Welcome to the “Chinese democracy” of indie-rock. 22 years of waiting for a new My Bloody Valentine album. Then a post on a facebook wall: "We are preparing to go live with the new album/website this evening. We will make an announcement as soon as its up". A few hours later, the the record goes live. And the band's site crashes: to many people trying to download it.
My Bloody Valentine are no Guns ‘n’ Roses, that's for sure. “M B V” wasn't announced, delayed, announced again, postpopned again until it became a joke. But, nonetheless, it created a mythology, with all the right elements in the right place: a masterpiece (1991's "Loveless") waiting for a sequel that never arrived, a genius and obsessive musician (Kevin Shields) going mad after his music, until he disappeared from the public eye, only to return after a long time.
"M B V" has all the elements in the right place, too. It contains everything we loved about this band: greats songs, an obessive attention for sonic details, a wall of guitars immersed in distorsion, reverber. Just listen to the first song and turn back the clock.
These are songs that are new and old at the same time. The first part of the records takes off where "Loveless" ended, as showcased by “Only tomorrow” and “Who sees you”. Sometimes the sonic layers use other elements (the keyboards on “Is this and yes”). Sometimes the songs have a new rhythm: “New you”, “In another way” and “Nothing is” close the tracklist with less ethereal atmospheres , right before the "jungle" rythms of “Wonder 2”.
“M B V” is completely out of time. But, if you think about it, My Bloody Valentine were already out of time in the '90s. You should take "M B V" for what it is: an unexpected present, or maybe a present your waited for too long. It's the (happy) ending of a saga. One of those stories that make us love music.
TRACKLIST:
“She found now”
“Only tomorrow”
“Who sees you”
“Is this and yes”
“If I am”
“New you”
“In another way”
“Nothing is”
“Wonder 2””
4.0
