Hiding inside sound

Shoegaze features plenty of dreamy distortion and sonic exploration. In its heyday, from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, mood mattered more than attitude, and texture more than beats or even melodies. It was much less catchy than mainstream pop.

The subgenre was never big enough to inspire a wealth of specific psychological research, although several music writers have made arguments about shoegaze seeking a kind of “narcotised withdrawal” from social reality.

Plenty of people in the shoegaze scene have also nodded to the personality traits linked with it. Miki Berenyi of the band Lush has said, “Shoegazing was generally seen as introverted, sensitive, and possibly a bit intellectual.” And shoegaze label founder Andy Oliver has suggested that the swirling sounds reflected shy personalities, as this music consisted of “indie-style dream-pop through layers of distorted guitars saturated with overdrive and fuzz set to an amplified volume so high that it created a wall… which they could hide behind.”

A reflection of inwardness

That desire to hide is characteristic of shy people, who may have a desire for social contact but feel awkward or anxious about getting it. Scott McGivern, a Chicago-based musician and shoegaze fan, tells me, “I’m moderately shy and can be pretty social, but I do have trouble expressing myself externally. I consistently try to find outlets through playing/performing music, conversation, writing, and listening to music.”

McGivern’s shyness is about the gap between internal and external worlds. And as he describes it, “Shoegaze leans a bit… inward. It’s like a peephole to the inside of the vibrant colourful mind that some (most?) of us have.”

For others, one of the characteristics of shyness is a preoccupation with what other people might think. It’s no surprise then that it’s often linked with low self-esteem. A 2015 research paper examined the music preferences and self-esteem levels of New Zealand undergraduates. One of the most significant findings was the correlation between reflective/complex music (which applies to the introspection of shoegaze) and lower self-liking, for male respondents.