A FEW THOUGHTS ON MY BLOODY VALENTINE'S NEW RECORD

Brian Eno once said that while the Velvet Underground’s first album didn’t sell a lot of copies, everyone who heard it went off and formed a band.   I think this is ten times true for My Bloody Valentine.  Much if not all of 90 and 00’s alt guitar rock bears their imprint.

So how does one review MBV their follow-up to 1991’s LOVELESS?  22 years on and it’s impossible to catch lightning in a bottle a second time?  You can only make SGT PEPPER and ASTRAL WEEKS and NEW YORK DOLLS and THE SMITHS once.

So with the weights of posterity removed, MBV is actually a fun record.  I say “fun” because it’s a lot simpler than LOVELESS – the songs swing, are more obviously streamlined, portend nothing other than a fine pop sense not so buried under 50 plus guitars this time.

There is one annoying instrumental that is the same guitar figure repeated over and over but the rest of the songs are good especially Only Tomorrow, If I Am, and New You (which is actually funky).

So the verdict is remove the historical baggage of LOVELESS and this is an enjoyable listen in and of itself.