My Bloody Valentine "m b v" (2013)

m b v
release date: Feb. 13, 2013
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Kevin Shields
label: m b v (self-released) - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "She Found Now" - 2. "Only Tomorrow" - 3. "Who Sees You" (4 / 5) - 4. "Is This and Yes" - 5. "If I Am" (4 / 5) - 8. "Nothing Is" (4 / 5) - 9. "Wonder 2"

3rd studio album by My Bloody Valentine is what is regarded the final album by My Bloody Valentine, and it follows some 22 years after the band's most recent album, the acclaimed Loveless from 1991. Alledgedly, Kevin Shields had tired of how the music industry worked in terms of having decisive opinions on his music, which in this case has become a self-made product - self-produced, -mastered, and self-released. Yes, this is complete control.
Apparently, the majority of these tracks were initially recorded before the band split in 1997. Other recordings were presumably made in 2006, shortly before the band officially reformed in 2007, but ultimately, all tracks here are credited Shields, and it falls rather fine in the chronology despite following more than two decades after the band's most recent album. In 2013, Shields publicly said a new album was soon to be release, and seemingly, it had already been mastered, but then Shields the prefectionist took over, and another 8 years passed before the end-result was approved.
This is a modernized noise pop and dream pop release that finally came out some 22 years after its predecessor Loveless (1991), as Kevin Shields didn't work in ordinary ways. As was the case with the two previous albums, this also ended up in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", and really, it's a certified grower.
[ 👍allmusic.com, Spin 4 / 5, Pitchfork 9,1 / 10, The Guardian 5 / 5 stars ]

My Bloody Valentine "Loveless" (1991)

Loveless
release date: Nov. 5, 1991
format: cd
[album rate 4,5 / 5] [4,28]
producer: Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig
label: Sire Records / Warner Bros. - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: 1. "Only Shallow" (5 / 5) - 2. "Loomer" (4 / 5) - 3. "Touched" - 4. "To Here Knows When" (4 / 5) - 5. "When You Sleep" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "I Only Said" (5 / 5) - 7. "Come in Alone" - 8. "Sometimes" - 9. "Blown a Wish" - 10. "What You Want" (4,5 / 5) - 11. "Soon" (4 / 5)

2nd studio album by My Bloody Valentine originally released on vinyl by Creation Records and on cd by Sire / Warner. The band here is a quartet made up of main composer Kevin Shields credited on guitar, vocals & sampling keyboard, Bilinda Butcher on vocals & guitar, Debbie Googe on bass, and with Colm Ó Cíosóig on drums & sampling keyboard.

Loveless is perhaps THE best known and also the best reviewed dream pop, shoegaze, noise pop album ever released. It's enlisted on a variety of lists collecting all the best albums. The majority of the compositions were written entirely by Shields.

I purchased the album shortly after its release after reading an interview with Robert Smith of The Cure who mentioned the band as one of his personal favourites and for being a band with a highly unique sound. And that particular soundscape, as well as this album's sound, is highly dependent on Shields' guitar work. Listening to the album today, it's really no wonder how it found its way to iconic status. Post rock bands like Sigur Rós and Mogwai owe much to this and to the sound produced by Kevin Shields. Also, an alt. rock band like Smashing Pumpkins could most likely have looked to this, but also electronic artists and big beat performers like The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim may also have found inspiration in tracks like "To Here Knows When" and "Blown a Wish". The track "Soon" reminds me of something made by (electronic artist) The Orb.

My Bloody Valentine didn't sell that many albums with this one, i.e. at the time of the release, although, its status of course has helped music buyers to the attention of its existence in years to follow. The sound of the album is quite unique. Listening to its predecessor Isn't Anything (1988), the band's debut album, it's both evident that it's the same band but also that they have made a considerable progression into a more dream pop area, also suggested by the ep Tremolo released nine months prior to this. The debut album is more shoegaze and noise pop founded, maybe with references to Sonic Youth and a proto-grunge-sensation with a mix of garage rock and the sort of noise pop one could find on Psychocandy (1985) by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

After Loveless the band found itself without a record contract as the costs in producing and making this album were too much for the small independent label Creation Records. Furthermore, Shields' studio work apparently had been more than the label's management would tolerate again, and the band then signed with Island Records, who is said to have paid for building a new studio just for My Bloody valentine and for Kevin Shields. New material was on its way but Shields found himself struggling in his process of composing and in the end no new material was released. Also, Shields started to work with other bands, making appearances and producing for other artists, at least up until 2013 when finally a third full-length studio album was released. Loveless is the band's most deserved inclusion in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]

=> needledrop review

My Bloody Valentine "Tremolo E.P." (1991) (ep)

Tremolo E.P., ep
release date: Feb. 20, 1991
format: cd (CRESCD085)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,75]
producer: My Bloody Valentine
label: Creation Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "To Here Knows When" (4 / 5) - 2. "Swallow" (5 / 5) - 3. "Honey Power" (4 / 5) - 4. "Moon Song"

4 track ep with one track from the forthcoming album Loveless to be released in November.

It's quite evidently much closer in style to the bands coming second full-length album than the debut Isn't Anything album from '88. The multi-layered dynamics are already here, but the production sound is somewhat murkier than what would succeed. Anyway, this is a very fine ep and the three tracks you won't find on Loveless could easily have been included on that without lowering the quality or the status of that album. "Swallow" has a beautiful ethereal touch to it, which makes me think of Lush cloned with Cocteau Twins, and "Honey Power" sounds much like the first drawing to the great opening track "Only Shallow" on Loveless, but as is the case with this song, all tracks generally lack the extra dimension of clever production.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

My Bloody Valentine "Ecstasy and Wine" (1989)

Ecstasy and Wine (compilation)

release date: Feb. 1989

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: My Bloody Valentine

label: Lazy Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Strawberry Wine" - 4. "She Loves You No Less" - 6. "I Don't Need You" - 7. "(You're) Safe In Your Sleep (From This Girl)" - 10. "(Please) Lose Yourself In Me"

Compilation album by My Bloody Valentine released by the band's former label Lazy at a time when they were on contract with Creation who had most recently released the band's full-length debut Isn't Anything (Nov. 1988). Furthermore, the album here was released without the band's consent and then it's made up of a the three-track single Strawberry Wine (Nov. 1987) - the first three tracks - and the vinyl-only Mini-album Ecstacy (Nov. 1987) - the final seven tracks. This way, all songs here precede the You Made Me Realise ep and follows after the ep The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (Sep. 1986), and that makes perfectly sense when listening to these 10 songs in a more tempting noise pop, jangle pop, and surf rock-inspired style, which preceded the stronger shoegaze / dreampop mass up. All songs are made with the same (new) line-up with Kevin Shields, Bilinda Butcher, Debbie Googe, and Colm Ó Cíosóig, and it showcases the band's move from 1960s surf rock and psychedelic rock towards a stronger noise pop foundation via jangle pop-influence - say with inspiration from The Smiths and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Not among the band's best releases but definitely worth a listen or as a testimony to the band's early stage.

My Bloody Valentine "Isn't Anything" (1988)

Isn't Anything [debut]
release date: Nov. 21, 1988
format: cd / cd (2012 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: My Bloody Valentine
label: Creation Records / Sony Music - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)" - 2. "Lose My Breath" - 3. "Cupid Come" - 4. "(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream" - 6. "All I Need" - 7. "Feed Me With Your Kiss" (4 / 5) - 8. "Sueisfine" - 10. "You Never Should" - 12. "I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)"

Full-length studio album debut by My Bloody Valentine and the band's first on Creation.
The album was the second that I heard with the band after listening to their epic Loveless (1991). Despite being officially an Irish band, American Kevin Shields (guitarist, vocalist, composer) is the band's mastermind. He created most of the material on this album, either alone (six tracks) or with help from drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig or together with vocalist & guitarist Bilinda Butcher, and in retrospect Shield is near synonymous with the band name. Prior to this, the band released a number of singles and eps without bassist Debbie Googe and especially also without Bilinda Butcher who contributed in shaping their iconic sound from around 1987 when former vocalist Dave Conway left the band. So what lies before '87 is basically music from what sounds like another band, and with Isn't Anything they initiate a style that many bands and artists copied in the early nineties, which may be referred to as noise pop, shoegaze, and dream pop, and which much later led other artists (e.g. Mogwai, Sigur Rós) to exercise into post-rock.
Only in recent years, I have come across their mini-album debut, This Is Your Bloody Valentine (1985), which really seems far from the style on this and their earliest releases with focus on post-punk, gothic rock, and psychobilly. I recall that Robert Smith (The Cure) in the late 1980s referred to this band as one of his new favourites - and I often wondered if he had heard the style they came to abandon or the style that should become their trademark.
Isn't Anything is not as great as the iconic '91 album but it surely points in that direction - especially tracks #1, 4 and 7. Back in the 90s, I never really enjoyed this all that much, but I do understand its significance as a cornerstone in music history. Maybe, it's great music for background noise when painting or being in a creative process that involves craftsmanship with your hands instead of work that is dependent on more relaxed thinking processes. Anyway, I don't think the album is easy to let in with it's unusual compositions build on walls of heavy distorted guitars, but if you're capable of seeing it as complex music with another purpose than just echoing nice poetic chorus lines in your head, it may appeal to you. The album seems like caught between British indie pop, which was what Creation Records traditionally released at the time, and a much more unique sound of noise pop echoing Sonic Youth and primarily originating in the US, and which in any case had its roots in the post-punk movement. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Drowned in Sound 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

My Bloody Valentine "You Made Me Realise" (ep) (1988)

You Made Me Realise (ep)

release date: Aug. 8, 1988

format: cd (1990 reissue)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: My Bloody Valentine

label: Creation Records - nationality: Ireland

Tracklist: 1. "You Made Me Realise" - 2. "Slow" - 3. "Thorn" - 4. "Cigarette in Your Bed" - 5. "Drive It All Over Me"

Ep by Irish band My Bloody Valentine following the Ecstacy (Nov. 1987) mini-album, which was the first album to feature Bilinda Butcher, who had replaced vocalist David Conway after his own decision to leave the band in early '87. Initially, the ep was exclusively released on vinyl, and from 1990 as a cd. Half of the songs also ended up on the North American version of the compilation ep Feed Me With Your Kiss (Nov. 1988) released on Mercury.

It's quite telling how the style of the band evolves from one release to another. The style of The New Record by My Bloody Valentine ep (Sep. 1988) introduced a style closer to that of The Jesus and Mary Chain, and that is pretty much still the case here, although, it also reveals some news. Where "You Made Me Realise" and "Slow" are pure noise pop songs, which both comes the closest to style of The Jesus and Mary Chain here, the three remainders sound more like a fusion of 1960s surf rock and a jangle pop influence from The Smiths. Overall, there's now much more room for bass and heavier drums, and the production sound has generally improved.

My Bloody Valentine "The New Record by My Bloody Valentine" (1986) (ep)

The New Record by My Bloody Valentine, ep
release date: Sep. 1986
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: My Bloody Valentine, Joe Foster
label: Kaleidoscope Sound - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Lovelee Sweet Darlene" - 3. "On Another Rainy Saturday" - 4. "We're so Beautiful"

2nd ep by My Bloody Valentine introduces a considerable change of style. The band has completely abandoned the psychobilly and gothic rock and also the clear post-punk references and instead they have founded compositions on noise pop and indie pop. It's really striking to compare this with the Geek! ep released less than a year earlier, and with the same band members. Yes, David Conway is still credited on vocals, but it's apparent that also Kevin Shields sings lead vocals on this. It's not yet the style you'll find on their full-length album debut as this has more in common with bands like Stone Roses, The Church and The Jesus and Mary Chain with obvious influences from 60s surf rock. It has noise pop at its centre, and from here they appear with a proper musical direction.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

My Bloody Valentine "Geek!" (1985) (ep)

Geek!, ep
release date: Dec. 1985
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]
producer: My Bloody Valentine
label: Fever Records - nationality: Ireland

Ep by Irish band My Bloody Valentine is a 4 track ep.

Stylistically, this doesn't really differ from their mini-album released 11 months earlier. Keyboardist Tina Durkin has left the band and bassist Debbie Googe has become a new member.

My Bloody Valentine "This Is Your Bloody Valentine" (1985)

This Is Your Bloody Valentine, mini-album
release date: Jan. 1985
format: digital (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,77]
producer: My Bloody Valentine
label: Dossier Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 3. "Don't Cramp My Style" - 5. "The Love Gang" - 6. "Inferno"

Studio mini-album debut by Irish band My Bloody Valentine originally released on Tycoon Records is a 7 track album at just above 25 minutes playing time. From the formation of the band in '83 and up to this point the band had gone through a phase with ever-changing band members with only Kevin Shields and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig as the only stable members. Here, the band consist of vocalist David Conway, Kevin Shields on guitar, bass and backing vocals, Tina Durkin on keyboards, and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig (credited as Colm Cusack). Stylistically, it's close to the music of contemporary Scottish band Jesus and Mary Chain with a distinct psychobilly inspiration with distorted guitars and a close bond to gothic rock and post-punk.
I only came to listen to this after all of their successive three albums, and it really is a completely different style as to what the band has become known and famous for. Vocalist Dave Conway sounds a bit like Dave Vanian of The Damned, and the music comes out as a clone of The Damned, The Cure, Ramones of the mid-80s and The Cramps. One could also argue that there's a bond to the debut by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Anyway, it's almost hard to accept as an album by My Bloody Valentine, but this is their (and Shields') formative sound despite the band's own failing attempts in finding a suitable new name when they would later change their style and again replace band formation. I do think this is much more in the style of what Robert Smith referred to when he pointed to My Bloody Valentine as an upcoming band to look out for, as this has much more in common with the roots of The Cure than what Shields and Co. would produce in the early 90s, although, that would generally be much more valued.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]