In this week’s edition of Auxtra Weekly, we’ll dive into three shoegaze albums from the 2000s, a transient decade where the genre somewhat shifted out of the spotlight compared to its heyday 1990s and revival in the 2020s.

Despite its relatively scarce coverage, the 2000s produced some of the best shoegaze music to date. From cult followings to lesser known groups, you’re bound to find a group that scratches that fuzzy itch.
— Will Thomas

Astrobrite’s official discography started in 2001 with the release of their debut album “crush,” but a bulk of the band’s material is pulled from recordings made in the mid to late 90s. In spite of their archival origins, their music feels fresh and right on time even by today’s standards.

The driving force and constant member of the band, Scott Cortez, started Astrobrite as a solo project in the early 90s, and since then, has slowly created a body of work brimming with brilliantly layered and wistfully arranged shoegaze music.

His magnum opus in the eyes of many, including myself, is their aforementioned debut album. Cortez sets a standard on the first track “crasher” that persists throughout the entire record, where listeners are treated to his forlorn pinings set over the backdrop of heavily stratified guitars.

“Crush” feels like an ode to the irony of youthfulness, where you yearn to grow up until you realize you already did. The guitars and vocals often shift in volume and timing while maintaining their distorted nature, creating an unpredictability of life’s everchanging stages.

It feels barebones at times, overwhelming at others, but it never overstays its welcome.

For fans of: Swirlies; Drop Nineteens; Ringo Deathstarr

Shoegaze trio Should originally released “A Folding Sieve” in 1995 as a six-song EP, but in 2002, the EP was expanded into a full album featuring nearly double the amount of tracks, a gift to listeners who adore the raw sound of the late 90s shoegaze movement.

The 2002 re-release is an album for any mood or occasion. From background noise to a complementary soundtrack to an exclusive listen, “A Folding Sieve” has such an expansive sound that there’s always something new to discover. It truly feels like it adapts to the listener’s disposition. On some days, the songs feel cautiously hopeful–on others, they seep with resignation.

There’s a fuzziness that hangs in the air, creating a full-body, dreamlike listening experience. The guitars are distorted and looped, but the band thrives at creating loops that become more addictive as the song progresses.

The voices of lead singers Marc Ostermeier and Tanya Maus fuse together to form a haunting harmony that floats along the viscous melodies formed from their DIY four-track mixer. The lo-fi sound of the guitars paired with the punchiness of the drum machine amalgamate into a spacy journey rivals any state-of-the-art shoegaze album.

For fans of: All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors; Rocketship; Acetone

There’s a cavernous feel to “They Live We Sleep,” the 2006 album from the Milwaukee-based band Brief Candles, like stepping through a small crevasse to reveal a colossal grotto below.

“They Live We Sleep” has more robust instrumentation compared to the releases from Should and Astrobrite, creating a sound that, while rooted in shoegaze, dabbles in psychedelia, krautrock, and pop.

The vocal melodies and guitar loops are dancier, but still bear that signature shoegaze fuzz and reverb. The album’s first track, “The Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes,” lives up to its name thanks to the band’s adeptness in creating chaos through reverbations and hushed vocals. Their cover of A Flock of Seagull’s “Space Age Love Song” is the blueprint for all covers–it maintains the sweetness and lushness of the original while implementing their airy vocals and echoey guitars.

Despite their name, Brief Candles’ blend of distortion and jangly pop melodies aren’t a flash in the pan–their music and its message will endure lifetimes, even after their flames are extinguished.

For fans of: LSD and the Search for God; Loveliescrushing; Burrrn