BEST OF
DARK
SHOEGAZE & DREAMPOP
2024

The fourth album from dream pop / trip-hop duo Blurred City Lights.

Blurred City Lights is a project by Dean Garcia, formerly of Curve and now active with SPC ECO, alongside Polish musician Jarek Leskiewicz, a long-time collaborator within the SPC ECO circle. While several tracks featuring vocals by Rose Berlin (now of SPC ECO) and Béatrix Méthé lean toward a hazy, dreamlike palette reminiscent of SPC ECO, the album’s defining characteristic lies elsewhere. The presence of a male lead vocal introduces a distinctly decadent, world-weary atmosphere that sets this release apart.

Dark, enveloping soundscapes that evoke Massive Attack or Depeche Mode form the foundation, over which the duo’s detached, hollowed-out vocals drift in tandem. The effect is oddly cinematic—less a dramatic apocalypse than a quiet end-of-the-world road trip undertaken by two exhausted travelers. Listening feels akin to wandering through monochrome ruins, suspended somewhere between resignation and reverie.

Despite its high level of refinement and cohesion, the album is curiously available only via Bandcamp. Taken alongside SPC ECO’s recent releases, this apparent insistence on the platform raises questions about intent rather than accessibility.

One final note of caution: this Blurred City Lights has no connection whatsoever to the Nagoya-based shoegaze band of the same name. When listing or referencing them together, it is strongly recommended to distinguish the Japanese act with a “(JP)” tag to avoid confusion.

The fourth album from Swedish post-metal duo A Swarm of the Sun.

Formed in Stockholm by Jakob Berglund (Vo) and Erik Nilsson (Gt/Pf), the duo draws on a diverse set of influences. Jakob’s early exposure to his father’s progressive rock collection, particularly Pink Floyd, shaped his foundational musical taste, while his teenage years were marked by a deep immersion in Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral and Swans’ Soundtracks for the Blind. Today, their sound reflects a preference for dense, dark, and drone-infused progressive/post-rock textures, with favorites including This Will Destroy You, Jakob, and Fourteen Nights at Sea, though they regard Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai as exemplary.

Building on the narrative approach of their previous album, The Woods, A Swarm of the Sun delivers their most expansive work yet with An Empire, spanning six tracks over 71 minutes. The album unfolds through minimalistic, ambient–post-classical textures, over which delicate, shoegaze-tinged clean vocals drift, gradually escalating toward walls of distortion. The dramatic interplay of stillness and intensity evokes a vast, almost cosmic expanse—moving from desolate voids to asteroid belts and culminating in supernova-like climaxes.

Layered instrumentation—including synths, vibraphone, harmonium, musical saw, trombone, and pipe organ—enhances the album’s textural richness, producing a complex elegance that distinguishes it from typical post-metal offerings. Track #3, “The Pyre,” is an 18-minute centerpiece that fully encapsulates the album’s allure, while #5, “The Burning Wall,” opens with a tense, gripping sequence that punctuates the album’s pacing with remarkable finesse. Incorporating elements of progressive rock, post-rock, ambient, post-classical, drone, and shoegaze, An Empire stands as a monumental, immersive requiem.

soto wa ame is a solo project by Yuki Yoshida, guitarist and vocalist of the Tokyo-based emo-gaze band Forbear.

The project first surfaced through an Apple Music recommendation, and a casual listen quickly revealed a striking contrast: a heavy, US-style shoegaze sound paired with a refreshingly clear female vocal. The combination feels immediately distinctive, suggesting both weight and transparency rather than the expected murkiness often associated with the genre.

Digging deeper into the project’s background reveals an interesting detail. According to Yoshida’s self-written liner notes, the vocals are performed by RIME, a Vocaloid-based “musical isotope.” While the clarity and expressiveness are undoubtedly the result of careful programming and tuning, it is still impressive to hear how far Vocaloid technology has evolved, especially within a shoegaze context where vocals often dissolve into texture.

A standout moment arrives on track #4 “Träumerei.” Built on a massive, groove-driven riff that collides with spacious, atmospheric passages, the track thrives on contrast. Fans of bands like Narrow Head or Teenage Wrist will likely find its balance of heft and melody particularly appealing. In contrast, #5 “Long Swimming” dials back the distortion, leaning into an ennui-laced vocal line and a melancholic melody that evokes the feeling of wandering through city streets late at night, revealing another side of the project’s emotional range.

Given the overall quality, it is surprising to see the project’s monthly listener count on Spotify still sitting in the single digits. For those who find themselves wishing there were more heavy shoegaze acts emerging from Japan, soto wa ame feels like an easy recommendation.

It is also worth noting that Yoshida appears to be deeply immersed in the genre’s culture. He has authored an article examining the new generation of American shoegaze in the 2020s alongside developments in the Japanese scene. For listeners interested in a concise overview of the current shoegaze landscape, it makes for a worthwhile read alongside the music itself.

Note:The New Generation of American Shoegaze in the 2020s and the Contemporary Japanese Scene (article by Yuki Yoshida)

The sixth album from Copenhagen-based artist Anders Trentemøller.

Trentemøller began his career with the 2006 debut The Last Resort, establishing a minimal, dark electro sound. Over time, his musical style evolved, culminating in a full embrace of dream pop and shoegaze on his previous album, Memoria. On this new release, Dreamweaver, he continues that trajectory while featuring Icelandic singer Disa Jakobs throughout, exploring a fusion of shoegaze and darkwave.

Mystical synths and reverb-drenched guitars merge as Disa’s vocals release the crisp, Nordic air, creating ethereal soundscapes reminiscent of auroras drifting across the night sky, drawing the listener into a comfortable melancholy. With the emphasis on vocal-driven tracks, the album also feels more accessible. The transition from the nocturnal wanderings of #2 “Nightfall” to the post-rock-infused energy of #3 “Dreamweavers,” which shifts into a danceable rhythm, is particularly striking. On #4 “I Give My Tears,” blizzard-like, desolate noise introduces a new facet to Trentemøller’s sound.

A personal highlight is #5 “Behind My Eyes,” a dynamic track with pronounced goth and darkwave elements that will likely resonate with fans of The KVB and Seasufer. The album concludes with the serene, piano-led instrumental #10 “Closure,” evoking the arrival of dawn. Overall, Dreamweaver excels in balancing darkness and light, narrative depth, and pop sensibility.

Trentemøller’s first scheduled Tokyo performance on April 16, 2025, was unfortunately canceled due to artist circumstances, a disappointment given the rarity of gothic shoegaze tours in Japan. Nevertheless, listeners are encouraged to continue sharing and celebrating Trentemøller’s work across the country in anticipation of future opportunities.

The debut album from UK shoegaze / gothic metal duo Zetra.

Formed in 2018 by Adam Saunderson (guitar, vocals) and Jordan Page (synths, vocals), Zetra initially explored synth-pop and new wave aesthetics before gravitating toward a heavier, more fantastical sound. That gradual evolution has resulted in what the band themselves describe as “gothic heavy metal shoegaze,” a hybrid that feels less like a genre exercise and more like a fully realized identity.

The lush keyboard textures may invite comparisons to Drab Majesty, yet Zetra diverge sharply in execution. The guitars lean decisively toward metal-rooted heaviness, built on thick, deliberate riffs, while the vocals remain notably delicate and graceful. The balance is striking: the weight of Black Sabbath, the dark sensuality of Type O Negative, and the ethereal elegance of Cocteau Twins appear carefully proportioned rather than stacked for effect. In that sense, the term “gothic heavy metal shoegaze” seems unusually precise.

That lineage is further underscored by an impressive roster of guest musicians drawn from the gothic and metal scenes, including Serena Cherry (Svalbard), Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir (Kælan Mikla), and Gabriel Franco (Unto Others). Their presence feels less like a marketing flourish than a natural extension of Zetra’s musical orbit.

The album’s concept reaches its clearest expression on #1 “Suffer Eternally.” Despite its unequivocally metal backbone, the track transforms once aurora-like synth layers and angelic vocals emerge, coalescing into something unmistakably shoegaze in atmosphere. Crossovers between metal and shoegaze often dilute one side or the other, but here the tension is preserved, suggesting a solution few bands have managed to articulate so convincingly. While there are precedents for artists transitioning from gothic metal toward shoegaze, deliberate attempts to fuse the two so evenly remain rare, lending the album a quietly innovative edge.

Zetra’s striking, almost demonic visual presentation adds another layer of contrast. Even casual YouTube commenters have noted the dissonance between expectations shaped by imagery—often invoking KISS or black metal—and the music’s shimmering elegance. That contrast is pushed further on #3 “Starfall,” featuring Serena Cherry, where Adam Saunderson’s pristine clean vocals collide with Cherry’s ferocious screams in a dramatic interplay of light and shadow. The visual irony—where the figure who looks most demonic is the one delivering the most angelic vocals—only sharpens the track’s impact.

Although several music videos are clustered in the album’s first half, the latter stretch maintains its momentum. Highlights include the gently melancholic #7 “Inseparable,” carried by wavering piano lines; the synthwave-inflected, driving rock of #8 “Gaia”; and the apocalyptic #9 “Moonfall,” which features Gabriel Franco’s spoken-word performance to haunting effect. Together, these tracks reinforce the sense that the album’s ambition is sustained rather than front-loaded.

Notably, even prior to the album’s release, Zetra drew significant attention within gothic circles after supporting Finnish band VV, led by Ville Valo. Their London finale, featuring Icelandic artist Eivør as an additional act, reportedly marked a high point of the run. While current tour dates are limited to Europe and North America, the band’s growing profile suggests their reach is likely to expand.

Zetra’s debut stands as a rare case where gothic metal and shoegaze do not merely coexist, but actively enhance one another—an album that feels both meticulously crafted and genuinely exploratory.

Tenth album from Japanese music producer TORIENA, whose career has spanned chiptune, hardcore techno, game soundtracks, and international live performances. On this release, TORIENA makes a notable foray into shoegaze—a direction that appears unexpected on paper, yet surprisingly coherent in execution.

The clearest statement arrives with #11 “Emily,” where psychedelic guitars bloom like prismatic fog, strongly recalling the classic textures of My Bloody Valentine. Encountered without prior context, the accompanying music video amplifies the impact: shot entirely on 8mm film, it translates shoegaze’s hallucinatory immersion into a striking visual language.

Another standout, #3 “Unconscious Bias,” pairs sharp, angular beats with a melancholic melodic core, resulting in a highly addictive track that bridges electronic aggression and emotional weight. Meanwhile, #4 “Dominant” leans into a driving four-on-the-floor rhythm, carried by whispered vocals. While its shoegaze elements are more restrained than the previous two tracks, the delay-soaked guitars may still resonate with listeners attuned to shoegaze and dream pop sensibilities.

What makes these shoegaze-oriented tracks particularly compelling is how seamlessly they integrate with TORIENA’s established dark and aggressive rave aesthetics. Rather than feeling grafted on, the guitars coexist naturally with hardcore techno’s harsh noise textures, allowing the album to transcend genre boundaries and articulate a singular, cohesive world.

Looking back through TORIENA’s catalog, early hints of this evolution can be traced to the sixth album PURE FIRE, where guitar elements began to surface amid a darker sonic shift. However, clear signs of shoegaze influence remained elusive until recently. According to an interview, the turning point came in early 2024, when TORIENA picked up a Jazzmaster and a full set of effects pedals—and composed shoegaze material within a single week. Remarkably, these tracks were performed live at Akihabara’s MOGRA just a few weeks later, despite minimal prior experience with guitar. (Interview with TORIENA)

Given the natural affinity between shoegaze’s feedback-heavy walls of sound and the harsh noise central to hardcore techno, this development reads less as a sudden mutation and more as an organic progression. Where TORIENA’s sound will evolve from here remains an open and intriguing question—whether toward deeper immersion in shoegaze, or further hybridization with rave music.

Either way, this album suggests that TORIENA’s ongoing metamorphosis is only beginning.

^{Note: The values in the graph refer to “Unconscious Bias” and “Emily.”}

Tokyo-based artist RobounoIshi, who works both as a Vocaloid producer and a band project, delivers his 6th album. This release is an ambitious blend of blackgaze and post-black metal featuring Hatsune Miku. Noisy, black-metal-inspired guitars rage like sandstorms, intersecting with Miku’s ethereal vocals and ferocious screams to create an apocalyptic soundscape. The interplay of “beauty and violence” or “light and darkness” is the defining charm of blackgaze, and this album embodies it perfectly.

Highlight tracks include #5 “Koya Nite,” which starts with a brooding mid-tempo and then bursts into an explosive section, and #6 “Violet,” which throws in club-music-style synths while remaining firmly in beautiful-melodic blackgaze territory—a contrast sure to delight fans of Violet Cold. The album closes with #7 “Messia,” a dramatic finale where Miku’s long pilgrimage culminates and hope seems to revive in a ravaged world.

RobounoIshi also performs live in a band format, so fans in the Tokyo area should definitely check out a show. I myself have yet to see them live, so it’s high on my list.

Stay updated through RobounoIshi’s social media: X | Instagram.

101A is a Tokyo-based rock band consisting of noah (vocals/guitar), the k (bass), and Sally (drums). With a career spanning over two decades, the trio has built a formidable reputation through overseas tours and a notable appearance at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ’06. Their latest release, “killing dress,” arrives in a distinctive format they call a “Not Album,” positioned somewhere between a full-length and an EP.

What defines 101A is their ability to fuse an exceptionally wide range of influences—gothic, industrial, metal, grunge, shoegaze, post-rock, progressive rock, and folk—into a consistently dark and decadent aesthetic. The jewel-like shimmer and ethereal vocals recall Cocteau Twins, the ritualistic darkness evokes Dead Can Dance, while their venomous rock moments hint at Bauhaus. Yet these references function less as homage and more as points of departure, as the band maintains a singular, uncompromising sense of beauty throughout the record.

The opening track, “Jukai” (sea of trees), sets the tone with sharp, driving rhythms intertwined with ghostly vocals, immediately pulling the listener into the album’s shadowed world. “bark” follows, where a pulsating bassline and emotionally charged singing paint a poisonous yet strangely elegant landscape. On “Laura,” the band drifts into mystical dream pop reminiscent of early Love Spirals Downwards, with noah’s fragile vocal delivery carrying a deeply affecting sense of melancholy.

“midnight lunch” introduces an uneasy melody supported by Sally’s intricate drumming, achieving a delicate balance between tension and flow. The title track “killing dress” unleashes a surge of distorted guitars at full force, before the journey concludes with “field,” a requiem-like piece whose gentle melody brings a sense of quiet release.

killing dress stands as both a culmination of 101A’s long career and a work that suggests further evolution ahead. It is a compelling recommendation for anyone drawn to music that embraces darkness, beauty, and emotional depth in equal measure.

The debut album from LA-based post-punk / shoegaze duo Occults.

Formed by Emilio Hernandez (guitar/vocals/synth) and Patrick Lawrence (drums), who have collaborated for around 20 years in the dance-pop band Nothing Still, Occults blends the melancholic moods of ’90s shoegaze with the dark, atmospheric sensibilities of ’80s goth, post-punk, and new wave influences such as Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure, and Sisters of Mercy—bands that shaped them in their teenage years.

A standout track is #8 “Crystal Coffins,” featured in the film Blood Relatives. Sparkling guitars and synths intertwine in an uptempo arrangement reminiscent of The Cure or early DIIV, delivering a decadent yet catchy quality that may appeal to synthwave fans as well. The smooth, subtly melancholic vocals complement the instrumentation perfectly. Another highlight is the groovy, dark dance track #9 “Depeche Mode,” a nod to the duo’s love for the band; early in their career, they even performed a cool cover of Black Celebration. Occults - "Black Celebration" (Official Music Video)

Occults performed their first live show on November 20, 2024, as the opening act for ACTORS, and they are slated to appear at the large goth/industrial festival Dark Force Fest in Parsippany, New Jersey, in 2025. The duo is poised to attract increasing attention, and fans can look forward to their future activities.

Texas-based shoegaze band trauma ray delivers their debut album on the esteemed Dais Records.

The current lineup consists of Uriel Avila (Gt/Vo), Jonathan Perez (Gt), Darren Baun (Ba), Coleman Pruitt (Gt), and Nick Bobotas (Dr). In an Audiotree live interview, the band explained their unusual formation: Uriel, who ran a karaoke bar, met Darren and began jamming to Britney Spears songs just for fun. Later, Jonathan visited the bar while Uriel was playing Slowdive and Cocteau Twins, which led to an instant connection and subsequent jam sessions. Nick eventually joined through Facebook—a quirky origin story, indeed.

Thematically centered on “death” as a shape-shifting presence, the album is titled Chameleon and draws influences from My Bloody Valentine, Duster, Hum, and Slowdive. It merges lush clean vocals with thorny, noisy guitars. The opener #1 “Ember” immediately unleashes their signature heavy, undulating riffs. #2 “Torn” starts with an exhilarating drive before crashing into a headbanger-worthy heavy section. #6 “Elegy” contrasts doomy waves of riffs with aurora-like glimpses of light, while #7 “Drift” provides a refreshing ambient breakbeat interlude before the noise returns in #8 “Breath.” The latter half peaks with #9 “Spectre,” a quasi-requiem with soaring vocals over dense guitars. The album closes with a lullaby-like track, leaving a deep sense of resolution.

While Nu-Gaze trends can feel repetitive, trauma ray’s wide-ranging arrangements and distinct palette set them apart. Their upcoming tour with Deafheaven promises to raise their profile further—let’s hope a Japan visit is on the cards as well.

Their lush, decadent sound and green-tinged visuals invite comparisons to Type O Negative, though no direct influence is evident. Still, Uriel’s mention of Blood Rave’s Determinate Bias as one of his favorite albums of 2024 hints at a clear gothic sensibility—something I’d love to ask him about if they ever tour Japan.