The difference, by ear
Post-rock builds and releases across eight minutes. Shoegaze arrives already at full volume and stays there - there is no crescendo, because there is nowhere to climb from.
Post-rock is mostly instrumental where shoegaze is sung cleanly, and a little slower: 60 to 140 bpm against 100 to 140. Songs run longer in post-rock: usually 7 to 15 minutes, against 4 to 7 minutes in shoegaze. To hear the difference, play My Bloody Valentine next to Slint. They share a root in rock, and shoegaze came first, by two years. United Kingdom appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Shoegaze
Where it sits
Rock › Alternative rock › Shoegaze
In short
Walls of cascading guitar effects with the vocals buried in the mix. Named after the habit of staring at the pedalboard on stage.
How it sounds
- Dozens of stacked guitar tracks through long chains of pedals.
- Kevin Shields' 'glide guitar' - the tremolo arm used continuously, so the tuning never settles.
- Vocals mixed level with the instruments, as another texture.
Key acts
- My Bloody Valentine
- Slowdive
- Ride
- Lush
Start here
The pickMy Bloody Valentine - Loveless. Nobody has yet reproduced the sound exactly.
Full page →Post-rock
Where it sits
Rock › Progressive rock › Post-rock
In short
Rock instruments used for texture and crescendo rather than for choruses. The song climbs for ten minutes and detonates once.
How it sounds
- A long crescendo: the piece starts near silence and ends in a wall of sound.
- Guitars with delay and reverb used for texture rather than riffs.
- Almost always instrumental, with pieces running eight to twenty minutes.
Key acts
- Slint
- Mogwai
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Explosions in the Sky
Start here
The pickMogwai - Young Team. The closing track runs sixteen minutes and earns every one.
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