1992 was also a peak year for shoegazing, an originally British movement of quite slow hypnotic music characterised by textures mainly based on layers of guitars. The name comes from the fact that the bands and/or the audiences were often looking down at their shoes and dancing slowly on the spot when listening to the music. It usually has a very full sound and marries distortion and pop hooks in a way which I always found very appealing. I would say that the grandparents of shoegazing were the melodic guitar noise band Jesus & Mary Chain and the atmospheric dream pop group Cocteau Twins. Both from Scotland which I think is no coincidence. The peak of shoegazing was probably My Bloody Valentine's Loveless (who were formed in Dublin) from 1991 but in 1992 there were still quite a lot of classic releases from bands like Lush, Ride, the Pale Saints and Catherine Wheel. My favourite tune of this genre has always been Flower to Hide from the last group's debut Ferment which was produced by Tim Friese-Greene of Talk Talk.

This song has got a transcendental quality of a kind to it which I generally love in music. It reaches towards something beyond the ordinary life, it has got the touch of magic which makes listening to it almost like a religious experience. This might sound inadequate and preposterous but it is how I experience this track. Like many shoegazer bands Catherine Wheel haven't got a singer with a dominant voice. Rob Dickinson's vocals are rather thin and subdued but that only adds to the power of the music. In comparison the rich guitar sound becomes even huger as a monument becomes more gigantic on a photo when you put a tiny human next to it. There is this typical swirling movement in the guitars which totally captivates me. Together with the heavenly wistful melody building up it makes this song so addictive and infectious to me. Asking for a replay when it finishes. The best drugs are the aural ones. You don't get a hangover. On the contrary the music resonates on in your mind for a long time after you have listened to it.

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