Record Review: My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless, (Creation Records.1991)



I knew this dude named Jason Fitzgerald who was a total self-motivated hype machine for whatever band he was into at that moment in time. I remember one day he came over to my apartment (I was either a senior in college, or just out of school) with his cool-as-fucking-cool-looking girlfriend to visit my then-wife and I. It was a typical Fitzgerald visit: a stack of CDs and vinyl and two uber-music-geeks (discerning music listeners, if you will natch!) getting together to talk shop. I would sit on the floor manning the CD player, the others on the sofa; the setting for our living room point-counterpoint. Jason and I would go on for an hour or two, while our women … I don’t know what they did … I can only guess something like getting increasingly annoyed and pissed off. We went through several records that I cannot remember now, except two: a thrift store find of The Electric Prunes – Mass in E Minor on vinyl and My Bloody Valentine – Loveless.

It was the Grunge Era, but Jason was into stuff with an experimental edge and less commercially successful/viable. He said, “This is the greatest record out. This is the greatest record ever” (or something like that). He handed me the CD and told me to turn it way up (wisely, I turned it half-to-three-quarters to “way up”). As the tray delivered the CD to the player, the anticipation was legion (Jason did have great taste, see The Electric Prunes).

As soon as the digits [ 00:00 ] ticked off came the sudden, four quick shots - - - > that “bap-bap-bap-bap” - - - > right into breathing, gasping guitars: a million guitars swirling and buzzing and humming and exploding outwards and then sucked backwards into the lungs (that tightening of the lungs when you jump into a cold lake or breathe in frigid winter air). The intro revolves a couple times, then on the third “bap-bap-bap-bap” it slides perfectly into a gorgeous/pretty/mournful melody. This is “Only Shallow”, the first track that is indicative of what Loveless holds – massive texture, bitter-twee melodies, and fucking crazy mind bending guitar jams.

One thing that has always struck me as brilliant when it comes to this record is the extraordinary consistency from track to track. Loveless is diverse – there are the atmospheric pieces (“Touched”, “Sometimes”), the fractured guitar-slash-melody driven pop (“When You Sleep”, “Come In Alone”, “Blown A Wish”, “What You Want”, “Soon”), and those that encompass both experimentation and pop songcraft (“Loomer”, “To Here Knows When”, “I Only Said”). In all of these tracks there are splinters of surprise whether it be from those guitars or the hooks; there is an laser-guided theme of feeling which is sparse, lonely, and comforting. Kevin Shields was tapped into that something that moves inward despite the surface iciness of the music. Thinking about it more, that something is the melodies that stay just above the precipice of all the racket – the melodies draw you in, yet stay at arms length. It’s curious, mysterious, and illustrious.

It’s very easy to talk about the seminal tracks: “Only Shallow”, “When You Sleep”, and “Soon”; they are great, great songs. But they are not where Loveless hits the pinnacle; that is on the seventh track, “Come In Alone”. Absolutely magic happens – the tempo is mid, but the raw power does not dissipate. The rhythm is absolutely cracked and messed up into a near warbley soup, even the bass lines shudder. Shields lays down lead licks that stripped of effects are actually utterly ordinary (think Led Zeppelin, countless metal bands). Bilinda Butcher’s melody is the perfect compliment to the psychedelic noise. Each time she sings “Come … in … alone” it’s sexy and it’s melancholy and it’s happy and it’s warm. The song revolves around these melodic stretches and lead licks.

The sounds Kevin Shields pulled out of his guitars and his band defy words. It’s one of those records that demands to be heard then discussed. Like I did sixteen or so years ago in Kansas. Loveless is an engaging record, not simply because of the enraged fucked up guitars, but also the gorgeous melancholy of melody and coo-hooks.

Score: 83.91
File Under: Pyschedelic.So-Called-Shoegzaer.Other.Worldly.Punk.Space.Skronk.Rock

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