m b v

I'm at least familiar enough with My Bloody Valentine to recognize them as one of the pioneering groups of the shoegaze genre. I recall listening to Loveless a couple of years ago, an often-considered landmark album, and I enjoyed it. Apparently, there was a lot of hype surrounding their follow-up, as the band recorded it on and off before their breakup in 1997, only to continue working on it after their reunion in 2006. m b v, for all intents and purposes, had been decades in the making. Was it worth the wait?

The answer is a yes, albeit with more tempered expectations. I wasn't looking to be blown away by this album, given the style My Bloody Valentine plays in. The thick, droning guitar textures, the hushed vocal delivery, the simplistic dreamscape imagery in the lyrics, and the overall laid-back, unintrusive rhythm section make for a sonic cushion that I can ease back into. It's amazing how many elements put to record over the years were woven together in a seamless haze.

That said, there are moments on this record where I felt like the band could have pushed a little further. There were a couple of interesting experimental choices made, such as the ambient piano piece "Is This and Yes", the fuzzy bass and punching drums of "New You", the sheer loudness of the instrumentation on "In Another Way", and the progressive build of the drum machine loop on "Nothing Is". But a part of me feels these ideas could have been developed a tad more, as songs tended to end before building to something potentially greater. Also, for as much as I do find Kevin Shields and Belinda Butcher to have very pleasant vocals, their presence here felt more innocuous in the mix. Granted, it's not like someone checks out My Bloody Valentine primarily for the vocals, but perhaps there could have been room for better integration of them.

Still, I consider m b v to be a pleasant enough record. It does feel like a natural continuation of where My Bloody Valentine left off after Loveless, which is certainly commendable for a group that had been inactive for some time.

Really enjoyed this one. Very soothing and the lo-fi production reminded me of some blackgaze bands (no doubt influenced by MBV) that I enjoy.

3.5/5.0: Very Good

my favorite of the my bloody valentine albums we've had(it didnt take much). i still dont really get the hype. most of the songs are like sitting next to a guitarist who just discovered fuzz and reverb and insists they only work when cranked to the max. in the next room over theres a drummer playing while submerged in water and also your neighbor is doing karaoke in the shower. the last few songs were way more interesting than anything offered by than the rest of the album and brought the score up by 1.

3.5

I didn't get it.

Not nearly as groundbreaking or memorable as Loveless but still a cool return from the fuzzmasters. Surprised it made the list though.

Spectacular sonic atmospheres from track to track as per usual from MBV. My favorite was "New You." Reminded me most of the stuff I've most enjoyed from Loveless.

I love the first album .. hadn’t heard this one before and was prepared for disappointment. I was wrong. This one is great too 👍

I enjoyed this. I get why they're considered at the peak of shoe gaze. I just don't know how much I love shoe gaze in general

At one point I thought I heard something interesting but it turned out it was a moth stuck in the ceiling light.

Once again, the guitar tones and layering are enough to make me appreciate and enjoy this band to some degree. Once again, I don't know how much there is for me here past that.

3/5

Maybe.doesnt move much past loveless, bit still great

Great (late) follow up , which sounds almost like Loveless.

This is somehow my third album from My Bloody Valentine from this list, surely this has to be the last one?
I would say I casually like this band, although I do really like the whole Loveless album. They are a band that I don't really think about much but when they come on I usually do like what I hear.
A few songs into this record and I can tell that I will be a little lukewarm on it. It's definitely not as good as Loveless. I kind of feel like they didn't really grow much in the 20+ years between these two albums, just got more into guitar effects. 2.5/5 but I'll round up because why not.

Well, its My Bloody Valentine, so its layers of distortion, so many layers of distortion... I did appreciate the endless drone in Loveless, and I can appreciate the endless drone in this too, but its really not for everyone. My Bloody Valentine isn't what you would call an accessible band.

Loveless is definitely one of the greats. Even though I didn't love loveless, I remember this one being a disappointment. Look forward to listening again.

1000% does not need to be on this list however. Everyone is good with Loveless. Trust your readers to slightly think for themselves??

Solides aber anstrengendes Album mit destruktiver Attitüde. Es ist keine Musik die Spaß macht aber deswegen trotzdem auch gute Aspekte vorweist.

Thick fuzz, heavy reverb, slow tempos and grinding churning rhythms, ethereal vocals and lead guitar melodies struggling to escape the event horizon of the dense sound. Good at what it is - noisy textural psych best played loud on a gloomy evening. A welcome new album from a cult band whose reputation grew lots during a long time away, but not one I'd call essential in any way. A few highlights but also a couple of real torpid stinkers that just draaaaaaag onnnnnnnn and the whole thing is pretty monotonous.

lol at first I thought there was something wrong with my internet connection or something? They drone in a way that sounds like static. I felt like I had to try hard to hear the melody. But the melody wasn’t interesting enough to be worth effort.

read "My bloody Valentine" thought "yeah metal"

wait this isn't Bullet for my Valentine. this is rather boring