Over a decade since its release, Moose's little-heard Sonny & Sam recalls the glory days of the shoe-gazer era.
In the early '90s, as the flannel-shirted vanguard of grunge was busy barnstorming across the States, a quiet revolution was blooming in England. Comprised of shaggy-haired musicians who turned guitars and drums into a sonic tidal wave of emotion, the movement seemed poised to take American shores by storm. The sound was dubbed "shoe-gazer" by the press, a nod to the static, introverted stage presence of its stars (in other circles, it was known as "dream pop"). With the release of albums like Ride's Nowhere and the groundbreaking Loveless from My Bloody Valentine, the stage was set.
Then, almost without warning, they all seemed to drop out of sight, eclipsed by the continuing surge of grunge and the rise of the Madchester scene. Ride tried to adopt a more pop-oriented sound, with little success, while Kevin Shields, the enigmatic front-man of My Bloody Valentine, simply disappeared. In their wake, the shoe-gazers left behind a collection of music that's as confounding as it is revolutionary. But for every nod that these bands get, it's one less that goes to Moose. Although largely unheard of, Moose is the band that, thanks to lead singer Russell Yates's habit of taping the lyrics to the stage, actually gave rise to the term "shoe-gazer". They were also one of the first bands to attempt to break out of the confines of the sound in search of something new. "We like interesting noises," Yates told Melody Maker. "It has to fit with mood of the songs and not be feedback for feedback's sake. That's been done. But underneath it all, there's a strong tune. Although primed for a breakthrough after the success of their first three EPs, Moose's first stateside release Sonny & Sam went largely unnoticed.
The Scene That Celebrates Itself
Although oft attributed to the early '90s, the true beginnings of the dream pop sound were in 1985, when the Jesus and Mary Chain released Psychocandy. Blending pop melodies and with a wash of feedback and noise, the album was a stunning clash of the Beach Boys and the Velvet Underground and set the tone for the shoe-gazer movement. Three years later, Ireland's My Bloody Valentine's debut Isn't Anything arrived. The album took the dream pop concept and pushed it into new sonic territory, blending dreamy vocals, funk-inspired bass lines and the ever-present droning guitars. Before long, bands like Chapterhouse, the Boo Radleys and Lush were performing at London clubs like Syndrome. Moose was made up of Yates, Kevin McKillop, Damien Warburton and Lincoln Fong, and first rose to attention in 1990 as the opening act for Lush. The band's sound was unique among shoe-gazer bands, adding folky acoustic-based touches to the wash of guitars and feedback.
This innovation stemmed from the band's wide-ranging tastes, which included Laura Nyro and Kris Kristofferson. "All of our songs," McKillop said at the time, "are written on an acoustic 12-string guitar, then electrified." Moose also were not above swapping members with other bands on a given night. Yates and Stereolab guitarist Tim Gane often traded places, while McKillop was seen playing with indie rockers See See Rider. This inter-mingling between bands was seen by the press as a deliberate attempt to stand apart from more traditional music scenes. In a scathing article in Melody Maker, Steve Sutherland dubbed dream pop, "The Scene That Celebrates Itself". Critics were often equally unkind, branding shoe-gazer as noisy music by insecure dweebs and deriding their lyrics as simpleminded. In a review of a Chapterhouse show at the time, Jean Rosenbluth wrote, "If the sameness of the material had the audience a bit confused as to when one song ended and the next began, the band members were apparently only slightly more enlightened."
Nonetheless, the music flourished and, in what seemed like no time at all, Moose landed a deal at Hut records, and released Jack, their first EP. Cool Breeze and Reprise followed. By now, the shoe-gazer movement was in full swing, and the major labels soon were sniffing around the scene in search of new talent. By the end of the year, Virgin had snapped Moose up and prepared to bring the band to America.
Introducing Moose, the Eight-Legged Type
Virgin gave Moose a full push in the press, attempting to cash in on the burgeoning interest in shoe-gazer. "It's the group's introspective and creative angst that fuels their music both on stage and on record, and their get-down-to-business ethic remains an alluring facet of their shy-eyed yet delirious charm," the label wrote in a press release. "Introducing Moose, the eight-legged type," they went on to say, "definitely not extinct in England and about to be found roaming, or maybe even stampeding, North America sometime soon." Indeed, their first album for the label, Sonny & Sam, had all the elements that made the shoe-gazer sound so popular. The leadoff track, "Last Night I Fell Again", mixes acoustic textures with thundering drums and a driving lead guitar. As the song progresses, the drums and guitars reach a crescendo as Yates repeats "Nothing's gonna change you now", before it all comes to an abrupt stop. The next song, "This River Never Will Run Dry", shows an almost country influence, but also employs a flute solo that gives the track an ethereal lift.
Mercury Rev would do the same thing on Boces two years later. Another standout is "Butterfly Collector", which has a swooping, orchestral feel to it. The harder-edged tracks like "Jack" and "Suzanne" show the band's diverse range and ability to break free of the shoe-gazer mold. However, for a classic example of shoe-gazer, as well as a glimpse into why it was so popular, look no further than the record's emotional centerpiece, "Do You Remember?" Clocking in at over eight minutes, the track is a roiling sea of fuzzed-out guitars, crashing drums and whispered lyrics. Twelve years after its release, the song has lost none of its impact.
Decidedly "Un".
When the album was released in 1991, it received strong reviews. "Yes, they do share some similarities to UK guitar antiheroes such as Ride or Slowdive," wrote CMJ, "but Moose's guitar haze isn't as planned or premeditated, a much more natural demonstration of rock ebb and flow." The writer also praised the band for being "disarmingly 'un,' as in disarmingly unfashionable, unglamorous, unpretentious, un-danceable, understated, unassuming and quite un-British". In spite of such praise, Sonny & Sam failed to catch on with an audience, and Moose was summarily dropped by Virgin. They returned to the Hut label and released XYZ, their first LP, which featured guest vocals from Delores O'Riordan. They then jumped over to Play It Again Sam, which released their next two albums, Honey Bee and Live a Little, Love a Lot. In 2000, they put out their fourth LP, High Ball Me!, which also received strong reviews.
Although the shoe-gazer scene failed to really take hold in America, it also never really went away. Bands like the Verve and Catherine Wheel continued to record well into the '90s, while today Spiritualized, Doves, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and many others all borrow from the dream pop sound. One of the strongest outlets for the resurgence of the movement, interestingly enough, is the Pacific Northwest. Once the stomping ground of grunge, Seattle is now home to a number of dream pop revivalists whose shows have been drawing large crowds. Even the movement's pioneers are at last getting the respect they've long deserved, as witnessed by the recent release of a three-CD set of Ride's music. Shoe-gazer music was often dismissed for being overly earnest, wistful and dreamy. The quiet introspections of its artists were seen as not being "rock 'n' roll" enough. However, at its core, the music was all about escape. Escape from life, from conformity and from the expectations of those around you. When seen from that angle, shoe-gazer was about as rock 'n' roll as you can get.
