I was in seventh grade when I first heard of the Irish band My Bloody Valentine. It was a warm June night and I sat in my bedroom, going from one Youtube video to another. Then, I saw a link to a song called “Sometimes” off of the group’s 1991 album, Loveless.
Immediately the heavy silence in the room was swept away with a wave of oozing guitar work and whimsical vocals hidden underneath layers of sound. It was strange to think something like this existed, that I could listen to it, feel it and even crave to be it.
A few years later and Loveless continues to be a favorite of mine, considering it’s an album of feeling and heart rather than formulated noise. Twenty-two years after the release of Loveless, My Bloody Valentine announced the upcoming release of their third album, m b v, which opened to the public on Feb. 3 at 11:58 pm.
Pressing play seemed like this daunting task. I was overjoyed and felt unexplainable bliss thinking about how there could be a chance for me to hear and feel more from one of my favorite bands that changed the lives of people across the world.
However, I was also preparing myself for a hint of disappointment if m b v would not represent My Bloody Valentine, seeing as they are bound to have changed throughout the years.
Despite my initial hesitation, the first track, “she found now”, sounded full of light and dark. It was welcoming and although it was many years after Loveless, the group has found new things to say and new ways to say them, which transcends into m b v beautifully and with such ease.
Track four, “is this and yes,” brought me to tears. It was late into the night and I pictured stars through Bilinda Butcher’s (guitar and vocals) whispery vocals.
The album, though consisting of only nine songs, never fails to create an image of an urban city, glowing with people and light. Each song seems to come from a dark room resting in a high rise, looking over the movements and sounds from below.
Ever since their formation in 1983, My Bloody Valentine continues to create music that allows the listener to peel away layers of bliss and pure fantasy.
