Weekly Artist Overview: My Bloody Valentine - Page 2

The attention the band was getting was not lost on American record companies, and Warner Brothers/Sire signed them to an American deal in 1989.

The band raised a few eyebrows by eschewing major touring at this critical juncture in favor of returing to the recording studio. When a year had passed without any new releases, as other shoegaze bands were gaining notoriety, speculation began to center on Shields' studio prefectionalism. Rumors began to circulate in the U.K. press that the follow-up was delayed by obsessive remixing and re-overdubbing. A stopgap EP, Glider, was released at the end of the year. It was a tantalizing glimpse into the state of the band, which sounded better and better, particularly on the title track and "Soon", which are among the band's best works. But is was a skimpy offering that left the fans hungry.

1990 came and went and still no My Bloody Valentine album appeared. It was a situation that was doing Creation records no good; the small label was footing the bill for the sessions, and were without significant product for almost two years. Pressure was put on Shields to get the job done; in the meantime, another token EP was released, Tremolo at the start of 1991, culled from the neverending sessions. By this point, interest in the mysterious band had grown large enough to push the EP into the top-40 in England. "To Here Knows When" was the first track released from the upcoming album, lush and abstract; with a density surpassing the material on Isn't Anything. The remaining three cuts were also noteworthy glimpses into what the album would provide, although none are included and are on a more modest scale than anything on the finished album.

And what an album it was; Loveless, released at last in 1991, proved to be worth the wait, lived up to its hype, and justified Shields' obsessiveness, which seemed to be bordering on Brian Wilson's. It is a masterpiece, one of the best albums of the 1990's in any genre, and easily one of the most influential. The cover art is an almost perfect approximation of the sounds contained therein. The unquestionably excellent Isn't Anything sounds barebones and simplistic in comparison; Loveless blossoms with a sensual trippiness, suggesting a druggy, seductive ambience without slipping into murky psychedelia. "Come In Alone" sounds like an invitation to paradise, even as Butcher's vocals seem faintly elegiac and regretful, "Only Shallow" is arresting from the very first warped note, "Touched" is reminiscent of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno's earlier sound experiments, "Loomer" is lush and inviting, "Blown A Wish" is breathy and alluring. Underneath, the guitars shimmer and ripple and reflect light, the bass is heavy and boosted up in the mix, O'Ciosoig uses the drums for almost anything other than keeping a simple beat. The songs warp, morph, transmogrify, ebb and flow. It would be impossible to name all the noise pop, space rock, dream pop, and shoegaze bands that have borrowed cues from this album; it's essential listening for any serious 90's rock fan. The album peaked at #24 in England; the band's best showing, and one of the best showings for a shoegaze band. "Only Shallow" got significant airplay in America, where the band toured in support of Dinosaur, Jr. Unfortunately for Creation records, however, the band failed to sell enough copies of their album to recoup the studio costs, which reportedly exceeded half a million dollars. Creation would teeter on the brink of bankruptcy for three years before they'd be rescued by the success of Oasis.

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