The songs on m b v ... are more melodically complex, intriguing and often pleasing than anything he has written before.
The prevailing feeling is that m b v isn't so much a successor to Loveless; it’s heavier, less immediate, and by the third listen sounds like nothing less than a triumph for Shields. His singular vision has paid off once again.
Just as Loveless refined and expanded on the elements of early My Bloody Valentine, mbv draws on the past without forgoing the fierce originality that has defined the band from the outset.
So un-self conscious and plain true is the rendering that it’s as if they unlearned those 22 years in order to feel how it was the first time; the final outcome is a peerlessly vivid depiction of an era MBV were integral in defining.
m b v creates a new timeline for My Bloody Valentine, and one that recalls the past in a broader and bolder light.
If anything, the opening two-thirds of the album are the perfect re-submergence into the band's sound before m b v takes a turn for the sublime on its final three tracks.
My Bloody Valentine successfully followed up a decades-old classic with m b v, an album that stands as confidently, beautifully and masterfully composed as its predecessor.
While m b v is a record that is more than capable of standing on its own, at the same time it also sounds exactly like the sort of thing that we might have expected My Bloody Valentine to produce two decades ago, and this noticeable lack of allegiance to the present is perhaps the most potent thing about this entire revisionist affair.
Where Loveless felt effortless, mbv strains, pushing at its boundaries with a sense of pensive gloom.
Regardless of whether it’s an echo of the past or a bridge to the future, MBV stands as something potentially timeless—and immediately breathtaking.
The rhythms are tighter and more martial; the guitars are sharper, less tremolo'ed and blurred; the sounds a bit crisper. But with many of the songs, you can almost identify the song or moment from "Loveless" that is being evoked.
A fully conceptualized 45 minutes of music that both logically progresses the triumphs of its predecessor and doesn’t feel out of place in the musical landscape of 2013.
A few twists and turns shy of perfection, m b v is the innovation and sonic warmth of My Bloody Valentine rekindled and made anew.
m b v accomplishes the rare feat of being both timeless and in-the-moment; sounding like a '92 or '93 follow-up to Loveless would have sounded while simultaneously feeling as modern as any 2013 album with a RIYL: My Bloody Valentine on the press sheet.
The more you listen to m b v, the looser your grip on criticality becomes: the weight of history you earlier sought to shrug off vanishes, replaced by a fawning adoration.
Although it may not necessarily build on Loveless, there's no audible reason m b v shouldn't be spoken of in the same hushed, venerating tones.
It triumphs not as a continuation of a musical conversation that Isn’t Anything and Loveless began, but by forging its own distinct modern dialogue, one that at once sounds rooted in its own imaginative time and place, perhaps even dimension, with any telling outside influences dissipating as soon as the songs truly take their pleasurable hold.
It represents Shields and the band’s own fractious, turbulent journey from the creative hangover of Loveless into producing something entirely new, in turn leaving you thrilled and rather moved indeed
The key it appears was the timing of the album, Shields solved the riddle of nostalgia and it afforded him the time to create a great return album. One that satisfies the fans, the music world, and himself.
As before, it's a woozy, deceptively desultory experience, with all sonic elements – and the dreamy murmur-whispers of Bilinda Butcher and Shields buried deep inside.
m b v is as beautifully opaque and seductive as Loveless, sounding like nothing other than Kevin Shields’ vision.
While there’s nothing quite as disorienting and alien as Loveless’s dramatic opening song, Only Shallow, there’s notable evolution in both the songwriting and sound, and the overall flow of the album actually seems tighter.
On the band's first effort in over 20 years, My Bloody Valentine doesn't overreach their seminal efforts on Loveless, but the band still proves they have a hefty amount of relevance and creativity to spare when it comes to shoegaze.
Overall m b v is more of a time capsule than a box of surprises, but the contents have survived in immaculate condition.
Those same multilayered textures are all here, and if anything there are more finely chiselled planes of fresh variation: there is a discipline as well as wildness behind the distortion.
MBV isn't perfect; sometimes the songs do drag, but the brilliant moments are so brilliant, and the exciting moments so exciting that you'll forgive them.
Despite the skull-crushing power, MBV is music that rewards close listening, music that takes its time to give up its secrets.
‘m b v’ is a brilliant record – every bit as dreamily turbulent as you’d hope – but it’s not simply a sequel.
There's clearly something here, there's an evolution in what Shields is doing. But, is it any good? Yes. Is it better than 'Loveless'? Probably not – and it's unfair to compare it to a predecessor that we've had two decades to live with and love.
mbv follows its predecessor without aggrandizing its past resources, and as such, delivers a wallop of sweet, sweet distortion in a way that comes naturally to them.
m b v seems like both the "logical next step" after Loveless (as if bands were subject to teleological pressures) and utterly contemporary.
‘m b v’ needs to be digested like chewing gum, left to swirl around in your system for months or years, before anyone will really be able to gauge how it measures up to ‘Isn’t Anything’ or ‘Loveless’.
More comforting than revelatory, M B V reaffirms that My Bloody Valentine are one of a kind; the subtlety to their melodies, instrumentation, and the way they blur together belongs to them alone.
It certainly speaks volumes that the group could reemerge in this climate and prove that no one is capable of exactly replicating what they do.
The album’s major problem, more than anything, is that such a flabbergastingly brilliant end stretch hints at a better record that might have been
My Bloody Valentine still sound like no other band, but they’re stretching out to a large degree on this album, making their sound even more texturally dense.
Despite its long delay, m b v is no great leap forward, though it’s still aeons ahead of its 21st-century competition.
Uhhhh, this is just as good as Loveless.
It’s a completely different vibe, and it works. The sound is stunning. I feel completely entranced by this. Truly amazing project.
amazing record if you havent heard loveless, somewhat of a disappointment if you have
look, they still have their distinct sound which automatically makes this better than most other albums out there
but overall I gotta admit they've kinda lost the magic they had on loveless :(
other than the opening track (or 3 tracks, really) which is extra mellowy and dreamy, the album doesn't really improve or build on their previous works. it's just a weird detour that left me hungry for more a bit too ... read more
I was pleasantly surprised
This album is a great evolution of their music, and most of the songs feel like a slow burn with excellent payoff, until it doesn’t…..
And then the ending saves it.
Only problem, it drags like hell sometimes
22 years for this album and wow, such a come back. The album can drag on, personally didn't feel it, but could see why people have said that. Loveless is still the better album, but thats ok because this is and feels like its own thing while building upon what came before.
1 | she found now 5:06 | 92 |
2 | only tomorrow 6:21 | 91 |
3 | who sees you 6:12 | 91 |
4 | is this and yes 5:06 | 81 |
5 | if i am 3:54 | 87 |
6 | new you 4:59 | 88 |
7 | in another way 5:30 | 88 |
8 | nothing is 3:33 | 73 |
9 | wonder 2 5:51 | 88 |
#1 | / | No Ripcord |
#1 | / | Obscure Sound |
#1 | / | Uncut |
#3 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#3 | / | TIME |
#4 | / | Pitchfork |
#4 | / | Time Out London |
#4 | / | Variety |
#5 | / | Cokemachineglow |
#5 | / | Stereogum |