My Bloody Valentine: Isn't Anything 1988 + Loveless 1991

 

My Bloody Valentine are one of those bands that come across as so strangely enigmatic to outsiders, so

gravely decisive to newcomers and yet so adored as well to their fans. They are, after all, considered one of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries' greatest musical acts...It's difficult to fathom a band that announced their magnum opus in as dramatic a fashion as My Bloody Valentine did.
                    

My Bloody Valentine, the seminal shoegaze band, was formed in Dublin in 1983. Colm Ó Cíosóig and

Kevin Shields moved from Ireland to Berlin in 1984 where they recorded their first mini-album, This Is Your Bloody Valentine, with keyboardist Tina and vocalist Dave Conway. Tina left soon after the album was released. On their way back to London, in 1985, they encountered Debbie Googe, who became their permanent bass player.
                   

Original vocalist Dave Conway left after February 1987's Sunny Sundae Smile / Paint a Rainbow / Kiss the Eclipse / Sylvie's Head EP. Thanks to new vocalist/guitarist Bilinda Butcher's contributions, August 1987's Strawberry Wine / Never Say Goodbye / Can I Touch You EP stands as the first 'real' My Bloody

Valentine record. November 1987's Ecstasy EP soon followed. 1988 saw My Bloody Valentine team up with Creation Records for a full-length album, Isn't Anything, and a host of accompanying EP material. Their distinctive musical style, airy yet heavily distorted, was imitated by quite a few English bands in the years to come, and was called 'shoegaze' by the British press, because such bands' guitarists would be gazing at their effect pedals for entire shows.
                  

Loveless was the group's masterpiece, and as an incredibly complex album, way ahead of its time. Unfortunately, it had also been incredibly expensive to record - Loveless almost bankrupted Creation Records, according to some sources. My Bloody Valentine went on an extensive tour, nicknamed 'Rollercoaster', in late 1991. The concerts were extremely loud and chaotic experiences, with long

passages of noise, blending into the songs. My Bloody Valentine promised the new album wouldn't take as long to record as Loveless, and signed a record deal with major label Island. Shields and Ó Cíosóig became increasingly interested in contemporary electronic music, and this supposedly had its influence on their never-released material too. Kevin Shields had always been a perfectionist, and this may have led to an alleged breakdown somewhere in late 1993, causing him to become increasingly erratic and withdrawn.
                       

Debbie Googe, broke and tired of waiting, left the band in 1995 to form Snowpony with her girlfriend

(ex-Stereolab keyboardist Katharine Gifford), and recording on the Loveless follow-up supposedly ceased around 1997. There are believed to be up to two unreleased post-Loveless albums, and the group have never officially announced they have split. The classic four piece line-up resurfaced in 2007, with the following year's sold-out tour. The fourth album, m b v, was released in February 2013.
                   

MY BLOODY VALENTINE - ISN'T ANYTHING 1988

                                

Though it's often seen as just a precursor to their magnum opus Loveless, in its own way My Bloody

Valentine's Isn't Anything is nearly as groundbreaking as their 1991 masterpiece. Not only was it the most lucid, expansive articulation yet of the group's sound, it virtually created the shoegazing scene and spawned legions of followers. The album's tightly structured songs still bore traces of My Bloody Valentine's previous incarnation as jangly indie popsters, but Kevin Shields and company crafted wide-ranging experiments within those confines.
                  

"Feed Me with Your Kiss"'s mix of bruising guitars, drums, and sensual boy-girl vocals define My

Bloody Valentine's signature sound, while "All I Need"'s weightless guitars and vocal melodies melt into a heady haze. Shields' unique tunings, tremolo, and miking techniques stand out on "You Never Should" and "Nothing Much to Lose," but Deb Googe's surprisingly funky bassline on "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)" reaffirms that all of the Valentines contributed to their innovative sound.
            

Indeed, many of Isn't Anything's disturbingly beautiful highlights come from Bilinda Butcher. On the

wrenching "No More Sorry," she sings abstractly pained lyrics like "Your septic heart and deadly hand/Loved me black and blue," barely audible over a swarm of fragile yet menacing guitars, while on "Several Girls Galore" she's sexy, yet dazed and distant; it sounds like she's whispering in your ear outside of a blaring nightclub.
(By Heather Phares)
               

My Bloody Valentine – Isn't Anything
Label: Sire – 9 45231-2, Warner Bros. Creation Records – 9 45231-2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue Jun 15, 1993
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock, Shoegaze

TRACKS

                  

01. Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)   2:21
Words By – C. O'Ciosoig, K. Shields
02. Lose My Breath   3:37
Words By – B. Butcher
03. Cupid Come   4:29
Words By – B. Butcher
04. (When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream   3:18
Words By – C. O'Ciosoig
05. No More Sorry   2:47   3:04
Words By – B. Butcher
06. All I Need   3:54
Words By – K. Shields
07. Feed Me With Your Kiss   3:54
Words By – K. Shields
08. Sueisfine   2:12
Words By – K. Shields
09. Several Girls Galore   2:20
Words By – B. Butcher
10. You Never Should   3:22
Words By – K. Shields
11. Nothing Much To Lose   3:17
Words By – K. Shields
12. I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)   3:12
Words By – K. Shields

LINE - UP

                 

Kevin Shields – guitar, vocals
Bilinda Butcher – guitar, vocals
Colm Ó Cíosóig – drums
Deb Googe – bass

Flac Size: 252 MB

MY BLOODY VALENTINE - LOVELESS 1991

                     

Isn't Anything was good enough to inspire an entire scene of My Bloody Valentine soundalikes, but Loveless' greatness proved that the band was inimitable. After two painstaking years in the studio and

nearly bankrupting their label Creation in the process, the group emerged with their masterpiece, which fulfilled all of the promise of their previous albums. If Isn't Anything was the Valentines' sonic blueprint, then Loveless saw those plans fleshed out, in the most literal sense: "Loomer," "What You Want," and "To Here Knows When"'s arrangements are so lush, they're practically tangible.
                  

With its voluptuous yet ethereal melodies and arrangements, Loveless intimates sensuality and sexuality instead of stating them explicitly; Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher's vocals meld perfectly with the trippy sonics around them, suggesting druggy sex or sexy drugs. From the commanding "Only

Shallow" and "Come in Alone" to breathy reflections like "Sometimes" and "Blown a Wish," the album balances complexity and immediately memorable pop melodies with remarkable self-assurance, given its difficult creation. But Loveless doesn't just perfect the group's approach, it also hints at their continuing growth: "Soon" fuses the Valentines' roaring guitars with a dance-inspired beat, while the symphonic interlude "Touched" suggests an updated take on Fripp and Eno's pioneering guitar/electronics experiments.
                     

These glimpses into the band's evolution make Shields' difficulty in delivering a follow-up to Loveless even more frustrating, but completely understandable -- the album's perfection sounded shoegazing's

death-knell and raised expectations for the next My Bloody Valentine album to unreasonably high levels. Though Shields' collaborations with Yo La Tengo, Primal Scream, J Mascis, and others were often rewarding, they were no match for Loveless. However, as My Bloody Valentine fans -- and, apparently, Shields himself -- will attest, nothing is.
(By Heather Phares)
               

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
Label: Sire – CD 26759, Warner Bros. Creation Records – CD 26759
Format: CD, Album
Country: Canada
Released: 1991
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Shoegaze, Noise Rock

TRACKS

            

01. Only Shallow   4:17
Lyrics By [Words] – Bilinda Butcher
Music By – Kevin Shields
02. Loomer   2:38
Lyrics By [Words] – Bilinda Butcher
Music By – Kevin Shields
03. Touched   0:56
Music By – Colm O'Ciosoig
04. To Here Knows When   5:31
Lyrics By [Words] – Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields
Music By – Kevin Shields
05. When You Sleep   4:11
Written-By – Kevin Shields
06. I Only Said   5:34
Written-By – Kevin Shields
07. Come In Alone   3:58
Written-By – Kevin Shields
08. Sometimes   5:19
Written-By – Kevin Shields
09. Blown A Wish   3:36
Lyrics By [Words] – Bilinda Butcher
Music By – Kevin Shields
10. What You Want   5:33
Written-By – Kevin Shields
11. Soon   6:58
Written-By – Kevin Shields

LINE - UP

                           

Bass – Debbie Googe
Drums, Sampler – Colm O'Ciosoig
Guitar, Vocals, Sampler – Kevin Shields
Vocals, Guitar – Bilinda Butcher

Flac Size: 303 MB