My Bloody Valentine: mbv

Self-released

To say that mbv has been “highly-anticipated” is a colossal understatement. U.K. demigods My Bloody Valentine mulled over the follow-up to Loveless, 1991’s seminal and genre-defining shoegaze album, for more than 20 years. Since then, Kevin Shields and Co. merely hinted that they were recording new material. Then, from out of nowhere, mbv is here. These songs aren’t as ferocious as the older numbers, but they perpetuate the melancholy beauty that’s buried under telltale sheets of distortion and reverb. “She Found Now” and closer “Wonder 2” could have easily made the Loveless cut, and mbv feels like it’s been aging to perfection all this time. You already know these songs, but in a great way. (5 out of 5 stars)