music blends shoegaze and slow core with memorable melodies. With their albums Sun Into Flies and Perfect Gray, they have now evolved towards a more expansive sound in their upcoming release Night Songs, featuring blowtorched guitars and hooky vocal cadences.

Warper is an alternative rock band from Colorado, formed by Jack McManaman (vocals, guitar, bass, songwriter) and Adam Gilsdorf (drums). Based in Loveland, the group has released multiple EPs and singles, gaining traction within the Colorado indie and shoegaze scene and will release their debut LP on Candlepin Records in October 2025. Warper's sound is characterized as "downer shoegaze" for its blend of heavy, distorted instrumentation and melancholy lyrics, a blend of alternative rock, shoegaze, dream pop and emo. The band frequently works with producer Corey Coffman, who records, mixes, and produces their releases in Loveland and sometimes provides backing vocals and percussion on some tracks.

Slow Crush is a Belgian shoegaze band known for their contrasting sounds, blending ethereal dream pop with crushing walls of noise. Formed in 2017, they've gained global recognition for their immersive and swirling soundscapes. The band, fronted by vocalist and bassist Isa Holliday, has evolved through lineup changes and label shifts, ultimately landing at Pure Noise Records for their upcoming third album, "Thirst," set to release on August 29, 2025.

Bantom Woods are an Alternative Indie Rock band from Austin, Texas who released their debut EP "With All Due Respect" in summer 2023. The band will return with their latest single "Lotteries & Lightning Strikes" taken from their forthcoming album to be released later this year via Shifting Sounds. Although the band is rather new, all of the members are Indie rock royalty in Austin - all playing in multiple bands spanning over 2 decades, including bands like Silver Scooter. They combine Alt Rock, Dream Pop, Post Punk, and early 90's underground College Rock to create their own signature sound that is very unique and ultra catchy. RIYL The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Ride, The Hold Steady

Dark, heavy, and thoughtful, SOM craft songs of epic melancholy. Featuring members of Caspian, founding members of seminal Boston space rock outfit Constants, as well as Denver post-metal voyagers Adai, and former members of Caspian and Junius, SOM build thunderous rhythms that give drive and pulse to the fuzzed-out wall-of-synth-and-guitar- noise, complemented by memorable hooks and melodies in singer/guitarist Will Benoit’s somber, lamenting vocals. The band is known for seamlessly combining elements of shoegaze, post-metal, doom, and dream pop and are signed to Pelagic Records. They have released 2 full length LPs and are gearing up for the release of their 3rd LP "Let The Light In" due spring of 2025. RIYL: Deftones, Holy Fawn, Astronoid, Spotlights, Mew

Immanu El is a Swedish dreamy post-rock band formed in 2004 in Jönköping by brothers Claes and Per Strängberg, known for blending ambient, indie/dream-pop, and atmospheric soundscapes. Often compared to Sigur Rós, they are recognized for delicate vocals, lush melodies, expansive instrumentation, shifting dynamics, and intense, immersive live performances, having played over 400 shows globally. The band has released 6 full length LPs and is gearing up to release their 7th album titled "Woven Light" in May 2026 (vinyl release), and digital in September 2026. RIYL: Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky, Caspian, Hammock

Lovewell is an emo/alternative rock band hailing from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, formed in late 2018. The band, consisting of members Mark Palladino and Joe Bradshaw, has transitioned from the hardcore scene to create a sound that draws from emo, indie, dream pop, and alternative rock influences including bands like Title Fight, Third Eye Blind, and Built to Spill as initial influences. Their debut 9 album, 'Everything You Ever Wanted', is set to be released on June 12, 2026, and follows their previous EP 'Around the Flowers', split single with Sparing from 2023 and more recent double single 'So Close/Balancing Act' (2024). Their sound showcases a blend of guitar fueled indie rock, breezy and fuzzy alternative rock and dream-pop, infused with emo elements. Lovewell's music is recommended for fans of Turnover's 'Peripheral Vision' era, Tigers Jaw, Anxious, Jimmy Eat World, and the like. The lead single 'Less Than Forever' from their forthcoming album is currently streaming, marking an exciting step for the band as they continue to evolve their sound.

Side Hug is a Chicago-based indie band blending heartfelt songwriting with shimmering guitars and artful textures. Emerging from the city’s DIY scene, the group—led by vocalist/guitarist Lyd Landor with Allan Cardenas (guitar/synth) and Jon Reyes (bass)—crafts emotionally charged songs that balance nostalgia and renewal. Their evolving sound moved from their early indie-folk leaning material to the more atmospheric, post-punk, and shoegaze-influenced sound of their 2025 debut full-length album, New Language due out October 2025. With roots in community and connection, Side Hug continue to prove that vulnerability and evolution can coexist in perfect harmony. Formed from late-night jam sessions, the band's music explores themes of change, uncertainty, and hope, often incorporating influences from local acts like Pool Holograph and global artists such as The Cure, Radiohead and Joy Division. RIYL: Beach Fossils, Tokyo Police Club, Alvvays, Joy Division, The Cure, Wild Nothing

Winter is the musical project of Samira Winter who plays a combination of alternative rock, shoegaze, dream pop and indie pop. The singer-songwriter and guitarist has been a mainstay in Los Angeles’ music scene for over a decade, carving out her own niche of gloriously detailed and eclectic dream pop under the name Winter. After growing up in Curitiba, Brazil and playing in her first bands in Boston, she relocated to Los Angeles in 2013 and fell in love with the city. She found a sense of belonging in its DIY rock community—the basement of her longtime Echo Park home was host to countless shows and even Winter’s first practices—and she grew attached to L.A.’s cosmic, inspiring aura. But at a certain point, Samira was craving a change of scenery to facilitate self-growth, a painful, but necessary realization that brought about a move to New York City. Leading up to her emotional coast-to-coast move, she spent roughly two years writing songs in a transitory state: often in between tours, in different cities, and in various sublets. The resulting 13 tracks became her new LP, Adult Romantix—her Winspear debut, the follow-up to 2022’s landmark What Kind of Blue Are You?, and a goodbye love letter to her time in L.A.

Highspire was a shoegaze staple of the early 2000’s international shoegaze scene via early internet music sites, filesharing, and releases on compilations like Losing Today Magazine, Tonevendor, Vinyl Junkie, Alison Records, even Club AC30’s first release.

In 2004, legendary shoegaze label of the time Clairecords released their debut album "Your Everything" to much acclaim. With most shoegaze-centric outlets of the time naming it the best shoegaze album of the year, and even making KEXP’s John in the Mornings top 10 albums of 2004.

Alex White & EJ Hagen joined Australian Neo-Psych band the Morning After Girls for half a decade in 2008. In between tours, they recorded their 2nd album "Aquatic" in 2010. "Aquatic" also garnered many top shoegaze album of 2010 accolades of the time.

The latest incarnation of the band features Laura Watling (The Autocollants, Tears Run Rings), John Loring (Fleeting Joys), drummer Kory Gable, and original drummer Guyton Sanders. Their long-awaited third album, "Crushed," sees the band take it up a notch. With everyone involved saying it’s their best album yet. John Loring also mixed, mastered, and co-produced the album. 

"Crushed" will be released on Shelflife Records July 11, 2025 on 2 vinyl variants (Oilslick Nautilus & Orange Crushed) as well as CD. RIYL:

My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Ride, Glare, Nothing, Greet Death, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.

Keep is an alternative rock band from Richmond, VA that was formed in 2013 and who's sound is heavily rooted in shoegaze, dream pop, 80s new wave, and 90s inspired alternative rock. They are heavily influenced by the likes of The Cure, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Slowdive, but that only scratches the surface. In a review of their second album, Happy In Here, it is stated that “even with these comparisons and any accuracy they could possess, Keep are a band that’s not only cut their own sort of path, but have become quite seasoned at it.” Their music has spanned a number of genres over the years, but most often falls under the banner of shoegaze. Regardless of specific distinctions, Keep sits firmly in the web of alternative rock music. Audiotree aptly described the sound as “grand and majestic”, adding that it is “ensconced in an all consuming mist of heavy noise.” The band is gearing up to release their new LP "Almost Static" in May of 2025.

Heaven is a New York City-based band formed in 2010 by Mikey Jones (drums), who played with the Big Sleep and Swervedriver, and Matt Sumrow (vocals/guitars) of Dean & Britta and the Comas. After a stint playing in Adam Franklin's backing band, Bolts of Love, the pair came together, along with Fan-Tan's Ryan Lee Dunlap (keyboards), to create a drifting and dense sound that falls somewhere between the worlds of melodic dream pop and shoegaze. Heaven debuted their psychedelic blend in 2013 with their first full-length, Telepathic Love, released on Goodnight Records followed by "All Love is Blue" in 2018. The band will return with their 3rd LP and 1st in over 7 years in April of 2024. RIYL: Swervedriver, The Lemondheads, Teenage Fanclub

Nothing is an American shoegaze band formed in 2010 by vocalist-guitarist Domenic "Nicky" Palermo. The band has had a revolving lineup throughout its career, with Palermo being the longest-serving member following the departure of guitarist-vocalist Brandon Setta in 2019. Setta joined in late 2010 and shared songwriting duties with Palermo throughout his tenure.

Nothing self-released several EPs before signing to Relapse Records. They released their debut studio album, Guilty of Everything, in 2014. The follow-up album, Tired of Tomorrow, was released on in 2016. Nothing's third studio album, Dance on the Blacktop, was released in 2018, and their fourth studio album, The Great Dismal, was released in 2020 to positive reception and have announced their 5th LP The Slow Decay of Nothing will be released in February 2026 via Run for Cover Records.

RIYL: My Bloody Valentine, Hum, Cloakroom, Trauma Ray, Glare, Narrow Head, Swervedriver, Whirr, Greet Death

Rocket is an indie rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2021, known for their 90s-inspired sound with influences from shoegaze and alt-rock. The band consists of Alithea Tuttle (bass, vocals), Baron Rinzler (guitar), Cooper Ladomade (drums), and Desi Scaglione (guitar). They draw inspiration from bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, The Pixies, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr., The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, and Radiohead.

TAPE TRASH is a Norwegian duo comprised of Anders Magnor Killerud and Kristofer Mathias Staxrud. Drawing inspiration from the music that first sparked their passion for playing instruments during their teenage years, they craft a sound that blends elements of shoegaze, alternative rock, emo, and punk. Their music has been described as "in your face shoegaze/emopunk/indierock", known for its raw, anthemic quality and a "more-is-more mentality" existing in the space between ecstasy and panic. Killerud handles lead vocals, guitar, and keys, while Staxrud plays guitar, bass, and drums. They previously worked together in the band Ludvig Moon.

RIYL: Mew, Bloc Party, Jimmy Eat World, Broken Social Scene, Japandroids

Hotline TNT is a New York based noise-pop band that play their own brand of melodic shoegaze and grunge pop combined with elements of dream-pop and loud fuzzed out anthemic alternative rock. Laying out sheets of buzzy guitar sounds over simple, forceful melodies, Hotline TNT take their shoegaze influences and meld them with a pop undertow and personal lyrics about life and relationships. Founded and led by guitarist and songwriter Will Anderson (of former band Weed), the group started as a one-man-band in the studio, with Anderson calling all the shots, and expanding into a quartet or quintet on-stage. Anderson established Hotline TNT's sound and style with the 2021 indie release Nineteen in Love, and made their music sound bigger and bolder on 2023's Cartwheel, their debut for Third Man Records. Now the band is back with "Rasberry Moon" their first album built as a full band and follow up LP to 2023s Cartwheel set for release June of 2025 via Third Man Records.

Juicin is a Chicago-based rock group consisting of Ryan Davis (Sleepwalk, Astrobrite) and Tyler Gargula (Sleepwalk, Muted Color). Started in 2022 as a side project, we were at our practice space one day and started jamming ideas that were more hardcore. We're in a few shoegaze-leaning bands so this was something we wanted to do to fulfill new ideas that wouldn't fit in our other bands. Fans of melodic fuzzed out noise-pop similar to bands like Hotline TNT, Ovlov, Title Fight, Big Bite and the like will enjoy this. Debut 4 song EP releasing February 28, 2025.