mbv (my bloody valentine)

IT takes a long time to make music sound as good as m b v does. About 22 years, in fact.

mbv

IT takes a long time to make music sound as good as m b v does. About 22 years, in fact.

The last time my bloody valentine released new music was in 1991 and Loveless, the Irish quartet's second album, remains the high-water mark of the "shoegaze" alternative rock movement.

A thrilling listen from top to tail, Loveless contained some of the most unbelievable guitar sounds heard then or since. It's had all sorts of adjectives thrown at it through the years but the most appropriate is "peerless".

And so, m b v, a nine-track album sneak-released online in early February, took by surprise many of the band's fans.

Topping the last effort is a practically insurmountable feat, yet this collection must inevitably be compared with the band's last. So, in short: no, m b v isn't quite as earth-shattering as Loveless, but it's still very good, and well worth your attention.

The guitar tone and phrasing are phenomenal: the second track only tomorrow (the band insists that their name, album and song titles are all to be written in lower case) is one of the band's finest creations, a real marvel of layering and repetition.

As with Loveless, the drums, bass and vocals are all secondary in importance to the guitars, which sound so sharp they might cut you in half if you turn the sound up loud enough. And you should. The band's entire existence is practically an exercise in volume control. in another way is the best song here; a modern update to Loveless's classic final track, Soon, if you will.

There's only one disposable track, the synth-led is this and yes. The rest? Peerless, still.

LABEL: Independent
RATING: 4.5 stars