What is shoegazing and post-rock music? Basically, songs that use heavily processed and layered sounds to create a dense, euphoric sound. Shoegazing can be traced to the effects-heavy music of the Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, through the post-rock layers of Seefeel and Mogwai and on to the contemporary nugaze of Engineers and The School Of Seven Bells.

Some find the music depressing. I find the sadness uplifting; there’s so much more happiness in a minor chord. Here’s the tracklisting and a quick description of each track:

1. Tracy – Mogwai: Any song that starts with a taped conversation describing a fight by band members is bound to be great
2. Blown A Wish – My Bloody Valentine: Possibly the best pop song ever written
3. My Own Strange Path – M83: Intense and cinematic, sounds like the score to the solar system
4. Face To Face On High Places – School Of Seven Bells: Nugaze shoegaze that sounds a lot like latter-day My Bloody Valentine
5. Halving The Compas – Helios: Repetitive strains that remind me of the sun rising in the morning
6. Love Movement (Ulrich Schnauss Remix) – Revtone: Schanuss’ remix is like a slowed-down, cloudy Ibiza anthem
7. Catch The Breeze – Slowdive: Shoegaze classic that goes epic two minutes from time
8. Electric Counterpoint (Fast) – Steve Reich: Influential modern classic echoed throughout post-rock
9. Davyan Cowboy – Boards Of Canada: Nice work, nice sound
10. Into The Sea – The Album Leaf: Wonderful timing allows the layered sound to build carefully
11. Plainsong – Seefeel: Years ahead of its time and almost two decades old, unbelievably
12. Brighter As We Fall – Engineers: Sounds like Slowdive, which is good
13. Ostinato – Eluvium: Another epic score for searching the solar system
14. Light Through The Veins – Jon Hopkins: Like a pure dance take on Seefeel
15. Suckling The Mender – Cocteau Wins: If ‘Blown A Wish’ isn’t the best pop song ever, this is
16. The Loom – Bark Psychosis: An amazing post-rock first from the most under-rated band ever
17. Blowin’ Cool – Airiel – A discordant treat
18. Ba Ba – Sigur Ros: Post-rock music box for a ballet performance
19. The Music In My Head – Daniel Land & The Painters: More modern-day nugazing; nice
20. Miniature 9 – Matthew Robert Cooper: Just impossibly sad