From some mellow shoegaze indie folk from King Hannah to DIIV’s incredible Frog In Boiling Water, here are the 10 best shoegaze albums of May 2024.

It’s been an incredibly strong month for shoegaze. We got a new one from one of the biggest shoegaze bands in the biz, with the incredible Frog In Boiling Water, which may be the best album in their career. There have been some strong contenders from lesser-known shoegaze artists too, though, like the absolutely astounding Night Songs from Joyer or the Lush dream pop of Softcult’s Heaven EP.

Without further ado… the 10 best shoegaze albums of May 2024!

The 10 Best Shoegaze Albums of May 2024

10. Leaving Time – Wish EP

Leaving Time’s Wish EP is explosive, propulsive, moody, and muscular. A good choice for shoegaze fans who like things on the rockier side of the spectrum.

9. Velvet – Romance: Special Features EP

Velvet’s Romance has been one of this year’s strongest shoegaze records to date. Romance: Special Features delivers even more goods, with three tracks of blisteringly beautiful shoegaze that still sounds powerful and potent. Incredible band!

8. So Totally – Double Your Relaxation

In this, the year of our lord 2024, it seems Lush are more influential than My Bloody Valentine. Philadelphia’s So Totally summon a bit of The Sundays, as well, to make the obscure ’90s references complete. Delicious dream pop that still packs a bit of a punch.

7. Kevin – Laundry

Dreamy, gauzy, ethereal dream pop-laden ambient shoegaze. Laundry feels like a shoegaze album buried beneath a layer of glitched-out electronica, as if nanobots were chewing on its bones while nearby specters sing of distant dreams and memories. Featuring lots of acoustic guitars, too, giving a nice dreamy almost folk feel.

6. Softcult – Heaven EP

‘Gazey dream pop a la Lush, complete with ’90s-style breakbeats. “Spiralling Out” is one of the best shoegaze singles of the month!

5. Blushing – Sugarcoat

More Lush-style dream pop, this time laced with slightly more ferocious Jesus and Mary Chain ephedrine guitars.

4. Joyer – Night Songs

Joyer’s third album, Night Songs, was a late addition to our Best Shoegaze of May 2024 list, immediately shooting up the ranks and shredding the competition. Perhaps Twilight Songs might have been more accurate, though, as Joyer’s mixture of driving guitar-centric indie rock and dreamy atmosphere are more energized and enervating than your standard nocturnal record.

Post-Trash describe Night Songs as “a sound palette of cold air clarity, infused with the big feelings of brief connections and star gazing aliveness.” We describe it as one of the most mandatory listens of May 2024.

3. King Hannah – Big Swimmer

Relaxing, emotional indie folk-inspired shoegaze. Verges on slowcore territory, at times, and Sonic Youth noise pop at others. Relaxing yet energizing. Perfect early summer music.

2. Broken Head – The Morning Ends

As we near the end of our Best Shoegaze Albums of May 2024, we close things out with some classic shoegaze. Broken Head go a little harder than many of our other entries, pushing tempos a bit, driving the overdrive a little further into the red. The Morning Ends is also more nuanced than many of the rest of the best shoegaze albums of may 2024, dropping into halftime on the turn of a dime to become a thick post-metal band one second only to shift into a catchy indie rock band the next. Broken Head are exploring never before seen archipelagoes between Jesu and Built to Spill.

1. DIIV – Frog In Boiling Water

With so many strong offerings in one month, it’s real hard to say for certain what the best shoegaze album of May 2024 truly is. It feels slightly cheap to give the crown to the best-known band of the bunch but, honestly, DIIV deserve it. Frog In Boiling Water is one of, if not the, best album of their career. It’s delicate, thoughtful, and detailed while still having the crashing, crushing force of two-ton distorted guitars. Frog In Boiling Water is an instant and immediate shoegaze classic.

We’ve also put together all 10 of the best shoegaze albums of May 2024 in one convenient Spotify playlist, for your listening ease.

Many thanks to the /r/shoegaze SubReddit for their suggestions and feedback!