Here is the final draft of my review of the website;
Two decades since their latest release in 1991, shoegaze
pioneers My Bloody Valentine have finally decided to stun fans and release a
remastered reissue collection containing their Creation Records back catalogue
– with an EP collection, 1988’s full-length debut ‘Isn’t Anything’ and, most
notably, their breakthrough album Loveless.
This set has been in the making since 2004, and after years of setbacks and
delays, is finally hitting shelves on 7th May.
Since forming in Dublin in 1984, My Bloody Valentine have
endured a number of image, sound and line-up changes. The band started off as a
gloomy, gothic Birthday Party homage, fronted by ex-vocalist Dave Conway. Soon
after, bassist Bilinda Butcher joined the band, Conway left, and the Valentines
signed for Alan McGee’s Creation, drastically changing their sound from the
aforementioned whimsical fuzz-punk to the blissed out, tremolo arm-bending
sound the band are critically acclaimed for creating today – exemplified in their
1991 masterpiece Loveless.
Frontman Kevin Shields, when approached about what it is Loveless is attempting to achieve, often
urges listeners to disregard what it is about popular music that draws them to
it – whether it’s lyrics, vocal strength, typical song structures or anything
else, and appreciate Loveless for
what it is – a sonic soundscape, like an orchestra decked out with Fender
Jazzmaster guitars documenting a dream sequence. But the album does not become
lethargic, despite all of this. There are moments that grab the listener by the
throat and force them onto the dancefloor all the same.
Opening with ‘Only Shallow,’ in which the guitars see-saw
their way in and out of focus before settling down into clean, jangly strums
and Butcher’s sleepily hazy vocals, Loveless
relies heavily on this idea of blending textures, layers of soaring guitars and
making instrumentation and voice indistinguishable, which it does to great effect.
Follow up ‘Loomer’ assumes the same sort of recipe;
overdriven guitars in the foreground, layered in textural guitars in behind –
which gives their aesthetically simple pop songs a dynamism that hasn’t been
replicated since. Sure, bands have tried, with Americans Fleeting Joys’ 2006 album Despondent
Transponder being branded as nothing more than a pastiche by some, but the
gulf in song-writing quality, stemming from Shields’ rumoured Brian Wilson
style perfectionism (Shields was declared clinically insane at one stage, and the
album took two years in the studio to record, costing at least £300,000 of
Creation’s funds to produce, almost bankrupting the label) is plain to see.
‘Loomer’ brings the pace of the hard-hitting opener down to
a steady, yet guitar-laden lullaby. The thing with Loveless is that none of the songs are overbearingly ‘heavy,’ per
se. The songs just almost use the layers of guitar to blanket the listener,
making for the more upbeat songs like ‘Only Shallow’ quite a claustrophobic
feeling, with nowhere to escape. The densest of songs coming in the form of ‘Touched,’
which is a short keyboard driven instrumental piece bridging ‘Loomer’ with
album high point ‘To Here Knows When,’ that could almost accompany a 1950s
silent cowboy film. Cinematic in one of the truest senses of the word, you have
to hear it to believe it.
‘To Here Knows When,’ arguably one of the album’s defining
moments, pitches Butcher’s soft vocals soaring over the gentle roar of Shields’
guitar, characteristically bending in and out of key, backed with a beat that
wouldn’t be out of place in a Happy Mondays song. Before launching into ‘When
You Sleep,’ which slaps the listener back into focus, there is one of a number
of codas placed between each song, which helps to set Loveless apart from most of its peers. The one following ‘To Here
Knows When’ is similar in atmosphere and feeling to ‘Touched,’ which really, in
truth, serves as not much more than an extended coda itself.
Off the top of my head, it is difficult to really think of
any other rock albums from the early 90s that try to redefine sound and
structure in music in a similar way to how Loveless
does. There is always talk of genre-defining records; Nirvana’s Nevermind defining grunge, The Beatles
defining pop music, Elvis Presley with rock ‘n’ roll, The Stone Roses synonymous
with Madchester and so forth; My Bloody Valentine sound nothing alike their
‘shoegaze’ peers – bands such as Ride, Lush, Chapterhouse – but Loveless is still regarded as the sound
of the genre ‘that celebrates itself.’ Something that the band themselves
weren’t too keen on.
Following on from ‘To Here Knows When,’ the album starts to
take more of a grip on traditional rock music. Enter ‘When You Sleep.’ Don’t
get me wrong, all of the My Bloody Valentine traits are there; Shields’
indistinguishable vocals blending with the music, the recognisable drum machine
that adds to Loveless’ charm, but
this time there is more of a verse/chorus/verse style dynamic. Well, not really
a ‘chorus.’ More of an instrumental break. But the thought is there.
‘When You Sleep’ ends in a crescendo of energy, culminating
in yet another coda, shimmering its way into ‘I Only Said’ like the sun ducking
into the ocean’s horizon. The next song maintains the energy that its
predecessor musters up; the guitars bending in and out of pitch more so than
ever, again creating that feeling of being blanketed by the guitars, as they
blend and once again, use the same verse/instrumental break/verse structure
introduced in ‘When You Sleep.’ ‘Come In Alone’ follows this surge in energy,
keeping steady but hitting hard, maintaining the dissonance and swooping
guitars that make the band who they are.
‘Sometimes,’ featured in Sofia Copolla’s 2003 film Lost in Translation, breaks the mould
that the preceding tracks have built up; an acoustic song drowned in thick,
warm feedback, defining the very heartbeat of the album, complimented by
Shields’ hushed vocals. The song builds up to a climax that ends with a driving
keyboard accompaniment that really sums up the diversity the album has to offer.
Culminating in ‘Soon,’ via ‘Blown a Wish’ – the album at its
most airy and shimmering, and ‘What You Want’ crashing its way like waves
against the shore, highlighted by more synthesized lead melodies, the album
builds into what is arguably the highest point of the band’s entire output, let
alone this album. Enter ‘Soon,’ a seven minute dance inspired track with a hip
hop drum sample. The song starts off with guitar feedback lingering, its
ghostly trails leading into a slick drum sample, before the rest of the
instruments kick in. The bass line bounces chirpily before Shields’ ethereal
guitar shrieks and squallers, layering the song with that signature MBV sound
without detracting from its edgy and unique dance floor filling capabilities.
Perfection.
The album is often accused of a high degree of studio
trickery, and whilst the band strongly denies there is anything in the rumours,
it’s no wonder that the average listener would make the mistake. Loveless does not sound like a cheap
production by any means. It is the sound of an unstable perfectionist on the
cusp of a breakdown, entranced and determined to achieve this elaborate musical
vision, no matter the cost. Like Brian Wilson and Syd Barratt before him,
Shields provides all of the elusiveness and mystique needed to be deemed an
eccentric and reclusive genius; but Loveless
definitely proves that Shields knew best.
