A year ago we posted a few lesser known shoegaze artists. It’s time for more.

 Salon Music – Who Just Can’t Be Happy? (1995)

Salon Music is a Japanese new wave/shoegaze/rock duo consisting of Hitomi Takenaka (竹中仁見) and Zin Yoshida (吉田仁). They have released twelve studio albums, between the years 1983 and 2011.

Two songs in particular stand out as being Shoegaze, Wanna Be Tied, and this one, Who Just Can’t Be Happy? Recommended if you like Panda Riot.

Majesty Crush – No. 1 Fan (1992)

Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Majesty Crush formed in 1990 and broke up in 1995. The band’s lineup consisted of lead singer David Stroughter, bassist Hobey Echlin, guitarist Michael Segal and drummer Odell Nails III.

Majesty Crush served as the opening act at shows in the early 1990s for such bands as Jesus Jones, Mazzy Star, and The Verve. The song No. 1 Fan picked up significant radio airplay on Windsor, Ontario’s 89X, and led to Majesty Crush signing with Dali Records, a Warner/Elektra subsidiary. They released Love 15, the band’s lone studio album, in 1993. AllMusic’s Joshua Glazer described the album as “a testament to what might have been, if only the band’s four members lived in Manchester instead of Detroit.”

majestycrush.bandcamp.com (digital)

Numero Group vinyl reissue (2024)

Sway – Fall (2003)

Formerly a four-piece noisepop outfit from Ventura, California, Sway is/was an on-going one man dreampop project and alias for songwriter/producer Andrew Saks.

sphere – Topography of the White Sea (2011)

Formed in 2007 by guitarist Makoto Gomi, the group took a break after releasing its third album in 2011, but resumed its activities in 2022 with the release of its fourth album after 11 years, featuring Shoko Inoue as a new vocalist.

Have you heard of the 90s “Corkchester” scene? If not read this article in the Irish Examiner to learn more.

Emperor of Icecream are John ‘Haggis’ Hegarty (vocals), Graham Finn (guitar), Edward Butt (bass), Colum Young (drums). 

Formed in Cork in 1992 the band were spotted relatively early, moved to London and began building a following in the UK – releasing three well-received EPs and touring regularly (with The Manic Street Preachers among others) – until music industry politics got in the way and they were suddenly and unexpectedly dropped from their label and broke up. The brief brush with fame did not deter the band members, who have all continued careers in the music and creative industries. 

The aforementioned Irish Examiner article during the 2020 lockdown injected renewed interest in a long-lost band missed by fans, and offered them a fresh chance to dust off some unreleased demos. 

25 years after their break up, the band released their debut album No Sound Ever Dies available on vinyl, tape and CD.

File this under artists you may have missed, though it was the @indiesongaday in May of ’14.

German band Brace/Choir released Turning On Your Double in 2014. It’s a solid alternative/indie release that blends experimental, shoegaze, and krautrock.

Opening tune Biond is reminiscent of early 90s shoegaze/dream pop.

It was released on vinyl and is still available here.