what you want
those mbv reissues, re-reviewed by keith cameron.
isn’t anything
★★★★ (Creation 1988; Domino 2021 CD/DL/LP)
Although way beyond the shoegazing multitudes which followed, their debut full-length is still the classic MBV line-up’s only album with clearly identifiable antecedents: Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth and especially Dinosaur Jr. are unself-consciously audible within (When You Wake) You’re Still In A Dream and You Never Should, while on Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside) Kevin and Bilinda’s still-discernible vocals talk dirty with the chaste charm of the indie disco. Its desiccated discontinuity remains odd and compelling.
loveless
★★★★★ (Creation 1991; Domino 2021 CD/DL/LP)
A rarely spoken truth now it has entered art’s highest chamber is that Loveless didn’t initially impact among peers or fans with the same scorched earth force as its two prior EPs. But while including both Soon and To Here Knows When dampened the revolutionary ardour, over time the realisation dawned that – incredibly – everything else on Loveless was equally good. Is there a more unknowable yet emotional MBV song than Sometimes? This fathomless construct’s capacity to beguile never fails.
EPs 1988-1991
★★★★ (Sony 2012; Domino 2021 CD/DL/LP)
Although a downgrade from initial reports of a rarities box, this 2-CD set still offered an essential alternate MBV history lesson: how quickly the group moved on from subverting classic indie tropes circa You Made Me Realise and Slow (where Shields first came upon his “melted” guitar sound) to creating their own unique universe on Glider and Tremolo. The final two unreleased tracks didn’t make Isn’t
Anything simply because Shields hated his vocals. Such is the price of perfectionism.
m b v
★★★★ (MBV Records 2013; Domino 2021 CD/DL/LP)
A combination of its initial self-release and roots in recordings dating to 1996 has perhaps damned m b v to semi-parenthetical status. On its own terms, however, this was both a worthy epilogue to Loveless – with opener She Found Now, entirely recorded in 2012, refracting its predecessor’s memory through age and experience – and a new perspective. The pummelling climactic triptych (In Another Way; Nothing Is; Wonder 2) delivers a headrush unparalleled in the MBV canon for sheer shock and awe.
Physical formats of My Bloody Valentine’s Domino reissues will be available from May 21.