It’s good days for shoegaze, which is exploding in the underground right now. It’s not just being revived but reimagined with new iterations coming at the most rapid clip in ages, perhaps ever. But in the stampede, a herd mentality has already emerged, with most of the newgazers drinking from the same 1990s alt-rock pond.
However, area artist Rudedog — the solo vehicle for 21-year-old Bithlo musician Juniper Farr — takes a much more obscure and original path. Although shoegaze is both the power and the premise of her sound, some unexpected range and depth lurk underneath.
Stylistically, Rudedog’s new album, Target Practice, is filtered through the ever-present fuzz of shoegaze. Melodically, though, these eight songs share little DNA with My Bloody Valentine or any of the orthodox shoegaze touchstones. Instead, the music taps a decidedly reflective vein. Its mood is filled with the heart of Midwest emo. Moreover, it’s got the terroir of country with songs like “Speed World Dragway,” “Christmas, Florida” and “Zora Neale Hurston” that signpost their local roots. Tracks like “The Hunt” and “Shooting My Reflection in Metal” even show folktronica flourishes. Farr says, “For Target Practice, I was inspired a lot by emo and alt-country bands like Home Is Where, Wednesday and Glass Beach when recording.”
What further distinguishes Rudedog from other artists both shoegaze and otherwise is the voice behind it. Not only are the vocals unusually up-front for a shoegaze act, but the delivery and lyrics carry the confessional edge of a singer-songwriter. When you’re an acutely literate transgender furry woman living in the rural South like Farr, all that packs added depth and dimension. As such, Target Practice is a complex and layered lyrical intersection of examinations both personal (“Clay Pot,” “Christmas, Florida”) and intellectual (“A Marxist-Leninist Analysis of the Puppygirl,” “Zora Neale Hurston,” “John Frum Cargo Cult”).
“I’m a pretty outspoken leftist as I used to be a student organizer,” she says. “So a lot of the songs … were inspired by my experiences in those spaces and my perception of the world around me.”
Target Practice is a staggering concentration of sound and emotion. But rather than dumbfounding you with its miscellany and alterity, Rudedog’s music hits like a fresh revelation. It’s the rare magic of something both novel and resonant.
The album now streams everywhere and is also available on Bandcamp as a custom CD in a jewel case designed by Farr herself.
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This article appears in July 15-21, 2026.
