My Bloody Valentine – m b v (2013) review
It’s been 22 years, that’s more than a
generation since My Bloody Valentine dropped their last release [Loveless] on
us, and I tell you true, over the years, as the calendar pages have flown off
the wall, I’ve grown comfortable with the fact that MBV would never release a
new body of work. But then, one must
consider that MBV has always done things one their own time schedule, in their
own way, foot dragging and revamping endlessly … if one remembers back to
Loveless, even after we heard that it was mastered and in the can, it took
nearly four years for the outing to see the light of day. At this stage of their career, it seems to
me, that they should be working on some huge boxed set, remastered with
colourful artwork, and some outtakes of unheard pieces of music. And of course that would be followed by the
endless begging for a tour, or even a twelve date mini tour, one that’s
expanded in Europe, and then an the announcement that they’d been working on a
new album, and the release date was intimate.
generation since My Bloody Valentine dropped their last release [Loveless] on
us, and I tell you true, over the years, as the calendar pages have flown off
the wall, I’ve grown comfortable with the fact that MBV would never release a
new body of work. But then, one must
consider that MBV has always done things one their own time schedule, in their
own way, foot dragging and revamping endlessly … if one remembers back to
Loveless, even after we heard that it was mastered and in the can, it took
nearly four years for the outing to see the light of day. At this stage of their career, it seems to
me, that they should be working on some huge boxed set, remastered with
colourful artwork, and some outtakes of unheard pieces of music. And of course that would be followed by the
endless begging for a tour, or even a twelve date mini tour, one that’s
expanded in Europe, and then an the announcement that they’d been working on a
new album, and the release date was intimate.
See … if they’d done it that way, they
might have had something new to present to us, instead of a 22 year re-make of
their seemingly effortless past adventure with Loveless, where horizons were
pushed, layered fuzzy pedaled guitars sounded fresh and inviting, where
swooning lush androgynous vocals mixed with instrumentation pleaded for the
enchantment of nightfall. Instead, for
the most part, the band sounds claustrophobic, locked into an endless tape loop
of stumbling misadventure and self-exploitation that’s so dense I doubt there
was much breathable air in the studio.
Mind you, all of the songs are not so disingenuous, “She Found Now,” “If
I Am,” and “New You” are surprising intoxicating etherial delights that instantly
brought to mind the light-handed layering of The Beach Boys.
might have had something new to present to us, instead of a 22 year re-make of
their seemingly effortless past adventure with Loveless, where horizons were
pushed, layered fuzzy pedaled guitars sounded fresh and inviting, where
swooning lush androgynous vocals mixed with instrumentation pleaded for the
enchantment of nightfall. Instead, for
the most part, the band sounds claustrophobic, locked into an endless tape loop
of stumbling misadventure and self-exploitation that’s so dense I doubt there
was much breathable air in the studio.
Mind you, all of the songs are not so disingenuous, “She Found Now,” “If
I Am,” and “New You” are surprising intoxicating etherial delights that instantly
brought to mind the light-handed layering of The Beach Boys.
I’ve had this discussion before, and while
there’s no winner or looser, it’s my thinking that MBV, whom I’ve seen in
concert several times, are first and foremost a live band … they never needed
to put out a record in the first place, they just needed to wrap themselves in
sound and muster on.
there’s no winner or looser, it’s my thinking that MBV, whom I’ve seen in
concert several times, are first and foremost a live band … they never needed
to put out a record in the first place, they just needed to wrap themselves in
sound and muster on.
Review made by Jenell Kesler / 2013
© Copyright
http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com / 2013
http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com / 2013
