When your influence spans generations and continues to inspire fresh faces across all walks of life, it’s rare when the credit that is due reaches back to the origin of said influence. In the case of My Bloody Valentine, they created a sound so unique and otherworldly it’s almost impossible to not hear their influence when a new artist pulls from their alien-like soundscapes. The band debuted in 1987 under the watchful eye of vocalist/guitar-pioneer Kevin Shields with their LP Ecstasy, a murky post-punk record that only hinted at the groundbreaking music that would come after it. It wasn’t until their sophomore LP, ‘88’s Isn’t Anything that the band’s true sound would start to take form. The album is bursting with lush textures that still hold on to that edge the band had on their debut, exploring new techniques without forgetting their prior approach, a trend found throughout MBV’s discography.
When it came time for the release of their 1991 album Loveless, no one was ready for what was contained on that tracklist. The album redefined what noise could be in music and in turn, gave us one of the most impactful albums of the time. Shields’ guitar playing became fuzzy while the rest of the instruments, including vocals, bleed together to create complex textures that are smoothed out through haunting yet touching melodies. This new sound gave birth to the term Shoegaze, a phrase that summed up these newfound sonics as it was used in the countless reviews that praised MBV’s work on Loveless. Once the dust settled from the whirlwind of their ‘91 LP, the band entered a transitional period that gave way to heartbreaking milestones.
Six years after the release of Loveless, My Bloody Valentine officially parted ways. Before their split, the band had signed a new deal with Island Records and used the advance from the deal to build a home recording studio. Rumors began to circulate as to what would happen with the alleged 60 hours of music Shields gave to the label after their split. A couple of years later members of the band confirmed that there was at least one full album that was “half-finished” and it remained at 50% until 2006 when the original line-up reconvened to finish what would become the exclamation mark for the band’s career. It took the band countless hours of toiling and recording to finish 2013’s m b v, a collection of songs that were started in 1996 that still sounded refreshing when they were released 17 years later and even a full decade after they officially gifted the world with their long-lost album, these songs still resonate blissfully.
With the full force of the original band back together, m b v (released 2/2/13) was sure to be a hit, but no one expected what Shields’ and company had in store. Shields took a unique approach to write the album back when he was taking on the whole process on his own back in ‘96, recording the album in pieces instead of finishing one idea and moving on to the next. This collage style of recording is most prevalent in the length of these songs, allowing each idea to fully form over time instead of rushing to fit as much on a song as possible. This technique gave birth to monstrous tracks like the six-and-a-half minute “only tomorrow” and the sinfully sweet ambiance of “is this and yes”.
Continuing their aforementioned streak of mixing the old with the new, the album is highly influenced by drum and bass music, a genre Shields was exploring when he began working on the album all those years ago. That influence materialized in the drums featured throughout the LP. The bomb-style repetitiveness of the drumming patterns on songs like “nothing is” blends perfectly with their signature guitar fuzz, creating an atmosphere of progression and aggression all at once.
In the context of their discography, m b v can stand on its own within a collection of influential classics. The 9-songs presented on the album transition into each other with ease, easier said than done considering the sonic leaps taken from one track to the next. Songs like “who sees you” harken back to the heyday of the band in the early ‘90s except more mature and refined. A few songs ahead of “who sees you” is “new you”, a more rhythmic approach to their classic sound that feels more pop than anything else on the record. The way they’re able to melt these different tones and tempos into one consistent project is a testament to the chemistry of the band, even years after these demos were started and a total meltdown of the band thrown in there, they reunited to create a record that picks up right where they left off.
While the record is boisterous in its presence, there is an air of sadness around My Bloody Valentines’ 2013 album. It acts as a reminder of how far the band would have progressed if drama and label issues were not present, but that’s a glass-half-empty perspective on m b v. The album is filled with stellar moments for those who missed the classic MBV in their hiatus and those who were looking forward to seeing the band progress. Instead of viewing the album as a final chapter for the band, listen to it through the lens of a new-music-excavator and become entranced with the masterful guitar work and off-kilter structure of these songs and bask in their fuzzy distortion.
