My Bloody Valentine - m b v
My Bloody Valentine is one of the most iconic indie bands of all time, carving the path for shoegaze with their widely acclaimed record Loveless, which almost unanimously defines the shoegaze genre. However after the release of this beloved record, the band fell apart and Kevin Shields, the frontman of My Bloody Valentine, said in his own words that he went crazy. Despite recording a large amount of material, as reportedly 60 hours of material was handed to Island Records, nothing amounted to a release from the band. For the next decade, no new news came out about the band, with Shields touring with Primal Scream and collaborating with other iconic 90s bands, while the other former members of My Bloody Valentine attempted to form another band with Stereolab’s Katharine Gifford.
In 2007, it was reported that My Bloody Valentine would be re-uniting at Coachella in 2008. Shields confirmed that they were together again and that a new album was in the works, with material dating back as far as 1996. For the better part of half a decade nothing substantial would be released from the group. In November 2012, Shields announced that there were plans to release the album by the end of the year, and although they were not able to keep to this timeline, the band finally released their third record in February 2013.
This release from My Bloody Valentine, while still very much in the same realm of Loveless with the shoegaze instrumentals, is a much quieter record. The quieter side is highlighted immediately with the opening track she found now, which almost operates as an ambient homage to their Loveless days, with guitar tones along the same lines of the more muted cuts on their acclaimed record. Is this and yes sounds is another quiet cut, which sounds like it’s straight out of Final Fantasy 7, with the repeated little synth rhythm making it sound like you are venturing around the cyberpunk city of Midgar. There are still some higher energy cuts on the record, such as only tomorrow and if i am, although they are not as thunderous as most cuts one would be used to if you only listened to Loveless before.
The main appeal of listening to this record are the textures of the instrumentals and emotions that arise from those textures, something that has been consistent with My Bloody Valentine and many other shoegaze bands since the genre has risen to prominence. It’s as if they are targeting the limbic cortex through these instrumentals, much like classical music, instead of targeting it primarily through lyrics. This is something that a lot of people who are fans of shoegaze have experienced and is an intangible that not many bands can utilize well. This latest record from Shield’s group shows that they are still more than capable of capturing these emotions, even if they are more muted and less poppy then before. If you are in any way a fan of shoegaze or My Bloody Valentine, this record is a must listen. It may not be as essential as Loveless, Souvlaki, or Nowhere, but it is a showcase of mastery of shoegaze from the mbv crew.
