Nu Gaze or: How Gen Z Discovered Shoegaze
Trends and fads are interesting phenomena; they’re almost impossible to predict, let alone create, which is the eternal frustration of the music industry. At any rate, in our current dystopian hellscape fueled by social media and algorithms, and in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, Zoomers aka Gen Z, through TikTok, Spotify, etc. have discovered a lot of music, ’90s music in particular, or have reconnected with music they heard in their childhood or early teen years. One of the biggest musical youth movements going on is a new shoegaze revival.
Now, shoegaze is a very interesting case when it comes to its impact or relevance, and a lot has been said about its origins in the UK, how it was throttled by britpop, and was then reappraised during the mid to late aughts into a first revival that eventually bled into hybrid genres like blackgaze. However, this new particular wave which is being colloquially called nu gaze—sometimes also referred to as ”grunge-gaze” or “heavy shoegaze”—is very distinct for two reasons: its direct association with the aforementioned Zoomers and even older Gen Alpha, and how the unifying influences are three bands in particular, Deftones, Whirr and Title Fight.
Almost all the currently active bands that have been labeled or self-identify as nu gaze have mentioned one of those bands, or all of them as major influences or instigators for these youths to pick guitars and as many pedal effects (analogue or programmed) as they can. As such, while the music as a whole does have the major signifiers and characteristics of shoegaze, there’s a significant openness to experimentation and mixing and matching disparate elements. While there are many, many, many nu gaze bands at the present, I want to highlight 5 bands that in my opinion best represent this wave. I’ll also show how each stands out or how their music expands beyond shoegaze’s limitations and boundaries while also adopting a visual identity that combines late ’90s alternative culture with Y2K and early internet aesthetics. These acts don’t necessarily embrace nostalgia but they all do evoke a sense of longing or remembrance for intangible emotions. Before getting into my picks, I want to do some honorable mentions: Trauma Ray, MX Lonely, Luster, Distressor, Blossom, Daze, Zeruel.
Wisp
This project from Natalie R. Lu (based in San Francisco) is by far the biggest breakthrough artist of the moment, and her career has been very interesting to see unfold. The most significant aspect of Wisp’s origins is how it all started with Lu—nspired by the aforementioned Whirr—writing lyrics and recording vocals over a composition by producer Grayskies originally titled “alternative indie rock + shoegaze + whirr type beat ~ drowning”. While Lu did the single “Your Face” for herself, and as a way to express her love of shoegaze, for whatever reason the song went viral across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube; it was everywhere and had the reaction of people liking the song and asking everywhere who was the artist, leading to Wisp being signed by Interscope and immediately start work on more music.
As an aside, Grayskies would provide three more instrumentals for Lu to record vocals for and release as Wisp, and since her debut EP, Pandora, has become an active collaborator with the project. This bears mentioning since Lu, being a young woman and having a rapid ascent has led to the tiring, groan inducing and misogyny-laced accusations of being an “industry plant.” I’m not even going to entertain this because in this day and age it’s very easy to tell which artists got insanely lucky and which are actually manufactured (President, anyone?).
Anyway, on August 1st, 2025, Wisp released their debut full length album If Not Winter. While musically Wisp plays very traditional shoegaze, her EP and LP display what the new generation brings to the table. Aside from Whirr, Lu has also expressed being influenced by Title Fight, and the interesting thing about those bands’ influence is the focus on powerful guitars, combining the blasting walls of noise of Whirr with the sharp emo/post-hardcore flavored melodies and hooks of Title Fight, which can be heard in Lu’s music. Her debut album is where something clicked; Lu still displays her love of Whirr, Title Fight and Cocteau Twins through the noisy yet beautiful guitars and ethereal atmospheres, but she also shows a more nuanced sense of poptimism and even space.
The biggest criticism of the EP was how one-note it felt, just shoegaze with modern sensibilities and production, but on this record, Lu displays a willingness to incorporate both pop melody akin to Billie Eilish or Chappell Roan, using drum machines, samplers and electronics, as well as broader experimentation with unease and melancholy. The middle part of the record incorporates synths and effects that offset the guitar textures with downbeat noisy harmonies and even spooky effects. Straightforward bangers and ballads including her distinct entrancing whisper and forceful guitars make for a very esoteric experience where the music flows at an even space but with weird twists and turns.
Overall, while Wisp isn’t reinventing the wheel or “saving shoegaze,” she does have a very unique voice and perspective. If anything, the music she’s released is a genuine labor of love and passion; alongside her bandmates and collaborators she’s definitely succeeded at creating the same type of ethereal music you can lose yourself in a way not heard since the Cocteau Twins.
Glare
Hailing from Texas, Glare is one of the first bands to be part of this current wave of nu gaze, but they stand out for starting before the pandemic and doing the underground grind at a steady pace with singles and EPs. In 2025 they finally released their debut album proper, and while there’s not much info to dig into regarding the band’s backstory, that gives me more time to talk about their music.
Glare’s style is definitely much heavier but straightforward; it leans into alt rock and dream pop, with a focus on guitar melodies and riffs. The band definitely make full use of their effects: heavy distortion, reverb and flange coat the band’s string section. In some areas their sound definitely hearkens to the more dreamy songs of Deftones, but they also evoke that nebulous period of mid-to-late ’90s shoegaze and early aughts indie that’s hard to actually classify because it takes from a variety of sources. These bands maintained a rock edge that was absent in the indie bands of that period, but with a sharper sense of melody and pop sensibilities that were discarded by the more noise-oriented or post-rock acts of that time. In some areas, Glare also evokes Japanese shoegaze, though I can’t say for certain because I don’t think the band has acknowledged that sound as an influence. However, the foundation and final product that the band present is without a doubt shoegaze, both in sound and presentation: 4 friends with guitars, bass, drums, vocals and a guest keyboardist, keeping it simple yet profoundly effective.
Cold Gawd
Hailing from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Cold Gawd are one of the more acclaimed and visible of the modern shoegaze bands with 3 full-lengths under their belt. Being a regular performing act, they have the most defined and refined sound unto themselves, mixing the dreamy, crunchy style of shoegaze popularized by Deftones with post-hardcore as well as dream pop and R&B. The band embodies the magpie ethos of modern shoegaze of picking and choosing from just about everywhere with the intent of creating an intense and emotional sound that resonates with the artists and their audience.
The band’s front-man and primary songwriter, Matt Wainwright, has named Whirr and Nothing as his most important influences in regards to shoegaze, and you can definitely hear that influence. R&B is another major component to their sound, particularly in the match between music and lyrics, touching upon themes of angst, longing and depression with an emotional vocal delivery that’s very much R&B influenced, while still adding intense screaming and more ethereal choirs. The band also excels at building intensity, allowing the instruments to breathe and holding back the vocals to get the right emotional effect. This is present in all their albums so far, and their most recent; 2024’s I’ll Drown on This Earth continues that style while also being their most emotionally charged record, doubling down on both the loud guitars and the atmospheres with an intense effect.
At the core of Cold Gawd’s sound, and with both the experience of making three excellent records and maintaining an independent spirit and attitude, is a lot of emotional sincerity in how they present their music and their love for it as well. While the topics might lean towards existential angst, the result is pure catharsis.
Glixen
Glixen are the second newest band in this list I’ve compiled after Wisp; the project was started in Phoenix, Arizona by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aislinn Ritchie after the end of her previous band Dovi, with lead guitarist Esteban Santana, drummer Keire Johnson and bassist Sonia García. I bring up the members by name because what they best represent about nu gaze is how young people still want to be in bands, a group of friends with a passion for music and a like-minded goal of making it together on their terms; all of this despite both the temptation to be a solo artist with backing musicians and a producer, and the inculture pushed by the music industry in their relentless pursuit of commodification of niche subcultures.
Musically, Glixen is definitely the most traditional and straightforward of the bands here, but therein lies their charm; My Bloody Valentine is the primary source of inspiration since both Ritchie and Santana employ the glide guitar technique of Kevin Shields: strumming while holding the vibrato bar to create a wavering pitch in real time.
In keeping with the MBV influence, their focus is on atmosphere and textures. The sound they create is thick and all-encompassing, but the band isn’t just worshiping Kevin Shields, as the music incorporates elements of modern dream pop and post-rock, mixing ethereal harmonies with walls of noise while keeping a consistent atmosphere. While their tempos are usually slow, their sense of melody and groove has a distinctly modern shine that’s unique to them, perfectly grounding the music. These pleasing pop sensibilities are then fully realized through Ritchie’s beautifully ghostly vocals that mesh with the music very well, giving you a contrast between the distorted stabs and flourishes and Ritchie’s melodious voice.
As a whole, the band’s music successfully creates a sound that feels very nostalgic, but without the inherent artifice of nostalgia. There’s honesty in the music that really sticks with you, especially when you listen to Glixen’s music under the right emotional headspace, be it sad or happy.
Julie
A common theme with all these bands within the nu gaze label is young people: teens, early-to-mid twenty-year olds discovering shoegaze, ’90s rock, etc. In the case of Julie from LA, while they do neatly fit within the nu gaze wave and shoegaze is a key part of their sound, they’re sonically influenced by grunge and ’90s indie and slacker rock. As a power trio the band’s sound is deliberately stripped back and simplistic, which in turn leads to each member being essential to the music, while maintaining a greater range of expression that otherwise couldn’t be covered with more people and instruments.
The band’s blend of noisy grunge with poppy slacker rock and shoegaze captures a more tangible nostalgia for ’90s alternative, but not in a way that feels derivative or artificial; rather, this is the band’s view of that very particular sound, translated through a modern context with their youthful sensibilities. Instead of retreading the past, the sound of Julie is more of a continuation of sorts. Big power chord-driven riffs are offset by disharmonic picking, melodic basslines and forceful but unflashy drumming, all drenched in distortion, then coupled with the shared vocals of guitarist Keyan MTA and bassist Alex Brady.
Furthermore, nostalgia seems to be a theme for the band, not just in the music but also in their aesthetic: videos with a VHS filter, collage artworks that mix anime-influenced drawings with mid-2000s internet and suburban imagery. There’s a frequent anachronistic interplay between the band’s own nostalgia and the nostalgia the music evokes, but more importantly it is genuine, because nostalgia is a remembrance of things we’ve lost. In Julie’s case, they embody the feeling of missing out on the heyday of grunge on account of not even being born, as well as a nostalgia for simpler times, and the music reflects it with a constant sense of ennui, melancholy and boredom.
The mixing of grunge with shoegaze at the core of it is something of a full circle realization, the angst and unease seen through pale blue-tinted glasses. Despite the frequent use of distortion and noise, Julie’s release is very subdued; instead of being fully engulfed in raw emotion, they focus on the moments between, the feeling of experiencing calm and sudden bursts of energy.
The common thread between all these bands beyond all playing a form of shoegaze music unique to them is definitely a passion for music; it’s no secret that in today’s climate music is in a very weird place, and between toxic discourses and corporate bullshit, it sometimes feels like music is a disposable medium meant to simply provide a quick dopamine fix. These bands and artists definitely show the real value of music, not as a medium, product or commodity, but as an infinite source of inspiration and a way to connect with others. Nu gaze ended up being a perfect gateway to let raw, unfiltered emotion be expressed in a way that’s loud yet soothing.
