My Bloody Valentine - isn't anything

The debut LP by My Bloody Valentine is considered by some their best work (personally i prefer "Loveless" - just) but it is nothing less than an iconic album that changed the world - the indie world at least. Coming in 1988 it changed the direction of indie into a noise and feedback filled near future inspiring so many bands (ok many were terrible copyists but by no means all) up until the present day.

Amid clouds of feedback and drones of noise "Isn't anything" invented the shoegazing sub-genre. More urgent than "Loveless", perhaps a little more conventional but only a little. Highlights include opener "Soft as snow" which sets the tone with its weird drone noises and tempo changes. "Lose my breath" is blissful dream pop, yet with an underpinning of menace. "Nothing much to lose" descends into an acid-haze.

"Feed me with your kiss" was the single and grinds along irresistibly, i've always thought it was a little basic though compared to the rest of the album. Its still good though as the album is great, its more than great. Its the one "everyone" talks about, and for once everyone is right.

MV : "New you" by My Bloody Valentine

Right my little holiday (actually series of DIY jobs) is over, back to blog business next week!

Kenny Feinstein - loveless: hurts to love

Root-folk covers of indie rock classics are nothing new, Johnny Cash's "hurt" for example, but Kenny Feinstein has taken it to another level by taking all of MBV's classic and immortal album "loveless" (plus the song "Swallow") and covered it in a "bluegrass punk" style, and it is pretty amazing to be honest. Instead of swirls of guitar feedback noise on "Only shallow" we have a delicious acoustic backing to the pop thrill of that track. Its beautiful like the original track but in a different yet familiar way. Its like an echo, a parallel universe, one as wonderful as our own.

"Soon" replicates the mysterious feedback noise loop with expert picking over a mellow yet intricate melody. Rediscovering these well-loved MBV tracks in this way is a total joy. A lot of thought and care has been put into how to replicate what is still one of the ultimate engineered soundscapes in an organic way. "Loomer" is an example of that, using vocals and instruments to replicate the sounds in an amazing manner.

The acoustic feel adding a darker edge at times, a new dimension, another umpteen layers of depth. Its not a cover album really, its a re-imagining... from another planet.

MV : "What you want" by Kenny Feinstein feat Richard Buckner

Kenny Feinstein loves "Loveless" by MBV, so much infact he is going to release a cover album of it later this year. As you can see its a very different style to the noise gods (punk bluegrass folk kind of thing) and could be a pretty amazing album all on its own.

My Bloody Valentine - mbv

About a million years after "Loveless" MBV suddenly emerged from their cryogenic dungeon to release another album (via their own website). And "mbv", as the album is imaginatively titled, starts off sounding pretty much like "Loveless" (though this changes as the album progresses). But thats no bad thing, how do you follow an icon that changed everything? More of the same? Why not, lets try.

Its a bit uneven though, some of the tracks can pass you by a bit, especially early on in the album where MBV are in Loveless 2.0 mode. "She found now" for example is fine with its low throb of noise and wispy vocals but doesn't jump out at you, maybe a little bit too similar to before. That all changes when we get to the amazing "Is this and yes" with its Stereolab-esque keyboards and space-rock tones that ease you into a retro-futurist soundscape, then when Bilinda starts to sing you are taken into another galaxy. Its wonderful it really is, maybe already the best song of the year.

"Wonder 2" is very interesting, reverse echo melody and drum and bass with a tune that could come from the best 60s LSD induced trip on top. "New you" is a great track, in some ways quite conventional (at least in MBV terms) and a lovely chilled pop tune.

"mbv" as an album is fantastic and is mysterious. The sudden return of the band after such a long hiatus surprises and delights, as does this album. It is a different world now than the early 90s but MBV are just as relevant as ever.

My Bloody Valentine - loveless (Remastered) (Sony)

21 years ago My Bloody Valentine released "Loveless", an album that has gone on to become one of the icons of shoegaze and indie noise and one of the best albums of the 1990s. It was My Bloody Valentine last full-length album but here finally is the follow-up... a remastered version.

Its all here as before, updated by Kevin Shields, only better : the waves of noise, the drones, the whale noises, and some amazing indie rock moments especially "Only shallow" and "Soon" which bookend the album. In between noises and a soundscape that were beyond many people's imagination (although personally i can imagine quite a lot). You actually get Loveless remastered twice on 2 CDs, once from the original tapes and then again from DAT tapes.

My ears arn't good enough to tell much if any difference to be honest between the 2 CDs... all i can tell is it is a work of genius.

MV : "Only shallow" by My Bloody Valentine