MBV
My Bloody Valentine
Self-released
The problem with creating one of the most critically acclaimed rock albums of all time is following it up. My Bloody Valentine released their sophomore album, Loveless in 1991, and it was immediately considered a classic. Loveless pushed the limits of guitar music to a dream-like territory, with many instruments and voices distorted and seemingly combined to create sounds foreign to any other musical group. We are given its follow-up 22 years later with MBV.
My Bloody Valentine’s previous two albums started strong, with almost identical snare drum lines leading into powerful waves of guitar and melodically complex arrangements. The opener to MBV, “She Found Now,” is comparatively soft, letting a cocoon of blurry guitars rise from nowhere, joined by Kevin Shields singing soft vocals. From the beginning of the album it is clear that MBV is going to be much different than its predecessors.
The album takes a much poppier approach to My Bloody Valentine’s previous formula. The hazy guitars are still present, although they are much more construable than they were on Loveless, and the drum lines often sound like they were lifted from a Revolver-era Beatles song. This is by no means a bad thing. Hearing the band explore is by all means what makes the album rewarding.
My Bloody Valentine’s female vocalist, Bilinda Butcher, sings on the majority of tracks, and her voice has not lost its lullaby-like quality with age. This being said, the lyrics are often impossible discern, although this is a technique the band uses on purpose. The vocals, be they from Butcher or frontman Kevin Shields typically act as an additional rhythm instrument as much as they add a human sound to the album.
All in all, MBV is a welcome addition to the band’s discography. It takes My Bloody Valentine’s distinct style and adds enough experimentation to set it apart from the band’s other albums. It is certainly a release that will be as impossible to imitate as the rest of the band’s discography, and a sound that is completely unique in modern music.
