Isn't Anything

Wikipedia called this an example of shoegazing music, I think? I'd have to agree, although it was more watchgazing, as in when is this going to be over? It just sounded one long drone to me. I kept thinking "there's more TO this, right?" But nope, nothing else. Very disappointing. I did not loathe it, but it was very boring.

“Isn’t Anything” by My Bloody Valentine (1988) This is foreign territory for me, but an album as innovative as this has to be a classic in the technical sense of exploratory and experimental music which subsequently becomes influential in establishing a genre (shoegaze). Lyrically, there’s not much to say, because the poetics consist of clipped expressions lacking cohesion in either sound or imagery. Rather, the thing which draws our focus here is the creative sound, unhindered by ordered melodies or compositional structure. My suspicion is that the only people who ‘get’ the artistry are the artists themselves and their close initiates. That said, the tonal landscape is extraordinarily interesting. Vocals are (intentionally, I assume) usually quite subdued in the mix. Someone doesn’t want us to concentrate on what or how these ‘songs’ are ‘sung’. Drums are weak. If the band’s intention is to highlight their innovative sound, their rhythmic structure needs to avoid drawing attention to itself. But the unsteady tempo of the drums (e.g., “Cupid Come”) distracts. Some have described their electronic effects as ‘ethereal’, but it could just as well be described as ‘subterranean’. If you’re familiar with this album, and find it creative and influential, I’m with you. If you’re not familiar with it and aren’t in the mood for a somewhat disappointing adventure, skip it. This album could have been better than it is. 2/5

Gave up 5 songs in. I know and like some Shoegaze but this is just a fucking nonsense. Noise for the sake of noise. Reverb to annoy me and barely audible vocals. 1/5

My Bloody Valentine's debut album, "Isn't Anything," is actually quite something! Described as "dream pop, shoegaze," this Irish/English band received critical acclaim for this 1988 release, and I am excited to jump in! The opening track, "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)" contains eclectic vocals, drums, and bass alongside a string-like violin-ish dragging sound that is quite peculiar. I'm into it! "Lose My Breath" is the next track, featuring vocals that I believe are attributed to Bilinda Butcher of the band. This song features acoustic guitar strumming and angelically haunting "doo doo doo" non-words that are quite lovely. Track 3, "Cupid Come" has some straightforward guitar and drum instrumentation (and some sonic artifacts!) with vocals provided by Kevin Shields. Kevin's lyrics allude to romance, waiting, desire. "(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream" is a fast-paced song with Shields on vocals mixed with Butcher's classic angelic harmonies (she's giving me some Amy Lee vibes) that takes the listener away amidst lyrics alluding to a lover who is more invested in love than their partner, quite a painfully familiar sentiment for anyone! "No More Sorry" opens with echoy guitars and a building percussion that leads the listener to Shield's vocals. This track is distorted and dream-like and almost soothing! "All I Need" is another dreaming song with layered guitar, bass, and drums that makes me feel like I've entered the 7 minutes in which the body goes from awake to asleep. I feel almost transported to a dreamworld with a heartbeat-like drum along for the ride. The next track, "Feed Me with Your Kiss," comes in hot with a fast-paced drum beat sharing the spotlight with lo-fi guitars and Shield's hard-to-distinguish vocals that are a staple to the shoegaze genre. "Sueisfine" is the next track with more dreamy vocals and noise. The title sounds eerily similar to "suicide" but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me. Perhaps that is what MBV want from me... The following track, "Several Girls Galore" is more sonic artifacts attacking my auditory senses with drums, guitar, and layered vocals that are a little hard to understand. This track may be about a woman with schizophrenia, which makes sense to me considering the song is difficult to grasp, yet more powerful than I could ever appreciate. "You Never Should" is a song about a strained relationship. The lyrics allude to that: "Ooh, you said the fault was mine Yeah, but you never should" I sense some blame, animosity, and heartache in this track as the layered guitars and guitars and guitars attack my senses, filling my soul with some despair for this fictional (or perhaps autobiographical?) breakup. "Nothing Much to Lose" is the penultimate track and feels poppier and easier to understand. I detect a hint of a "take me back" attitude based on the lyrics, but with a "let's see what happens" state of mind, as if to say, "well, I'll try to get her back. Nothing much to lose now." I found myself humming along to the outro, very catchy! My Bloody Valentine close out their debut album with, "I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)". I decided to do some research into the song's meaning, and people have interpreted it as a breakup song, a song about suicide, and my favorite, a song about anorgasmic ejaculation. Whatever MBV may have had in mind with this closer, it is obviously about a loss of some kind, and to me that is a perfect way to close out this album of lo-fi noise. And perhaps it's some slight confirmation to my theory regarding the aforementioned "Sueisfine." Favorite track: Sueisfine Honorable mention: All I Need

Some good songs, some shit songs.

I love Shoegaze, and in that realm, My Bloody Valentine reign supreme. This album is thoughtful, melodic, driving, messy, ethereal, and every other superlative. This is music on its own terms, willing to borrow from what came before, yet also willing to push the envelope forward in a new and exciting way.

Love MBV but still very unfamiliar with this album. I know it's hugely rated but hasn't clicked with me in the past. This hazy afternoon after the night before was perfect for it though, the music just gently drifted into my skull. The first track is very Loveless-like, a pre-echo of things to come. But beyond that, the record continues to surprise. It's wonderful. All I Need lulls me into a dream, before the absolutely filthy bass line of Feed Me With Your Kiss smashes me out of it and gets me moving. Love the aspect that there's technically no guitar on this album, just the after effects. 35 years old, everyone. It's a classic, and one now that I've got an in, I'll be returning to with fervour.

This album gets better, moodier, harder, blissier, glizzier, fritzier as it goes along. I didn’t know this album as well as Loveless, but it kicks hard and doesn't stop. mbv rules and everyone should listen to mbv. stroll along with their distorted, fuzzes up guitars, their melodic and, at times, a-melodic singing. blast off! its time to gaze, press those pedals persons!

Странная, но интересная вещь. Из-за аранжировки первый трек представляется самым одиозным, но потом вроде с ним миришься. А уже второй трек весьма приятен. Да и с остальными треками проблем вроде не возникает. Разве что фоном через динамики слушать - ваще неупотребимо. В наушниках - хорошо. Ещё через звуковуху плеера пропустил - каеф. В целом альбом держит баланс между выёбистостью своим дохуя уникальным саундом и адекватностью композиций. То есть за всеми этими странными для неготового уха звуковыми экспериментами кроются неплохие, в общем, песни. И одно другому даже не мешает: постепенно первое в ушах коннектится со вторым, и выходит вполне норм. Звучит как то, к чему я могу когда-нибудь вернуться.

An odd duck, in a very specific way. Now, My Bloody Valentine subsequently became both extolled and notorious for Kevin Shields' protracted, exacting production methods, which of course gave us the mesmeric Loveless. Isn't Anything offers several hints of the direction MBV would take, but rather than seeing the album as just a precursor, can we examine the album as its own entity? Well, plenty of the ingredients of a great album are assembled. It's unique, heartfelt and often exquisite. However, Isn't Anything just lacks that tiny but essential bit of spice. It has 12 very fine songs, but not an unalloyed masterwork. You'll enjoy the album considerably while it plays, but you won't think about it the next day. Slightly depressing that I couldn't avoid qualifiers, but a mere blemish away from greatness still prevents greatness.

MBV : My Bloody Va(gina)lentine

What a perfect album to hear for the first time high!

A mesmerizing blur, this lot. You know, I was fully prepared to not like this LP, but for the life of me I don’t know why. The only real thing I know about My Bloody Valentine is just their name and genre. I can’t imagine where I picked up the pessimistic attitude. But the opening song got my attention, and in a positive, albeit perplexing way. I certainly wasn’t expecting the sound of woozy synthesizers, liquid swirling around a sledgehammer of an electric drum beat. The instrumental equivalent to operating with a chain saw. All this and lyrics poetically describing the various feelings associated with sex. Although set to an odd tone, to say the least, it was curiously not uninviting. Indeed, by the second song, I was hooked. ‘Lose My Breath’ was a lovely acoustic oddity of a tune- perhaps visualized as dead roses in a vase- the chords just dissonant enough to be effective, and pleasantly disorienting, too, like the feeling of spinning around a merry go round a couple of times. ‘Cupid Come’ shows the band’s creative way of moving a song along with a more freely fluid structure than the strict meter of conventional pop. And, following the song’s allowance to meander a bit, they concluded with a terrific ‘noise’ outro. The fourth track, ’(When You Wake) You’re Still Sleeping,’ though, is when things really got interesting, at least for this listener. Both the instruments and vocals blended together to the extent of being almost indistinguishable. A regular mashed potato of a mix. After a couple of minutes, this blur of sound puts one in a near meditative state. I’ll have to experiment with different settings, volumes, and such. Definitely a listen on headphones. The sixth track, ‘All I Need,’ took this mud to an even deeper place. The lyrics are of virtually no consequence, seeming only to serve the greater overall atmospheric vibe designed to touch places other than the rational mind. Even the beat was buried so far underneath things as to be almost non-existent! The following track, ‘Feed Me with Your Kiss,’ found the instruments easier to differentiate, but only relative to the prior noise. It also came with (this is going to sound weird) pleasantly off-key vocals and a punk/metal kind of guitar riff to frame the whole thing. ‘Several Girls Galore’ featured the first truly dissonant slide guitar solo I think I’ve ever heard, as well as another guitar strummed in an entirely different key than the slide; but, I liked it. The second to last number, ‘Nothing Much to Lose,’ offered a periodic and unusual 6/8 pairing with most of the song’s 4/4 time signature. Odd, for sure, but again, good. Finally, 'Isn’t Anything' closes with a relaxed ‘I Can See It (But I Cant’ Feel It)’ with an extended catchy chorus of ‘ooo-oos’ sung in harmony. Referred to as Shoegaze, lo-fi, dream pop, I feel obliged to add a new category: spectral rock (and, there is definitely enough rock to lift My Bloody Valentine out of the pop category.) After all, a ghost often seemingly appears as 'Isn’t Anything.' But there is most certainly something there, regardless, for those properly attuned.

The bridge between Britpop and true shoegaze, this LP sees MBV wading into a prototype of the glide guitar style that would come to define an entire subgenre. Altered/eery melodies and song structures complement the style well, giving this album a somewhat menacingly ethereal feel. Not every track lands (the band can’t write a dynamic arrangement to save their life, meaning a few songs drag on), but the visceral creativity and knowledge of what comes next makes this LP a notable one.

I’ve listened to Loveless many times and think it’s great, but I can’t recall ever listening to MBV’s debut. I also think it’s great, perhaps a little less explosive-ear-candy than Loveless, but it’s a fantastic sounding record that is probably best suited for listening on vinyl with great headphones or a killer sound system. Unfortunately I listened on Spotify; it still sounds great but left me wanting a high fidelity listening experience. I’ll be sure to make that happen in the future, and I did my best to rate it based on what I’d think if I had it ready to listen in high fidelity. The wall of guitars on Loveless is here as well, maybe in a more primitive state. The drums are high in the mix and are effective at punctuating the arrangements throughout. I can’t make out a single lyric, which bothers some people but to me it makes the music more ethereal and mysterious.

Loveless and MBV are both perfect masterpieces. This one…not so much.

Thank you for inventing shoegaze. Nice to listen in Oct.

My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything {worth listening to}

I tried, I really did, but it was fucking awful. They didn't sound very competent on their instruments at all, and vocally it was like someone mumbling through their sleeve. I have a strong feeling this is entirely the sound they are going for - and if it is, they absolutely nailed it - but it's got no musical merit in my world.

soft as snow (but warm inside) - 6/10 lose my breath - 7/10 cupid come - 7/10 (when you wake) you're still on a dream - 8/10 no more sorry - 10/10 all i need - 9/10 feed me with your kiss - 10/10 sueisfine - 10/10 several girls galore - 10/10 you never should - 10/10 nothing much to lose - 10/10 i can see it (but i can't feel it) - 10/10

MBV MBV MBV: I swear to god I am going to sacrifice my past self for slandering Loveless and do mbv the justice they deserve. This is the debut album of the shoegaze band and lord this was amazing. I thought I hated the sound but the satisfying guitar chords paired with that aura that makes you just zone out from life and have the illusion you are watching everything go past with no sense of time, an existential crisis in an album. From the start with the odd acoustic guitar sections but then going into the beautiful wall of sound. This album is a high four but just for the band, it's a five.

Cracking stuff, a cocktail of angst and daze.

Before this, I was 95% sure mbv were Scottish - which would have given them 6 stars! The vocals are buried in the mix, the guitars are messed up and distorted, the bass is (often) fuzzy and almost out of time; but it all works flawlessly

Classic MBV album. OK, Loveless is a bit better, while Isn't Anything is perhaps a bit more accessible. Both albums have a great sound and are very melodic, but it might take a while before one discovers the melodies. They're definitely not suited for the tight 1-album-per-day regime of the 1001albums generator, and due to this surely have a much lower rating than they should have.

Very underrated compared to its sequel, and I may actually prefer it. Melodies less suffocated so easier to pick apart. More lo-fi too which has its charms. Dig how lyrically they link the physical with divinely precious emotions.

Being a huga fan of Loveless which is one of my favorite albums ever, I was pleasantly surprised by how abrasive and noisy this album was. THe melodies and heavy guitar riffs really sold me throughout the album. I also love how easily listening the vocals are on this album in compared to other works. Great lyrics as well which was a plus and expected. Overall easy 9/10

My bloody favourites, to be played as loud as your ears can take.

Great album, not Loveless but still amazing.

The debut LP from my favourite facemelters. The perfect balance between experimentation and headnodding catchiness, what’s not to love?

5 stars for cupid cone if I’m being honest.

One of my favourite records! It has a bit more raw energy then loveless and I always liked it a bit more.

my bloody valentine's tracks seem to always be there for your life's worst moments. if you're remotely moody in any way, mbv's pure auditory sludge rock will be a light in a pillar of darkness. with incredibly hazy and mindboggling tracks, this debut album from the group is a treat to listen to. some of the production techniques, and notably some of the tricks with the guitars make this album really stand out, especially for the time. good lord.

i loooove mbv, this album is dreamy & was especially nice to listen to on the first day of fall

"Isn't Anything" is the debut album by Irish-English band My Bloody Valentine. It is considered a pioneering work in the shoegaze genre. Original vocalist Dave Conway left the band and was replaced by vocalist and guitarist Belinda Butcher. Other band members included Kevin Shields (vocalist, guitarist), Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums) and Deb Googe (bass). The album reached #1 on the UK Independent charts and received rave critical reviews. "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)" starts it off with fast drums sounding like bullets and a buzzsaw distorted guitar. I'd guess Shields is singing about sex. The band goes with a straight-forward rock approach in "(When You Wake) You're Still a Dream." The drums are still fast and the guitar still distorted. The band really amps it up on the single "Feed Me With Kiss." Butcher and Shield on dual lead vocals. The vocals are buried with a wall of guitar sounds and drums. This song really reminded me of Sonic Youth in the "Goo" era and timewise this MBV album was prior. By "Sueisfine,"the band is on fire. It's another straight-forward rock song with dual lead vocals. The machine-like drums are even faster. The band used acoustic guitars on some earlier songs and they bring them back for the closer "I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)." But, of course, there's distorted guitars in the background. This is a great album. It reminded me a lot of Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. Incredibly, they would take a great leap forward on their next album leaving no remnants of comparisons to other bands. However, on this album, there are acoustic guitars and some straight rock songs. A few dreamy ones too. The music and the band seem to intensify as the album progresses. A high recommendation.

Lika bra som loveless

Jammed full of ideas and sounds and textures. Sounds like discovery

My bloody madeleine. Just a small taste of those layers of guitar, and it's instant time travel. How they manage to make a sound so perfectly happy and sad and elusive is magic. This and Loveless are unparalleled.

Need to listen to this one again; haven't since high school

for folks that loved this, loveless is generally regarded as their best album. this album is such a beautiful entry into the shoegaze genre with some minor hiccups in production quality.

I have only listened to loveless by mbv, but if I didn't know better I would have guess that this was an early slowdive album. A lot of people here are complaining about this having too much distortion. I am surprised it didn't have more, this album was a lot closer to the dreamy side of shoegaze than I expected. Anyways this album is great. I am definitely going to need to give this a couple more listens to fully appreciate it. I may be insane but I may like this album more than loveless

This is old school post-punk and goth, and i fucking love it. this band has so much history and influence on so many genres, and their music is so amazing. Right along there with the smiths, I rate this band in the highest regards for their music. on this album, "Sueisfine", "Nothing Much to Lose" and "Cupid Come" are easily the best tracks on the album.

I really love shoegaze so how can I not give this album a 5? I still haven't heard a band that really does what MBV does. This is a lot more lofi and raw than Loveless but the songs and energy are just as vital.

Absolutely gorgeous, I love MBV's style so much!

una vaina así iqqqq pre-shoegaze 🥶🥶🥶🔥. High 9/10.

Everyone (rightfully) hypes up Loveless, but this album also deserves heaps and heaps of praise. Less shoegaze than what came after, it's really fun to see MBV in more of a traditional indie rock sphere. The AA cut of this vinyl is simply incredible as well.

One o’ da best fuggin bands of all time. Precursor to the greatest ‘bum of the 90s

I love this too. The guitars sound amazing. No idea why I haven't checked this out before.

A good listen. Maybe not as defining as Loveless but it's still in my re-listen list.

My Bloody Valentine's "Isn't Anything" is nothing short of a groundbreaking masterpiece that shattered the boundaries of conventional rock music upon its release in 1988. This album stands as a landmark moment in the evolution of alternative and shoegaze music, pushing the boundaries of sound and production to create a transcendent sonic experience. From the very first track, "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)," the listener is thrust into a swirling whirlwind of soundscapes that defy traditional song structures. The dreamy, ethereal vocals of Bilinda Butcher blend seamlessly with the dense, swirling layers of Kevin Shields' guitar work, creating a lush and hypnotic sonic landscape that is both captivating and immersive. "Lose My Breath" and "No More Sorry" showcase the band's ability to craft irresistible pop melodies within a wall of noise, making for an exhilarating and emotionally charged listening experience. One of the standout tracks on the album, "Feed Me with Your Kiss," encapsulates the essence of "Isn't Anything." The song's relentless, distorted guitar riffs and whispered vocals create an atmosphere of raw sensuality and sonic chaos, drawing the listener deeper into the album's mesmerizing vortex. The production on "Isn't Anything" is as much a part of the album's magic as the music itself. Kevin Shields, along with co-producer Colm Ó Cíosóig, pushed the boundaries of studio recording techniques, utilizing layers of feedback, tremolo, and reverb to create a dense and immersive sonic palette. This production approach was pioneering for its time and has had a profound influence on countless bands and producers in the years that followed. While "Isn't Anything" may be known for its sonic experimentation, it also features moments of introspection and vulnerability. Tracks like "All I Need" and "Several Girls Galore" showcase the band's ability to balance the dreamy with the intimate, adding depth and emotional resonance to the album. My Bloody Valentine's "Isn't Anything" is an album that demands to be experienced rather than just heard. It's a sonic journey that takes the listener to otherworldly realms, challenging the boundaries of what music can be. More than three decades after its release, it remains a timeless and influential work of art that continues to inspire and captivate both musicians and fans alike. If you haven't experienced the transcendent beauty and raw power of "Isn't Anything," it's high time you did.

The kings of shoegaze. I forgot just how good this is. I tend to jump straight to Loveless when listening to MBV and it has been years since I last listened to this, but it still stands the test of time. Fuzzy, experimental, noisey, it’s the perfect introduction to shoegaze / dream rock / whatever you want to call it. And it leads perfectly to Loveless - you can hear where the ideas are formed and then they really just run with it. Soft as snow / feed me with a kiss / you never should / several girls galore are my highlights, but really it’s all great

MBV never had a bad album. Their first LP shows signs of their post-punk origins., with clear(er) vocals and an aggressive take on their noise like Sonic Youth, yet still takes the dreamy poppy elements established by Jesus & the Mary Chain. It's warm and employs clever use of the wall of sound that very little other artists could attain to such expertise and with so much experimentation (done right). 12 songs and they all stand out. It's a consistent sound, but yet there's always something peculiar going on that intrigues me and grabs my attention. Starts very strong with some slow catchy songs that give you a good taste of what they're capable of while being ear worms driving you further into the album. The next 3 songs show their more ethereal side, really cranking up the distortion. The second half goes on the opposite end of the spectrum with full-on punk, which they would abandon by Loveless. Which I can understand, considering that although they were all good, I was not as impressed as the first half. "I Can See It" is a nostalgic and satisfying closer. Loveless is on another realm of an art form. But for a record that had an outstanding influence on the shoegazing genre, it's everything I could ask for.

IA can’t help but sound like warm-up for Loveless, which is fine. That’s still one of the all-time seminal albums, and it makes sense that it overshadows everything else they’ve done. This is still a perfectly fine album, but it’s not the one I come back to. B

Una de les bandes que sí va saber portar el soroll i l'experimentació a bon terme. Els seus primers dos discos són imprescindibles. L'estrena, 'Isn't Anything' va obrir el camí al shoegaze i a bona part del rock alternatiu dels 90

The album that launched a hundred bands.

Hmm... Pretty good :) Rating: 7/10

I'm definitely going to want to spend more time with this one. There's a wide variety of sounds on here and I have a feeling that some of these songs won't fully reveal themselves until a few listens in. A lot of tracks bury their melodies under heaps of reverb and fuzz, like "No More Sorry," which has a sad, Beatles-esque melody underneath layers of effects and noise. I've heard about My Bloody Valentine for a long time and now I see why. I can hear 1,000 indie artists from the last 20 years in these songs. They've clearly had a huge influence on a lot of bands. Highlights: "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)," "Feed Me With Your Kiss," "Nothing Much to Lose" (those machine gun drums are wild!)

This album really grew on me. I didn't like track 1 at all at first, but track 2 hooked me and the rest of the album clicked too. It always takes me awhile to get into some of these shoegaze bands (Medicine is still a group that I'm kind of bipolar on), but overall I liked this album a lot.

A very nice surprise from a rock/shoegaze album. Very strong track listing with the more discordant and/or noisy sections being the strongest. 8/10, pretty good

A full tick below mbv and perhaps a few below Loveless (few records aren't), but it's still very good and interesting, if quite ragged and uneven – a band developing in real time and with more than few rough edges, it seems fair to say. "All I Need" and "Several Girls Galore" and most resonantly point to the future. "Nothing Much to Lose" suggests how they could have been a pretty decent conventional indie rock band. Best song "I Can See" was saved for last.

A turning point in Shoegaze history, combining elements of post-punk, dream pop, and noise rock to create a unique and mesmerizing sound. ”Isn’t Anything” show a lot of the elements that three years later would be perfected and become the band’s masterpiece in ”Loveless”. The defining feature of "Isn't Anything" is the band's use of distortion and feedback as an instrument in itself. The layers of guitar fuzz and the swirling sonic textures create a hypnotic and otherworldly atmosphere, immersing you in a sonic cocoon that is both beautiful and unsettling. This is exemplified in "Cupid Come", a hauntingly beautiful ballad that builds to a wall of sound. "Feed Me With Your Kiss" is another big highlight, a driving and intense track that features some of the band's most powerful guitar work. Also he album's closing track, "You Made Me Realise," featuring an extended outro that devolves into a cacophony of noise and exhilarating feedback. The vocal sets and arrangments were not as crisp as on their later works but nothing that disrupts the quality too much. It’s My Bloody Valentine’s least celebrated album, but it deserves it’s flowers for it’s revolutionary brick-laying approach.

Really enjoyed listening to this one. I can totally see how this album could have been an influence for a ton of other stuff (thinking of Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana). My singular complaint is that the production quality is pretty shit/fuzzy (probably on purpose but I hate it) which definitely made me enjoy less. I think it would be a 5 if the recording was a little more clear, though Lose My Breath almost carried it for me.

Two shoegaze classics in a row for me, this one has a punkier edge, shorter songs and spikier, but still a great wall of noise.

Pretty good noise rock album. Especially in the second half it get a bit too noisy and dissonant for me, and there are a few song with pretty awful vocals. I slightly preferred this over Loveless, so I'll give four stars.

This is a solid debut from mbv. I've been a fan of there's for a long time now but definitely have spent more time listening to Loveless as that's really where they hit a peak. It was good dedicating some time listening to their first album again, as I don't remember the last time I listened to it in full. Going with a 4, just because they get even better as time goes on and this doesn't quite hit the high point that is Loveless. Standout Tracks: Cupid Come, (When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream, Sueisfine, Several Girls Galore, You Never Should, I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)

More than halfway through this project, and easily my lowest rated genre is "shoegaze". Once I saw that this is a "seminal shoegaze album" I was truly ready to hate it. Imagine my surprise when I not only kind of liked it, but I started to vibe with it hard! I just floated on the fuzz and didn't want it to end.

This was an interesting one. Every song blended in to each other, and usually that's a sign that it's a boring album to me. However I don't think that was the case with this one. It's a long winter and it's taking its toll on me mentally, and I think this long droning album was a way to just dissociate for a while. I never felt like I was trying to ignore the music though, it was just a nice background music for a not-so-great mental state. Felt insanely ahead of its time too - you could have told me it came out last week and I would have believed you. I don't think it would have resonated with me so well if I was feeling okay though. Favourite: Lose My Breath

Something feels a little unfinished here, but not bad by any means, just a little too rough for a 5.

o ápice ainda estava por vir

All time for many, just shy for me. There's a palpable difference in energy here compared to their seminal follow-up Loveless; the post-punk and no-wave influences are clear as day. I flat-out don't enjoy "Sueisfine." The songs don't venture past 4min except once, which matters to me when the layering of guitars evokes a dreamlike atmosphere for one to reside in. But ultimately, these are minor nitpicks. Still near-perfection.

Étonnamment écoutable. Voire accrocheur, comme sur (when you wake up) you're still in a dream. Je pensais vraiment affronter un mur de bruit incompréhensible, et c'est en fait assez accessible sur beaucoup de titres, et le résultat global est très cool.

Not as good as Loveless, but still has some very cool sounds and weirdness. Like walking through an icy wood at dusk.

How does one define "calm before the storm" when the storm is already amongst us? After years of false starts, the crown jewel of the shoegaze genre finally found its footing and began the mythologization process with this monumental debut album. Sure it bookends perhaps one of the most important albums of its era but that doesn't mean it is devoid of memorable songs: Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside) is an effective opener, Lose My Breath beckons Bilinda Butcher's ever ethereal call and Feed Me With Your Kiss blasts through with the kind of intensity that one wished lasted longer. All in all, Isn't Anything remains effective as a listening experience nearly thirty-five years on and is a perfect introduction to the most important band in shoegaze. Favorites: Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside), Lose My Breath, Cupid Come, (When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream, Feed Me With Your Kiss, Sueisfine, Several Girls Galore, Nothing Much to Lose, I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It).

It's interesting! I respect the experimentation.

This one really grew on me. I was ready to give it a 2 after the first song but it hooked me by track 3 with some of the punkier stuff. I’m still not totally sold on the sonic schmear that is shoegaze, but I think I get it now. Big broad brush strokes. I wish the vocals were higher in the mix but I know that’s their thing. Looking forward to digging into this more.

Very grating in places, and Kevin Shields can't sing, and it lacks the punch of Loveless. But it's still MBV and it's still head and shoulders above everything else at the time.

The album they made after is on of the best ever, you can hear the sound starting to come together here

Rebellious and mellow at the same time. A great cacophonous experience.

Did not like the first song (Soft As Snow). But the rest are pretty good

HL: “You Never Should”, “Lose My Breath”, “All I Need”, “I Can’t See It” A while ago on Audacity, I played around with audio files and applied this effect called “Paulstretch”, where simple musical phrases would be blown out & stretched beyond recognition. That kinda gave me the same feeling shoegaze/MBV does. As I get into ‘23, time to acknowledge I do enjoy shoegaze quite a bit, though the indistinct, often abrasive effects can stress me out as often as they evoke a dreamlike atmosphere. Isn’t Anything doesn’t have as many layers as Loveless, but there’s moments of that peaceful/stressful feeling in tracks like “All I Need”, as well as more straightforward altrock in “Cupid Come”. January 6, 2023

i listen to PUBLIC ENEMY INSTEAD!

An old favourite of mine

Evo neki dan (21/11/22) je bila 34. godišnjica ovog albuma. Nekako ih ovdje najbolje razumijem nego inače. Volim noise pop, kad taj zvuk kao neke mašine probija kroz tvoje uho, ne sad baš probija, meni više prija. I onako lijep glas plus instrumental zajedno sa tim šredanjem, ne znam. Zna jako pasati, izaziva tu neku toplinu, ngl.

In line and time with what the Pixies were up to by the sound of it. Lots more fuzz and noise though. Feed Me With Your Kiss is sick tune. Nothing Much To Lose also a good one. 50 points for the all lowercase band name.

I’ve never enjoyed white noise this much in my life

Recognized the band name from my emo days in high school but never listened to them before. I love this pop-rock sound.

notes - debut album - i reviewed loveless a little while back - this album is like the younger, rockier version - lots of good ideas and concepts not executed to the same level - i think the strong songs on here are actually stronger than those on loveless - but the low points are lower - i really like kevins lower register vocals, shame they stopped doing them fav - when you wake youre still in a dream - love the chords and energy least fav - soft as snow but warm inside - take this song out and the album is muuuuch stronger 4/5

Je suis relativement nouveau à My Bloody Valentine. J’aime beaucoup ce premier album. Je connaissais seulement Only Shallow de l’album Loveless. Les textures des guitares sont superbes. Le petit côté dissonant en trame de fond me plaît beaucoup. Je vais définitivement revenir régulièrement à cet album.

pretty catchy, and I'd never listened to them before

Solid shoegaze record

Interesting almost lofi-shoegaze-y stuff. Kind of fun to listen to their earliest work, definitely pioneering for 1988 for sure. Not all of them do a ton for me but I respect the album as a whole.

Beginning of shoegaze, but will pales in comparison to Loveless. Sill great though

I love mbv but I've only really ever listened to Loveless. This was definitely a more raw version of their sound but I found it to be a little more dynamic and interesting. There was more open space in the songs and the production made the instruments feel like they were alive! As if every track were breathing in and out. Truly incredible work, though not as polished as Loveless you can really see the foundation of the sound they would come to master on later releases.

really enjoyed some of the songs. the rest was alright

"Isn't Anything" is a highly impactful debut where mbv (Shields & co.) were in the process of molding lo-fi indie into what would become shoegaze. The result is more straightforward and bare than "Loveless", but it's still am incredibly earnest record with Shields' trademark ethereal melodies. It's a great ride but still a notch below what was yet to come.

Very enjoyable. Thank you.

Loveless is one of my favorite albums and anytime I listen to MBV I listen to that one. Always need to remind myself they got another pretty great album too.

There's something quite mesmerising about this album. It still sounds fresh and quite revolutionary as it must have done at the time. And whilst the accusation could be levelled that it is a little repetitive, there is something fascinating about the sound that has been crafted.

I'm guessing a lot of people hate this one, and honestly? That's fair. But I'd already heard albums like Vile Child by Milk Teeth and bands like Death Grips. I've heard weird, vaguely unsettling instrumentation and songs where voices get lost in a cacophony of slightly off-key, distorted noise. And I genuinely find it interesting. It feels like a commentary on the messiness of relationships. This sort of music is a tribute to people trying their best, to wandering paths, to moving forward despite uncertainty and confusion and pain. Can I understand the lyrics? Not really. Is that stopping me from enjoying it? Not at all. I'm not much of a lyrics person. I also find the melodies and chords quite soothing. This is really good background music. You can kind of just float along like you're in a dream. Oddly enough, the more I listen, the more I feel like paying too much attention to this music does it a disservice. It's not really meant to be logical or consistent. If I scrabble for handholds, I may come up empty-handed. But if I let the music come to me without expecting anything from it, it works. But when I take the time to focus on it, I have to wonder - how'd they do it? What were they DOING to get such a cavernous, reverberating...cloud of sound? Half the time you can't even tell what instrument it is. That's kind of amazing. Sound editing is an art. Whatever this is, I'm fascinated. It makes me feel like I'm falling into a bottomless pit full of dense, sunset-colored fog. I don't know what's going on here. But it's cool.

Incredibly cool album. 8/10

this album was a slow burn for me, didn’t like it at the beginning but was rly vibing at the end