Some would say U2 or Van Morrison or Makem & Clancy. And you could surely get your face rearranged for not going with the Pogues. But for my St. Patrick’s Day money, the most amazing musical export from the Emerald Isle would have to be the Dublin sound shapers My Bloody Valentine.
Fronted by enigmatic vocalist/guitarist Kevin Shields and vocalist Bilinda Butcher, MBV’s 1991 magnum opus Loveless is one of those albums with too many critical superlatives attached to it for its own good. But unlike, say, Radiohead’s OK Computer, Loveless actually lives up to and exceeds the “best-of-the-90’s” hype. It’s that good.
Maybe too good.
The story goes that Shields, ever the perfectionist, nearly bankrupted Creation Records in the more than two years it took to make Loveless. Shortly thereafter MBV signed to Island Records and spent a half million dollars recording…nothing. Having set the bar so high, MBV was paralyzed at the prospect of topping Loveless. The band splintered away with most members moving on to other projects while Shields became a recluse.
Listening to Loveless, you can kind of understand why. How can you top it? I can think of no other album that is so cohesive in sound, yet so distinct song-to-song. All this despite an ethereal instrumental density that could easily become a repetitive mess, or worse, cop out into an audio “art project.” And while it certainly qualifies as art, to me Loveless is more an adjunct emotion than a record. It wraps around you...engages and envelops you...becomes of you. Lying on the floor in the dark locationless phase between stereo speakers, you and the album become one empathetic entity [OK, I say you, but maybe I mean me].
Shields resurfaced a couple years ago touring with a number of bands, most notably Air and Primal Scream. He also collaborated with Sofia Coppola on the soundtrack of Lost in Translation, offering up MBV’s “Sometimes” from Loveless as well as recording new solo tracks that impeccably complimented the mood of the film. There are rumors of an MBV box set and even a reunion. Only time and the expiration of contracts will tell.
In any case, on my way to and fro work this St. Patrick’s Day, I will be awash in Irish music and happily Loveless.
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