“mbv” the brand new album from My Bloody Valentine available now on 180 gram vinyl plus CD & digital download of your choice
THE ACCIDENTAL MASTERPIECE
To many this was going to be a tough task, how do you follow up on one of the most influential alternative albums of all time! Rumors had being afloat over the past number of weeks that My Bloody Valentine were about to release a brand new album but no one knew when or where this was going to happen.
On Saturday evening the news filtered through on “My Bloody Valentine’s” facebook page that the band were just hours away from releasing their first album “mbv” since 1991’s “LOVELESS”
It was then that the waiting game began and at 11.55 on Saturday night 2nd February the band decided to unleash an album that has almost being 22 years in the making.
Problem was that when the band decided to unleash the beast it felt like the beast did not want to come out to play!
Mass online hysteria lead to the bands new website being over ran by the thousands of highly anticipated fans trying to get their hands on what seems like the biggest album release since Brian Wilson’s reworked version of “Smile” or the Guns N Roses “Chinese Democracy” record a few years ago.
To many people’s disappointment the band’s website crashed and was not up and running until 3.30 this morning when finally “mbv” was unleashed on to the world. Remember this is at almost 4.00 o’clock in the morning and lots of coffee has being consumed in my bedroom and i am constantly hitting that F5 key on my laptop so i wouldn’t miss a thing! The things we sometimes do for Rock N Roll!
“mbv” almost feels at times very similar to that of “Loveless”. The album consists of nine tracks kicking off with dreamy “She Found now”. It wasn’t until the second song (“Only Tomorrow) on the album that i decided to sit up and pay more attention.
I began to see more and more similarity to Loveless here, we are now back in familiar territory. The album itself seems to have more of an electronic buzz to that of Loveless. We see this on track 5 titled “is this and yes” . My favorite track on the album so far “Who sees You” has that distinct My Bloody Valentine sound that we have all known to love!
The problem is that My Bloody Valentine set the bar really high for themselves after “Loveless”, Does Kevin Shields really care about being pressurized into topping the bands 1991 masterpiece?
I wouldn’t think so, as a lot of critics see that “LOVELESS” was an “accidental masterpiece”
LOVELESS came out at a very important time when music was evolving and changing, for example Nirvana were just about to change the music scene forever along with a whole host of other acts in the same year with “Nevermind”.
Track six “New You” is by far my least favorite track on the album at the moment. I felt that as a listener it lost my attention for most part. Things pick right up again on “In Another Way” and then there is “Nothing is” which at times feels like the drums are being repeated over and over again reminding the listener that My Bloody Valentine are back!
Personally i think that this may not be the second coming that many fans may have hoped for. And its defintely not “The Accidental masterpiece that has surrounded “Loveless” over the years. It does deliver to a point but at times i felt Kevin Shield’s and friends could have pushed the boundaries even further when it comes to experimenting within their own sound. Hopefully though it will stand out on its own in years to come! Think i am going to stick on “Loveless” again.
Finbar Hoban
“mbv” track-listing:
01: She Found Now
02: Only Tomorrow
03: Who Sees You
04: Is This And Yes
05: If I Am
06: New You
07: In Another Way
08: Nothing Is
09: Wonder 2