AMS Album of the Week 12

Whenever I have an article to write I find the first sentences and phrases always come to me when I’m walking on my own. My rough draft for this review emerged the same way; I was ready to talk less about the album, which was okay, and more about the promise of My Bloody Valentine recording once more. But then I listened to it again.

For me and, anecdotally, for many fans of the band, m b v is a definite grower, and that’s probably as much the fault of ‘weight of expectation’ as anything. Unfortunately, being their first new material in 12 years, it’s consigned to exist in the shadow of Loveless, the album that almost bankrupt their record label with it’s technical demands, and defined Shoegaze as a genre.

But, My Bloody Valentine’s albums have always been the kind of records that reward repeat listens, the kind of records that don’t necessarily ‘click’ the first time you hearthem. What makes their albums so evocative is not just the music itself, but the way it blends with your mental state; being able to lose yourself in its tidal waves of sound, hearing Kevin Shield’s and Bilinda Butcher’s vocals float around you.

I once saw Loveless described as sounding like “druggy sex or sexy drugs”. If that’s the case, then m b v is the morning after that hazy fugue. Album opener, ‘She Found Now’s gently flowing river of noise pulls you into that limbo like state of a rainy sunday afternoon. From there, the album only opens up, beginning with elements that would’ve sounded at home on Loveless before branching off into new territory, that sees the album close with a track that somehow blends Shield’s trademark ‘Glide Guitar’ with a punchy drum and bass beat.

It says something about the impact that album had that Loveless has been mentioned in this review almost as much as m b v. But, this is a great record that deserves to stand up on it’s own. It’s both familiar, but strikes a clear course out of the shadow of that 1991 epic. Kevin Shield’s said as much himself, explaining that m b v “really frees us up, and in the bigger picture it’s 100 percent necessary.” Critical acclaim can crush a group, but My Bloody Valentine have ridden out the storm; here’s to hoping they keep recording albums like this.