m b v

Loveless had its moments, but m b v feels formulaic. Old band reforms, and drops a sterile reenactment of past glories. We've seen it happen with every big band past their prime: Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Judas Priest etc.

What differentiates My Bloody Valentine from the other big bands is that between Loveless and this, they weren't ever truly forgotten. Late 90s and early 00s alternative rock was inspired by indie a la MBV. Plus, appearing every now and then to say you're working on an album gives the average fan the sensation of a multi-year edge session.

And finally, the album drops, and the load has been released. And then you realize the mess, the sterile sound of the album, and the numbing sensation of 45 minutes of buzz and sultry female vocals that make you ask yourself: where's the catch? What's the point?

There is no point. And much like gooning, the fan moves on end edges onwards, and to this day he still edges, waiting for the 4th sweet load release. But hey, Kevin said the album is 85% done, so it will be all over soon. Right??

In my opinion, shoegaze is always cool when the effects add extra layers to the songs. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with My Bloody Valentine - the sound just gets denser. Here, I’d actually prefer a careful, transparent production that brings the vocals more to the forefront. However, Kevin Shields’ vocals lack the carrying power for that.
So, in summary, a band that makes the best of its limited capabilities? Maybe. At the very least, "m b v" is an album that wouldn’t be on this list if they weren’t Brits.

I always had the impression this band was too cool for me to listen to. Listening kind of confirmed that experience because I felt their influence on a dozen different things I like but also couldn't quite concentrate on anything. In situations like this where I am glad I listened but have no idea what I personally think I usually give a 3, but perhaps I will come back and change my mind later.

I'm just delighted this album exists because it means I got to see them live having missed them first time round. I think it might be my favourite of theirs. Loveless was more ground breaking and influential, certainly deserving of its slot in the book, but m b v has more twists and turns, more charm for me.

não eh de outro mundo maluquice total igual os dois primeiros deles, mas segue numa linha BEM parecida.
é menos etéreo, mas ainda é, hein. guitarrada GOSTOSA, noise pop que AQUECE a alma!!!!! bom demais, mas prefiro os outros álbuns...

Not as good as earlier stuff

My Bloody Valentine were never going to get a completely unbiased review from me, and 𝘮 𝘣 𝘷 arrived at exactly the right time: shoegaze was enjoying a major revival, and plenty of newer bands seemed to be asking themselves, “What if we sounded a bit more like My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive?” Then, after twenty-two years, My Bloody Valentine themselves finally turned up again.

Among the major shoegaze bands of the original era, MBV were the first to release a proper comeback album, and thankfully 𝘮 𝘣 𝘷 does not sound like a museum piece. It feels like a continuation of the same strange universe: buried vocals, warped melodies, huge guitar textures, and songs that seem to exist somewhere between pop music and controlled structural damage.

Kevin Shields’ guitar walls are still the main attraction. I have no idea how long he spent building them, but given his reputation, there is a fair chance some of these sounds took longer to finish than certain bands’ entire careers. The important thing is that they still sound magnificent: dense, shimmering, disorienting, and somehow just as physical as they were on 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴.

And that is also the problem. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 exists. 𝘮 𝘣 𝘷 is excellent, adventurous, and far better than a twenty-two-year comeback had any right to be, but it never quite reaches that impossible standard.

Still, there is something deeply satisfying about MBV returning in the middle of a shoegaze revival they helped inspire and immediately reminding everyone who built the blueprint. As of 2026, it has now been another thirteen years since 𝘮 𝘣 𝘷. Maybe Kevin is working on the next album. Maybe he is still adjusting one guitar layer by half a decibel. Either explanation seems equally plausible.

I'm a big fan of My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" but have never listened to this album before.

This is interesting but not as good as "Loveless." Also, the production seems so much more muddy than "Loveless." I would have expected that more than 20 years between releases would have meant _better_ production. I feel like I might enjoy these songs more if the production matched that of "Loveless" more closely.

Shoe gaze?
You’re making it up, right?

There are some good melodies buried in here, but they’re smothered under so much distortion that most of the time it just sounds like my turntable and amp are on the blink.

1½

I always assumed this was just another emo band that sounded like an emo band? I didn't expect a noise pop band. I didn't like it either.

Yeah, this definitely had its moment! Repetitive and, ultimately, boring... but I can understand the enthusiasm of its fans, so I'll give it a 2 out of 5.

Need to listen

mostly pleasant and unremarkable except sometimes the soft-spoken vocals become like nails on a chalkboard. people who care a lot about having Good Taste™ or presenting themselves as such hype the fuck out of this band and it feels like a bit of an emperor's new clothes situation to me. maybe their earlier work is better but i'm not that eager to check it out.

What an indistinct roar. It's not even good enough as background noise. 1/5

Essential

Welp, that was weird. I understand the hate. I understand the love. I'm in-between. It's at least interesting, but yeah, it can be rough to listen to, and there are genuine stinkers here... but also moments of genius. I'll remember this album if I ever make an indie movie about teen love, depression and drugs.

Not bad, but suffers more than perhaps any other band for having one masterpiece of an album that perfected the sound. Why listen to this when loveless is right there.

Not loveless. But nothing is.

Solid effort, for a band that hadn't released an album in 20 years. The attitude towards Shoegaze really changed in the years leading up to it. This is nice enough, but can't really hang with their previous two albums. I can't pretend that I ever understood the lyrics in previous albums, but having them largely omitted from here kind of felt like the album was missing something. It still had a bunch of nice songs, mainly towards the beginning and end of the album, but it can't really hang with other My Bloody Valentine or peak Shoegaze stuff.

Just meh.