Loveless - My Bloody Valentine > Reviews >

A groundbreaking lost classic of Indie history

A review by larsbaby on Loveless - My Bloody Valentine
September 26th, 2007
INTRODUCTION

It has taken me a while to get round to reviewing this, one of my favourite long players ever. I wasn't sure if I could do it justice in full of it's unique beauty; I'm still not fully convinced I can. I first got hold of this as a birthday present on tape in 1991, the year of it's release, and have been hooked ever since. It was a popular copy on my tape-to-tape deck amongst my uni friends, all keen to hear this strange yet compelling noise. It's such a unique album, even when compared with their previous work; there were one or 2 bands using the same ideas at the time, Medicine for example who I also quite like, but since then no one has ever tried to use their ideas.

MY BLOODY VALENTINE

My Bloody Valentine hailed from Ireland and took their name from a slasher horror movie. They started off in the mid 80s as a jangly, Indie combo, resembling The Cocteau Twins in some respects, before mutating into feedback obsessed avant-garde pioneers. Influences can be traced back to The Birthday Party and The Jesus and Mary chain. "Loveless" was their second album. Their debut longplayer "Isn't Anything" was an Indie hit and critically acclaimed, gaining them a cult following, so big things were expected from this album. They didn't disappoint and it's recognised as a modern classic. They have always been deliberately vague regarding lyrics, never publishing them as far as I know, but that hasn't stopped many fansites having a good guess. Lyrics were apparently secondary to the sonic structures of the songs.

This album all but bankrupted Creation Records, costing £600,000 in the making and being a huge critical hit but relative commercial failure. It sold, but just didn't sell enough to recoup the losses incurred. I guess there's only so many people prepared to listen to something that, to the uninitiated, sounds like a motorway multiple pile up. But a lot of time and effort was spent to make this sound exactly as was intended. I'm sure a lot of subtlety and technical skill is involved to make all the elements come together without sounding like a really nasty motorway pileup. Creation's folly in letting them spend so much resulted in the ultimate penalty of going bust and effectively selling out to Sony. The band's leader Kevin Shields had always been an obsessive perfectionist, and such habits meant that everything took time, and money. After Creation's implosion, they signed to Island and … nothing. Ever. Aside from a cover for a charity album in 1995. They reportedly recorded 2 albums but Shields scrapped them both as they didn't meet the standard; eventually people left the band, leaving Shields & Butcher and that was apparently that.

BAND LINEUP

• Kevin Shields - guitar, vocals, producer, engineer, sampling, mixing
• Bilinda Butcher - guitar, vocals
• Debbie Googe - bass guitar
• Colm O'Ciosoig - drums, producer, engineer, sampling, mixing

GENERAL ALBUM INFO

Much of the album is recorded in mono as Shields felt it was important to have a sound that consisted of "the guitar smack bang in the middle and no chorus, no modulation effect". Shields holds the tremolo bar as he strums in his guitar-playing, which contributed to the band's unique sound.

TRACK BY TRACK REVIEW

Only Shallow - if you didn't know what you were letting yourself in for, then this is a good opening track to lower you into your bath of distortion. The distinctive MBV feedback wall of sound is there right from the off, guided by dischordant riffing, choppy guitars. Listen to the vocals carefully … nope, 500 listens later and still can't make out a word.

Loomer - It's really hard to listen to at first, and won't win the vote of any Robbie Williams fans, but once you get used to the rough rasp of feedback and out of key, distorted guitar, you realise that it's all quite deliberate, overlaid by Bilinda Butchers sugary sweet vocal. This is My Bloody Valentine, a quite unique, wonderfully acquired taste.

Touched - I heard MTV use this short instrumental as a lead in to adverts a few years back, which is amazing as this is the most out of key track of theirs ever. Some sort of random, whale-call like sound laid over that distorted backdrop. I remember a friend listening to this on my tape for the first time wondering if he'd broken or stretched it; that's probably a great indication of how this actually sounds.

To Here Knows When - There is a hell of a lot going on in this track - wailing feedback loaded guitars zooming in and out, the distorted wail, almost whispered vocals, and a nod to the shoegazing type "oooo-oooo" vocal.

When You Sleep - This is the nearest to jangly Indie pop the album gets, without losing their unique wall of sound; the feedback is less cutting and the harmonised vocal of Kevin & Bilinda is backed by more conventional guitar riffing.

I Only Said - More feedback, but this time some rocky, driving, wah-wah distorted guitar, and another breathy, harmonised vocal from Kevin & Bilinda. Then some sort of off-key pipes (?) are introduced on top of this. It's an absolute cracker of a track to round off side 1 of the tape/ record (in old currency). Does anyone else still miss that; 2 separate yet conjoined acts of an album, each rounded off with their own signature track?

Come In Alone - Onto side 2 with this barnstormer, kicking you in the guts with it's thumping feedback, riffing guitar coming in and falling out of tune, and kicking yet steady drumming. The feedback wails, some high pitched backing is thrown in just for fun and Belinda keeps her composure as usual, laying that sugary vocal on top of the organised chaos.

Sometimes - I think this appears in the film Lost In Translation, as do some of the other tracks from here, so perhaps you have heard this without realising it. A low rumble, almost like an engine, with some acoustic-like guitar and Kevin this time providing the incongruously tuneful vocal.

Blown A Wish - Here, Bilinda's vocal are all dreamy, ethereal "ooo-ooo"s, in themselves seemingly distorted, squeezed, spaced out, whatever, as dischordant notes drifts in and out against the soft drumming that keeps the pace.

What You Want - heavy guitars, heavy feedback, heavy drumming and something that may possibly be a flute in the background, and a less dreamy but still sweet lyric.

Soon - The best album final track ever, no questions asked. Leading in and providing a constant backdrop throughout is a thumping, hypnotic synth/drum machine track (I think), followed by what sounds like real drumming mimicking that beat, with a heavy, jangly, swirling, feedback laden guitar, and snippets of "oooo, ahhhh" type lyrics. There is a remix of this track by the DJ Andy Weatherall that is apparently mind blowing. I have been trying to find it for 16 years but have never, ever tracked it down - until now. I found it on YouTube - it isn't all that! Sounds like Primal Scream in their Screamadelica phase.

TRACK LISTING

All songs written by Kevin Shields unless otherwise noted.

1. "Only Shallow" (Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields) - 4:17
2. "Loomer" (Butcher, Shields) - 2:38
3. "Touched" (Colm O'Ciosoig) - 0:56
4. "To Here Knows When" (Butcher, Shields) - 5:31
5. "When You Sleep" - 4:11
6. "I Only Said" - 5:34
7. "Come in Alone" - 3:58
8. "Sometimes" - 5:19
9. "Blown a Wish" (Butcher, Shields) - 3:36
10. "What You Want" - 5:33
11. "Soon" - 6:58

LEGACY

Fans have included Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins, Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. I saw an early Cornershop gig in 1992, and they clearly aped the feedback, wall of sound dynamic; I read later they were big fans. So clearly I'm not the only Asian fan! The film director Sophia Copella, herself a big fan, persuaded Shields to contribute the score to her film Lost In Translation, with MBV tracks from Loveless as well as his first new material for years.

CONCLUSION

This is a lost classic of fragmented beauty that will appeal to anyone who has an interest in the more avant-garde kind of Indie music. It's certainly something unique and deserves re-appraisal by a new generation of Indie kids. If you want a change from the conventions of Razorlight or even the allegedly original Arctic Monkeys here it is, begging to be listened to!

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