Loveless

Decent

how strange for the stars to have such detractors

# Album Name: Loveless # Artist: MBV # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Honestly, MBV can fuck right off back to the hole they came from. WTF is this genre. Absolutely junk im telling you. Most of it in barely audible (i know i know its etheral or whatever). I always thought highly of alan mcgee, not so sure now haha. # Top Tunes: None # Would I listen to it again? No

i hope this is as good as people act like it is way better than their debut. shoegaze is such a good genre, i pity those who don't like it.

Peak shoegaze.

I just love "Loveless" so much. It's one of my top 100 albums. Half of "Loveless" is simply flawless. It's safe to say that this album is significantly better than the previous one I reviewed. Two fantastic albums in one week, lucky me. 5 stars for "Loveless".

Fin

Shoegaze at its finest. Layers of different guitar textures, ethereal vocals both a male and female singer. Fantastic album.

Getting buried in all that pink guitar noise, layers on layers of fuzz and shit.

No. Just No.

This album doesn't even feel real. The guitar effects are just massive and so cool. The song underneath the noise is good too

banger

they have better projects

Need a colonoscopy? Yeah? Do that instead of listening to this

It was interesting- had a cool 90’s sound but no emotional connection for me

This gets better over time. “sometimes” ♥️

Bloody Brilliant

Like hearing Mellon Collie for the first time. Need at least three more playbacks to pick up my feelings...

Beautiful

Highs and lows

❣️❣️❣️

I couldn’t get into this at all. For me it was too jarringly discordant and the vocals were muffled and quiet. Not my jam at all.

There’s good music buried somewhere beneath the annoying drone. This is just slightly better than their other one.

Jedna od najvažnijih ploća zadnjih četrdeset godina. Potpuno je promijenila pojam toga što je gitara

never heard any of their music and didn't particularly enjoy it. weird shoe-gazy and not my thing.

Day 59 First listen- I only knew the track when you sleep. Loved the ambiance created by each song and the guitar work. I couldn't understand the singing so was unable to analyse the lyrics while listening. Instrumentally it is very lush and love the vocal layering. (3.5/5)

Strong album with a terrific arc.

Wanted to like it, but just kept feeling like “Smashing Pumpkins” light.

Jobbigt ljud, går inte att lyssna på. Ångest. Unikt. + when you sleep

I was surprised by this album. Two days ago, I got my bloody valentine’s m b v, and I did not like that record very much, so when I got this album, I was kind of dreading listening to it. I ended up really liking it. I think the noise elements are pretty interesting sonically. Some of the songs feel like they drag a bit, but that doesn’t come up too much. I still don’t like the fact that so much of the vocals are whispered and they’re still mixed very quietly when they aren’t, but on the whole it felt like there was more to sink my teeth into on this album than on m b v. 4/5

Shoegaze from the source. Heavy, rhythmic fuzz driving the melodies. The vocal mix is quiet, it sits underneath the fuzz-fueled guitar rhythm. The album is really enjoyable to listen to straight through, each songs blends naturally into the next. Favorites include Only Shallow, Loomer, When You Sleep, I Only Said, Come In Alone, Sometimes, What You Want, Soon. Enjoyable listen.

Not my jam

I’ve never looked at my shoes this much

Who knew that and album that is absolutely filled with loud, distorted, fuzzy guitar sounds with soft spoken lyrics you can barely hear or understand can be some of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.

epic

I saw shoegazing in the album description and thought this is going to be an awful 1 hour listening experience. Was pleasantly surprised. A very solid album.

Masterpiece!

Listened before. Great album musically, lyrics are fairly indecipherable.

Shoe gaze at its apex. A timeless classic that has no match.

Experimenting with guitar vibrato, nonstandard tunings, digital samplers, and meticulous production methods .... and it shows. Horrible time listening to this. No fun at all.

Know this one well already. Love it.

Sonically, it’s vast, creative, and interesting. Gearheads are surely getting lost in this one. From the perspective of listenability, I’m not sure how many times I’m coming back - certainly not earwormy.

Loveless? Unloveable!

Bueno

2.4

Some good songs but just gets boring as an album for me. I just don’t quite get shoegaze

A lot to like. Crossover point between Primal Scream and Cocteaus. Should have been a 4AD band.

3/5

Boring and repetitive is the kindest thing I can say about that...

A bit weird, seems like a collection of random songs, but fine

One of my favorite albums of all time. Had the pleasure of watching MBV play it live a while back. Transcendent.

'Loveless' feels like the soundtrack to a dream—or a nightmare—directed by David Lynch. It’s a wall of distortion, noise, and chaotic textures that might leave first-time listeners asking, “What the fuck did I just listen to?” And yet, there’s something hypnotic about it. While I didn’t love it outright, I also didn’t hate it; instead, I found myself strangely compelled to keep listening. Shoegaze—or noise rock—might not always be my mood, but when it hits, Loveless is a strangely mesmerizing trip.

This was just not good at all. Most of the time you can't even hear the song underneath the annoying cacophony of over-loud droning guitar effects that are on repeat. I not sure how you listen to the playback on this and go "Yeah, that's it!" A version of this without all the over the top distortion and reverb would be much more enjoyable. For me, it's just unsettling pure garbage front to back.

Really like this alternative grunge shit. The light vocals really compliment the energy without taking the focus off the experience of hearing just the instrumentals which are fire.

noise pop? ambient indie? tedious boring and pretentious?

only shallow - неймовірна пісня Дуже круті програші між куплетами як в soon, i only said та when you sleep Загалом дуже багато класних пісень, а не просто накручений саунд.

This album was a lot better than m b v, which I slogged through last year. Maybe it’s just the era this one came out in, but it gave me some strong Smashing Pumpkins vibes at times. The guitars and keyboards are thick and layered, and they carry most of the weight here. I guess that’s the point, since the backing music feels like it’s meant to be the main focus instead of the vocals. The problem is the lyrics are basically impossible to hear. They’re buried so deep in the mix that they may as well not exist. If that’s your thing, cool, but for me it gets frustrating. I like a good wall of sound, but not when it completely steamrolls everything else. Still, I have to give credit where it’s due. The atmosphere is strong, and the band definitely nailed a unique sound. It’s not something I’d listen to on repeat, but compared to m b v, this one was a much easier ride. Favorite song: Only Shallow

2/5 Best Track - "When You Sleep"

influential, yes. listenable? not really

POV: You’re listening to beautiful music on a construction site

It's cool that this album exists so that many a hapless guitarist can daydream about what pedalboard configuration will allow them to recreate that one swoon on "When You Sleep" while they waste hours at unfulfilling office jobs or socializing with people who are not guitars.

A hypnotic swirl of squealing loops, sugar-kissed melodies, indecipherable lyrics, layered feedback and crushing, delirious riffs, nothing sounded like Loveless before or since. Also, an outlier among albums that resulted from exorbitant studio outlays and mixing board wizardry. Along with Isn’t Anything, this album played a leading role in my tinnitus, which developed during my years running with an iPod and those damned earbuds.

So sure, it sounds a little tinny on computer speakers but I saw this band play Loveless live WHILE ON FUCKING MUSHROOMS and let me tell you, man, this music exists in fifteen goddamn dimensions. Did I mention that my boss calling me through the entire show over some work shit I had messed up and they wanted fixed that night? Fucking love airplane mode, I was soaring and MBV was right there with me.

Belongs on the list for sure due to influencing shoegaze music. But is it any fun to listen to? I never got into them when they were new, now, I can appreciate it as background, but still not my thing.

A band that's always been on my periphery and reminds me that I really need to get the "Lost in Translation" soundtrack one of these days. I guess this is shoegaze? But I always lumped it into that '90s drone' thing. Which I do love. A sound Smashing Pumpkins took and ran with it and made it a bit more palatable to the masses. Alas, I have to downgrade this because I'm finding it really hard to listen to due to the 'tape wow' effect that permeates this entire album. It sounds like I'm listening to a shitty turntable that can't keep pitch. I know that shouldn't bother me and is intentional but...It really really bothers me! Sorry MBV! 4 star music but only gets 2 due to the pitch wavering.

Very surprised by this album. The distortion and fuzz effects come through in a very palatable way that does a great job of invoking a strong melancholy feel throughout. There being some even almost mainstream songs also helps balance out the more free form ones, and there's a lot to enjoy regardless of one's predisposition towards shoegaze. A high quality listen

Shoegazing - kannte ich vorher auch noch nicht als Musikrichtung. Gittarrensound mit seichten Stimmen dazu. Ist durchaus hörbar. 3/5

At times indistinguishable from a tape deck eating a cassette.

Fine enough. I liked it more than thier last album but it was nothing special. not bad though

I enjoyed this one a little bit more then the last MBV album. There were a few songs I could listen too. But it's too depressing for me

Considered the best shoegaze album, and for good reason. I always underestimate this one. The atmosphere it creates is so powerful. Probably one of the best examples of how to use drone. I really debated going with a 4 for this album, but honestly I come back to this record at least once a year, and love it each time, so its gonna get a 5. Honestly though, kinda wish I could rate it 9/10.

Very well done! The vocals give it a sort of haunting feeling.

Iconic and trailblazing. MBV paved the way for some of my favorite bands. Shoegaze royalty. Although I wish the production was a little more consistent, still an amazing album.

I actually liked this much more than I anticipated. Fun album

Oh let's go this is so good, might be the best album that's come up yet

Rating: 7/10 There is a beauty in all of this noise but god damn is it a lot of noise though.

*1991 - Irish-English rock. *I'm not sure what I thought MBV was like, but this is not it. *Not a fan. RATING - 5/10

As far as noise bands go, this one gets closest to music.

I was excited for this one. m b v was generated for me a few weeks ago. It peeked my interest but felt lacking overall. This 1991 album is supposed to be there best and I whole heartedly agree. Art is always subjective and I can't always predict what will trigger a strong response in me. In general, I tend to love art that is either bloated and sloppy or pristine in its minimalism. This album manages to be both at once. The ostinantos and waves guitar sound become a wash of color where melody and harmony paint in monochrome across it. It's the subtly the does it for me. I'm not sure how often I'll come back to this but certainly enjoyed it.

Sperimentale e curioso, ma non per me

Bad

I really didn’t enjoy this. It feels like just noise. Truly.

I just couldn’t get on with this album :/

I think I'm too old to enjoy noise rock. I just couldn't get into this album, at all.

The guitars are definitely awesome, and for a shoegaze record it’s really upbeat. At least from what I’m normally used to. Felt like the album flew by. While no particular song stood out, I was so entranced by the guitar work

It’s a load of noise. It’s good noise, and at some points it’s great noise, but I can imagine this not being a lot of people’s cup of tea. 2.5 stars.

Really interesting. Completely new to me, but I want to hear more

Good

Droning tuneless noise. Bleh.

Indi pop. Not my thing. Too much electronica

I don't think this *quite* reached a 4 for me, but it is a pretty strong 3.

Start of grunge but not really as impactful.

More like My Bloody Eardrums! Ok, it wasn't that bad... but it was close. Though I am sure that there is some real intentional musical craftsmanship here, I don't get it. It sounds interesting at times, and it isn't always unpleasant, I just couldn't embrace it.

The singer/s sound quite annoyed when singing. Hard to sway me like that

This album is not as amazing as critics say it is. There’s maybe 3 great songs but it gets old fast. All the songs have the same vibe and rarely do they stand out from each other.

Really soft and melodic I liked it

i listened to loveless 3 times all the way through today and i’m finding myself really hard-pressed to say anything about it. it’s an album. i didn’t feel strongly about it, positive or negative. the cover is very pink - the album name is nearly swallowed in the stormy pinkness. they go to town on the pedals.

One big experimental mess ... but i liked it. Wasn't into it the entire time but there were some highlights. 6/10 fav songs : touched & when you sleep

Ho hum. It was OK but what was the point.

Sort of a hazy cloud of layered noise. More atmosphere than anything else. I didn't mind it. I think repeated listens would reveal more, but I'm on to the next album already.

Maybe groundbreaking guitar techniques, and I can see it creating a soundscape (I guess this is "shoegaze") but not one I see myself spending time in often. As one reviewer said: "The warped music is a cool idea and I recommend the album – but not on the basis of the singing or the songs."

Ethereal and not something I would normally listen to...but I enjoyed it.

Cool album.

Playing catch up so listening to all 3 MBV albums together. I'm partial to a bit of shoe gaze/ noise distortion and feedback. Gold standard for me is J&MC as they deliver the above along with great tunes and vocals that capture the emotion of the songs. Whilst MBV have some good tunes they are vocally pretty weak - with the vocals washed out and placed low in the mix and as a result I struggle to form connection with the songs. MBV is the worst offender and is by far the weakest of the 3 albums with no notable tracks so scores a 2. Isn't Anything the debut is bit more punkier/rougher and I think would have been fun to see live - scores a 3. Loveless is the best of the lot - with the most polished and accessible songs and strongest vocals.

Loveless Isn’t Anything had some nice moments and some good songs, but nothing as great as Only Shallow, When You Sleep, I Only Said, Come In Alone, Sometimes or Soon, all fantastic noise-shoegaze-rock, with great hooks, rhythms and fuzzy atmospheres. This definitely feels like a tightening up and improvement on the Isn’t Anything template, and for all its loose wooziness its an extremely tightly constructed record. It’s densely layered but also to the point and direct, and the overdriven fug has much less of the wooliness or meandering noise of Isn’t Anything. Not all the songs quite reach the heights of those songs, the run of Loomer, Touched and To Here Knows When in particular miss some of the queasy magic and pop hooks of the songs above, but they do contribute to the overall hypnagogic atmosphere, alternatively adding some sharp edges and further dreamlike tones to the overall feel of the album. A great album with moments of beauty and hypnotic grace, as well as some pleasingly abrasive textures, another one of those albums that you can let wash over you, or you can concentrate on and pick out particular sounds and movements. It’s probably the best of this type of art-shoegaze-drone-noise rock, making it an easy 4. 🩸💌🩸💌 Playlist submission: I Only Said

This album seems to have dispensed with the proto-punk lo-fi guitar chaos which appeared at points on 'Isn't Anything', and expands their ambient sound. Not only have they focused on the dreamlike tones, but they've mixed it a lot better, whilst still retaining the signature washed out feel. The album closes out with 'soon', which brings in more of a prominent drumbeat. It's very Happy Mondays, in that it seems to capture an acid house danceable vibe. I also wonder if Shields took anything from Johnny Marr (the How Soon is now sound for instance). It showed another way for guitar music. Excellent.

2.5 stars. Coulda been 3, but it's a little bit annoying. Don't really want to hear this album again - noise :( . Feels like noise to create dissonance though, not just noise for making noise. We'll see... - Everything is just so distorted, it's like listening through a layer of sonic fog. Disorienting - I appreciate the noise as part of the art. But it still makes the music REALLY annoying - Yeahhh I like it more when it's not so noisy. I don't mind the distortion as much. That said, it's kinda just 90s rock so.... yawn

This is what happens when the audio plug isn’t fully inserted during recording. The vocals are nearly inaudible, and the instrumentals are so distorted that it feels like you’re listening through a wall.

i didn’t mind the fuzzy sound but all the songs sounded the same to me and it got a bit boring after the first couple of songs

When Brian Eno calls one of your songs the sound of the future, then you know it's good. What more can be said of Loveless? It's the most important album of shoegaze and has influenced hundreds, maybe thousands, of bands. It's still fresh even after 30 years. One of the best albums ever.

Pretty wild, but this is one of my five star pics. Didn’t expect to love the album so much, if you “low points“, but I very thoroughly enjoyed the vibe of it. I feel like it’s easy because you just listen to the music All the way through and appreciate it, than the albums done. Not a lot of music to do that.

I’ve always had a deep love for shoegaze - there’s something about being wrapped in that dreamy, moody swirl of sound that just feels cozy. It’s like a sonic smoothie: effortless, a little hazy, yet still rich and lush. This genre really shaped so much of my early musical taste and this album was one that likely made an impact both on me and much of what I came to love. Wild to think how one distinct style can ripple out and influence an entire universe of sound.

Iconic and singular. From when I heard the first strums of "Off Your Face" from the Glider EP, on a mixtape made for me by my best friend in high school, I was hooked on MBV—and most of the shoegaze genre in general—for the rest of my life. This band had no aesthetic predecessors, so the idiosyncratic, unpredictable, and flat-out messy way they made their music in large part accounts for its uniqueness. I've read Shields has a reputation for being unbelievably difficult to work with due to his perfectionism and methods. When I consider that the man is practically inventing an entire genre of music, however, I'll say it could be justified (maybe). I know, the "price of genius" narratives are yawn-inducing for sure, but tell me they don't apply here. Maybe I'm wrong, but the legacy of this collection of songs does speak for itself. Also, I don't have to like a person to like their art. "Only Shallow" is an absolute avalanche of a way to open an album. What a statement. A couple of of the tracks here feel like sketches more than songs, but it's alright coz this is another example of a record best listened front to back as an immersive experience. "When You Sleep" and "I Only Said" are modern classics. The delicious crunchy noise of "Sometimes" reminds me of the time I never actually laid in bed watching the smoke rise to the ceiling while smoking cigarettes laying next to a girl I liked at a party in college. Overall, this record swirls and it pulses. "Soon" is a perfect closer and a total anthem that befits its time and yet also feels fresh today. That goes for most of the tracks on this collection. I'm disappointed I've never gotten to see this band play live, but from what I've heard it might be for the better lest my tinnitus become full-blown deafness on account of the legendarily insane decibel levels at their shows. Loveless almost bankrupted their label, gave the same label executives anxiety attacks for years, and was not particularly commercially successful. But was it all worth it? I mean, nobody died, so... sure.

- so good ..... -

YES

Ethereal Powerbomb

I know of MBV, but don't know their music. It's noise-alternative-pop. Not bad, but not really my scene. "when you sleep" isn't bad.

Cum on Feel the Noize

Love it

It’s okay? I want to say “I get it,” even though it’s not for me; that I can hear how thing I love were influenced by mbv. But at the same time I might just have that one Silversun Pickups song I like stuck in my head.

I wish I'd found MBV when they released their debut in 1988, instead of reacting to the rise of Stock, Aitken & Waterman and house music by pivoting into American hair metal for a few years 😬 This album in particular is definitely My Sort Of Thing. Love the soundscapes created by the guitar. Love the dreamy vocals. The drive in the songs kept me happily nodding or swaying along. I don't know why I'd never listened to this before (or even bothered to find out anything about the band; I knew the name) - I really like it. I think the Cocteaus are better at the truly magical stuff. But the heavier sections are excellent; I think it's a very good album. PS bonus points that Bilinda is now 63, and will be 64 when they play a sold out show in Manchester this November. She must have more energy than I do, in my fifties!

Dreamy, 90s, shit.

Influential yes... will I listen to it? No

An album I loved at the time, enjoyed giving it a few spins this week. Play loud

Good

A few reviews back, I criticised Wilco - probably Jeff Tweedy specifically - for slathering Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in a wash of noise. Not quite bleeps and bloops, but not feedback either. A pink noise that held the songs at bay. I realise now that the same accusation could be laid at the dog door of one my favourite groups, Sparklehorse. They too could be called Americana or country-adjacent. Mark Linkous's songs are simple, grounded in acoustic guitar and the singer-songwriter tradition, just like Tweedy. The difference - and why the radio hum is so successful on any number of Sparklehorse records - is temperament. Mark Linkous was introverted. Perhaps dissociative. Although his songs are open, it feels appropriate that there is a layer of insulation between the singer and the outside world - "it's a hard world for little things." Tweedy, on the other hand, is unfazed. He's in a rock band for god's sake. Hear all about it. The sonic lagging on Yankee was an affectation. For Linkous, it's a necessity. I suppose that appeals to me because the muffled, dissociative quality of the Sparklehorse records is how I feel a lot of the time. This, I suspect, is why I return to those records compulsively: not because I understand them or Linkous's lyrics, but because they match the fuzz of my own internal monologue. That kind of emotional congruence is rare. I mention that here because I don't know if I will get an opportunity to talk about Sparklehorse on this list - more's the pity. However, I think what I'm saying has some relevance to Loveless also. We've already listened to Giants Steps by the Boo Radleys, where the noise bore no relation to songs that we're even there to begin with. Psychocandy will certainly come up some day and we can debate whether the lacerating feedback on that record is a palette knife scored across the work of art or the art itself. On Loveless, the noise is not only necessary, it is integrate, inseparable. I think it works in the same insulating manner that Linkous's static does. Kevin Shields, by all accounts more comfortable among cables than crowds, has made a record that reflects that temperament. The music folds in on itself. Even live, they’re so loud it’s like the volume is there to push you back, gently but firmly. Not to punish, just to create space That he does this, not with harsh noise, but with a gentle puff, like a citronella collar on a reactive dog, suggests he's no misanthrope. Loveless is not hostile. It is not Metal Machine Music with £250000 of Alan McGee's money. The hooks imply the same: Only Shallow, Sometimes, Soon are all gorgeous and the beautiful lures of the music are made from the same material as the thing that keeps the listener away. Not too far away. To borrow Schopenhauer’s hedgehog fable, the problem of proximity is this: hedgehogs need to huddle for warmth, but they prick one another if they get too close. Loveless solves this problem with queasy elegance. It places the listener at the perfect remove. Not at the centre. Not outside. There is a sweet spot. It is not, despite the name, loveless. It simply understands that too much intimacy is a form of violence. 4 Brian Eno, talking about My Bloody Valentine‘s song ‘soon’ on stage at MOMA in New York in 1990 had this to say: “It’s a wall of distortion with a few motifs arising like icebergs out of it here and there. It’s hard to hear the beat, it’s very hard to hear the key, there are no lyrics so far as I know. It’s really set a new standard for pop music.” It’s a very nice quote and I can understand why it is ceaselessly cited in rapturous critical testimonies about Loveless. Someone cool saying something cool about a cool thing before it was even cool. The only problem is that Eno’s description bears almost no relation to what ‘soon’ actually sounds like. It’s easy to hear the (looped) drum beat. It’s as easy to determine the home key as it is with any other piece of modal pop music. The chords are few and details of the bass line are easy enough to hear, far from being buried under a ‘wall of distortion’. ‘Motif’ would be a generous designation for the simple three-note riff that pops up on the beat, unaltered throughout, in even phrases (rather than emerging mysteriously from the mists of the North Atlantic). Perhaps Eno heard it on the car radio, with poor reception, in traffic, in fog. The disjunction between the Loveless that other people have heard and the Loveless that plays every time I insert my copy of the cd appears to be endemic. I used a streaming service today just to be sure I hadn’t been done dirty by HMV a quarter of a century ago. No, that was it alright. That’s the album people are always gawping at. A Monument in popular art; a Revolution for the guitar; an album that the Great and Noble (Robert Smith, Billy Corgan) bend the knee to. Well yer hole. What I’m hearing today is the same thing I’ve always heard from this album. Nice, rather sweet little lullabyish tunes in neat four and eight bar loops broken up evenly with very short, rather idiotic instrumental hooks. Predictable song structures. Everything repeated to death. The guitars get tremeloed a lot. But of course, crucially, there is an eccentric mix so that the vocals, bass and guitar are unusually low and the guitars are very loud indeed. This is the crux of what transmutes this set of pleasant enough looped fragments into Art worthy of particular praise from the stage of MOMA. It’s not what you do, after all, it’s how you do it; turning your back to the audience is far cooler than Paul McCartney waggling his head and grinning from the microphone. The aggressively eccentric mix here has always appeared to me just another form of that conceit. I appreciate creativity in engineering and mixing - pop music is record-making first and song composition second to be sure. But once you’ve turned your back you better play a blinder. These songs don’t. They have lyrics, whatever Brian Eno says, just not any worth making out. They have musical ideas - but little of much strength and daring beyond Three Blind Mice. Pop music has been there before and since. No ‘new standard’ was set. 2/5

COOL

Not an album I was into but it wasn’t bad

I really want to love this because I like the idea of it (the trailblazing redeployment of the guitar, the dreamy-fuzzy sounds) a lot, and when it works it really works. Of course, the pitfalls of throwing so much paint (sounds) at the wall (tape machine) are that sometimes you’re left with a mess, and other times all the colours (sounds) just merge into a kind of dull brown (bland noise). MBV fall into both pits, occasionally, but more often than not the result is something quite arty and cool-sounding - the hit rate is much higher than their debut album. Personally I still think Cocteau Twins did it better when it comes to dream pop, but I’ll give these guys A for effort and B- for attainment, which I think comes out at… 3.5 / 4 stars.

Sounds like an alternate universe Cocteau Twins where the lyrics make sense if you just concentrate hard enough.

Gross

Makes me feel insane every time I listen to it. What more can a guy ask for

Loveless? Try music-less. This is garbage, and I love the usual music Tom Waits creates. It's a terrible combination of shoegaze and noise rock, and I disassociated to get through this album. There was hardly anything even to critique! I guess MBV's noise rock isn't as distorted as most is, so that's something. I'll go back to Tom Waits now, thank you.

Mostly noise rock, if I am being honest. But decent noise rock, I guess. I don't know. I don't feel like we needed quite this much My Bloody Valentine on this project, but here we are. At times I thought "this isn't so bad", but the more the album went on, the less patience I had for this album.

I aggressively dislike shoegaze and dream pop, so this album really didn't stand a chance with me. I've heard of this band before, and I know they're influential, I just don't like the type of music they influenced. This album wasn't terrible, but it was boring, which I'm starting to dislike more than outright awful things the further I go into this list. I understand why this album is here, but it wasn't for me.

This is part of what seems to be an entire era and group of styles or genres that has never really appealed to me. It's the whole emo, shoe gaze, goth, angsty, noisy, punk, and post-punk thing. I can appreciate what they've done here, but listening to this does not make me think I'll be looking for more of My Bloody Valentine or anything like it anytime soon.

Love how it fucks with my head

Already know this record. I might have to go with a weak 3. This album would have had more potential if it had some more emotion. Despite its cult status, this is generic 1990s alt rock, at times it is just noise. Some moments of emotions. Not the masterpiece it is made to be at all

9/10

the coceteau twins evil brother lol awesome album to chill oir and lay down to

Never understood the hype behind this album. Decent shoegaze but I liked other bands much better like Catherine wheel, slow dive and ride

Love shoegaze and this album is the essential shoegaze record

Early 90s indie/alt sound. Not my thing

It was okay. Most of the songs sounded like the same 4-second loop of a Cranberries song on slow-mo.

This would be a 5 star album if they didn’t record it through a tooth tunes toothbrush.

One day in the studio, an engineer complete messed up the mix and called it a new genre and tricked people into thinking it’s good. This album, like all shoegaze and shoegaze adjacent albums, is terrible.

Lacklustre. Shoegazing. Quite a boring listen.

Some tracks were ok, a couple good and some self indulgent nonsense in between

The mixing is awful on this and can’t hear the vocals at all. I couldn’t get through it

I will never tire of this album and some days it’s not even my favourite MBV. Sonically mesmerising

if you are going to listen to one shoegaze album this would be it. sonicly very dense at times with seemingly everything mixed to the middle, this gives a claustrophobic almost intoxicated feel. The vocals sometimes are just another noise in this hubbub. at times I would describe this as cocteau twins clashing with the jesus and mary chain. personal note: strange how I enjoy this but am not of fan of sonic youth or pixies etc. - must be the vocals. And yes, lowercase as a tribute.

Took a few listens to get the hang of it, but really enjoyed

Heard their stuff before, this so far is my favorite of the lot. Not really into Shoegaze or the like but this one is great.

I didn't care much for the first album of theirs that was on this list, and this one has't really changed my mind. It's over-processed and just not interesting to me. The boosting of the levels makes the vocals almost indecipherable, and the guitar just drones on and on. I fail to see why this is on the list. What makes it so special? NEXT.

And now the third album on the 1,001 list by My Bloody Valentine, though perhaps the only one deserving of it. Some of these songs are the best of what shoegaze can be - Only Shallow (perhaps their best known and truly a great song), Loomer, When You Sleep, Come in Alone, and Sometimes. And then others are just the worst of shoegaze and the reason I (and others I'm sure) detest it so much - Touched, To Here Knows When, I Only Said (so much promise but alas), and Blown a Wish. When it's just droning guitars going in and out of focus or tune, with barely audible lyrics, it's not enjoyable. What You Want and Soon, which ended the album weren't bad so I'll give it a 3.

I listened to this album years ago and remember hating it, but I couldn't recall why. As I'm doing with all of the 1001, I decided to listen to it with fresh ears, in the hope of seeing why this is the #10 album of all time on rateyourmusic.com (as of the time I'm writing this). As the opening track (Only Shallow) was playing, I started to think that maybe I had been overly harsh in my previous assessment. I was thinking, "hey, this is kind of cool. I must be misremembering or it must have just been a bad day when I originally listened." NOPE. After Only Shallow, the album becomes HORRENDOUS. But at least now I can articulate why I hate this album. Let's start with Kevin Shields' "glide guitar" that critics and fans rave about. He takes the tremolo bar and intentionally detunes the guitar - so basically the guitars are constantly going in and out of tune, giving a sense of seasickness. To Here Knows When is a good (bad?) example of what I'm talking about. I hated this track with a burning passion. Also, unlike Only Shallow, they do the typical shoegaze thing of putting the vocals deep in the mix so you can barely hear them. The sad part is that many tracks have the bones of a good song - take away the detuning, put some energy into the singing and make it more present in the mix, and songs like When You Sleep, I Only Said, Come in Alone, and others would actually be good. The only song I outright liked aside from Only Shallow was Sometimes, which didn't suffer from detuning, but it still had the vocals too deep in the mix (and the guitars were pushing the edge of my noise tolerance). The last track (Soon) was also sort of ok. But, overall, the detuning and general noisiness made this album a miserable experience (especially since I'm committed to listening to every single album on the 1001 at least twice, preferably with at least one close listen). I know this album is critically acclaimed, and I'm pretty open-minded with respect to music, but to me this is absolutely horrendous.

Interesting. Unique. Each song was almost its own vibe. Will definitely listen to these guys again

Billy Corgan just ripped this off didn't he? lol. It's good and atmospheric, but it gets a bit repetitive, much like the smashing pumpkins first album. It's better than I remember it being, but still not something I would turn on just to listen to.

Oh hell yeah. Was “only” gonna give this a 4.5 but it's seriously an all time record. You’re not supposed to understand what they’re saying, it’s shoegaze bro just enjoy the vibes.

Not for me

I could never get into this one. I’ve tried many times over the years and again yesterday. It bores me. I can’t tell if I’m listening to multiple songs or one long song.

Beautiful

imo when you sleep pushes up the rating by a whole star.

This was so 90s in the best way! I was slightly confused to begin with though because I got them mixed up with Bullet For My Valentine. I kept waiting for it to get heavier lmao 4 ⭐️

Sounded like Smashing Pumpkins if the vocal volume was turned almost all the way down and the treble turned all the way up.

2/5. Just not for me. Interesting guitar sound, but the way mixed down vocals just didn’t hold my interest.

Intriguing album. Some great songs there and unique guitar sounds. If only the vocals could be a bit higher up in the mix but I guess that’s the point of the production! Definitely a grower and will come back to it.

Only Shallow- heard this song many times. The screeching I’m assuming guitar throughout the song is unbearable with headphones even though I do enjoy the song. Loomer- melody in the background reminds me of a strokes song Touched- nice instrumental To Here Knows When- ehhhh When You Sleep- another song I’ve heard many times. Love the intro. Prob my favorite only caused I’ve heard it so much. I Only said- again noisy not sure what the intro instrument is but I like it. Come in Alone-👍🏻 I’ve head songs from this album and may have listened to it in completion once. As much as I appreciate the album but it isn’t my favorite. I find it difficult to enjoy the song in its entirety. I get distracted by the noise when trying to hear the lyrics , but when I just listen to it as a whole I enjoy it. It’s an album I know I would like more if i gave it more playing time.

Xmu fan over here

Don’t think I’ll ever “get” this album but I appreciate it.

A boring, droning mess. I understand that this is seen as a highly influential album for it's genre, possibly the first of its kind for this style, but it doesn't appeal to me other than to serve as background filler, or maybe in a movie/TV show for ambience. These songs have very little movement or development, more resembling a soundscape than actual song. The drums are severely undermixed (and seem to be only programmed...) and the vocals are largely unintelligible. The guitar being the loudest thing at all times is bad enough but not being able to understand the lyrics at all is criminal. I gave it 2 stars only because of its influence.

I want to like this more, because I love so much that was inspired by it, but it's just not my cup of tea. That being said, I can still appreciate it without necessarily liking it.

#7 Loveless ~ My Bloody Valentine Kevin Shields has often been described as an auteur by critics, in a similar veins as Phil Spector was before. And in this 'Twin Peaks' of an album, Shields felt so determined to make his guitar sound like nothing before and break every rule of rock, that he gave his entire band hearing damage and bankrupted his record label. All in the name of art, he would say, and he will continue to pleasantly commit to this art until he's completely deaf. (or until everyone in the world is deaf, as notoriously seen in MBV concerts where he subjugates his audiences with 120dB noise for 15 minutes until they become zombies) Indeed, Loveless is intended to be a brain-melter. Shields overlays layer upon layer of distorted guitars of different levels of deafening to basically produce a haze of ambient noise that hovers around the harmony. From there, he builds the sound of a melody or a light-toned riff within the thick fog, and occasionally the voice of himself or rhythm guitarist, Belinda Butcher comes in like a lighthouse in the darkness, or out-of-the-blue like a searing explosion. The contrast between different songs is jarring for effect ('to here knows when' into 'when you sleep') and it all plays into MBV's goal to numb your mind through trance-like songs of noise. Essentially, the music is an aural depiction of a high. No song seems to end cleanly, to mark to end of one song and the start of another, but rather they either blend or kickstart one after another, in the sense of how one builds the story of a lucid dream. Nothing seems to make sense, but it just happens to work in an absolutely pleasant manner. And this high is sustained by the aforementioned mixture of loops and layers of distorted guitars, cooing low-pitched voices (a bit like echoes, in where you don't remember what people say in dreams), and a pounding rhythm section to prevent you from lingering to long in one place. In the mid 1800s, the composer Franz Liszt produced a set of piano works which he dubbed 'Transcendental Studies,' where in an opium-induced frenzy, he wrote a highly dense set of compositions that assailed the audience with the grand scale of the piano to the point that women were recorded to have fallen into hysteria upon listening. This album is more or less the same thing for guitar-rock. Like Liszt and Phil Spector, MBV redefined with Loveless what sounds an instrument, or a band can achieve, and the serious power that overwhelming sound can have on people. You may shudder in horror to the immense distortion, or grimace at the uncomfortably pitched voices, but this is a what-the-fuck album that is a euphoric experience like no other (seriously, what the hell were only shallow, when you sleep, i only said and sometimes). I will say though, like sunbathing, Franz Liszt and heroin, one shouldn't keep this album in constant rotation. Else the ringing hangover in your ears and mind will mess you up. Verdict: Brainwashing, The Album

This is an album that took a few listens before I really began to appreciate it, but now it’s one of my favorites. What I enjoy most is how noisy and unpolished it gets, with those fuzzy and hazy guitars. These types of sounds were probably very unusual for the time when this came out, and I love how the calm ethereal vocals sit on top of a wall of noise and chaos.

O álbum que me introduziu ao shoegaze e me permitiu conhecer uma série de músicas que amo. Pessoas que o descrevem como "barulho" não possuem a menor sensibilidade em se conectar com as ondas sonoras que abençoam o seu ouvido e te abraçam num fluxo de consciência. Quando você percebe, já está totalmente mergulhado nas distorções. "sometimes" é magnificente. A força dessa música é avassaladora. Traz-me às lágrimas quase toda vez que eu a ouço.

Not usually my type of vibe but I was really impressed with the production. I hardly got any of the lyrics but enjoyed the vocals as an instrumental layer. Will revist!

Yeah. Definitely don't get this one. More of an art piece than music I think. 1 star

Can’t really hear what any of the words are. 2.5 rounded up.

what yall know about the loveless agony

Was expecting emo guitars and that's exactly what I got

Fantastic formative shoegaze! Great album that is weird in just the right ways. I have so many fond memories tied to this album, I remember when my best friend Ben introduced me to it and the many stoned nights we have spent listening to it together. 5 stars all day for me!

Iconic

Enjoyable if slightly challenging listen. Really enjoy the production and texture of the guitars, and can well believe this was very influential. Should listen a few more times to really work it out. 7/10

Nevermind the noise, some of these pop elements are even interessting.

Another one of those bands I knew by name and had some assumptions about, but never actually listened to. Based on the name, I always assumed they're an emo band. Far from it though, I bloody loved it. Very accessible, but finest shoegaze nonetheless.

Really good.

already listened to it. really enjoy this album, something about it does it for me, maybe its the baggy feel idk

loveless didn't really click with me the first time i listened, but i'm able to better appreciate its textures now. but when it comes to shoegaze, i tend to prefer much smoother sounds than this.

Not for me

I remember some people meeting really into this. Not me

Was leaning into a 3 but "Sometimes" and "Blown A Wish" bumps to a 4. Better than I thought. Will + in my iTunes.

Shoegaze staje się (prócz techno) moim najbardziej znienawidzonym gatunkiem muzycznym. Po co tyle szumu? Wokal jest piękny, ale instrumentalnie nie mogę tego znieść. 5/10, bo jest naprawdę są tam przyjemne momenty. Niestety jak to śpiewa Daria: krótkie są momenty.

It was okay. Very airy rock like music. Not my favorite.

I just can't get into these guys. But at least it's not Kanye?

This is one of the albums I knew was going to come up on this list eventually, but was worried about listening to it. Not because I thought it would necessarily be "bad" but because I've been putting off listening to the album for almost a decade. Pretty much always telling myself that I'd get around to it. When you see one album show up on so many greatest of all time lists, expectations become too great for many types of media, and it usually doesn't live up to the hype for me. Well, I'll definitely say it was not the greatest album I've ever listened to, not the best rock or indie album I've ever heard, but I can see where all the hype comes from. If you can enjoy this style of music, this is a fantastic record, full of interesting sounds, a wide range of noise, never really too dull or devoid of meaning in my opinion, always keeping things interesting, but still has a few spots where it feels like things could be been tightened up just a little bit. I'm 100% confident this album will grow on me the more I listen to it, just gives me that vibe

generally prefer the work on "isn't anything;" some of the tracks on "loveless" tend to drag in a way that i find stultifying rather than transporting or whatever. what's dreamlike for one can really be a snoozefest for another. still a good sound overall, and i appreciate the novel approach to the guitar, am glad it influenced others.

Reminds me of early smashing pumpkins. Dream rock. I found quite a bit of the album bland, lacking low end and hard to understand due to poor production. However, the sound they created is undeniably part of the 90s sound and there are some great melodies and lots of beautiful arrangements throughout the album. The song 'Soon' is amazing. I think I'll come back to these guys.

Genre defining. The answer for where to get started with shoegaze.

I like noise, but this sounded a little opaque and repetitive. I was not engaged at all. I thinks it's the high synthy keyboard whine thrown in all over the place. It's fucking horrid. I wanted to liked this but I couldn't. It's not bad, like Morrissey, just not good. I listened to some tracks again. It's terrible at times. Two.

sleepless in herrsching am ammersee!

Torture in album form

I always pass over the two other "My..." bands to get to My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, so I've never listened to My Bloody Valentine. This sounds like the 90s. Makes me want to listen to The Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and Type O Negative. The music is a bit too noisy/fuzzy for me to love it, but I don't hate it. Decent background music while working.

Great early 90s album, already knew it but great to have an excuse to listen to it again.

1 - almost interesting music with someone moaning inaudible lyrics in the background

Much like with Bert Jansch, I can hear the sizable influence MBV had on its immediate successors - a lot of whom are my teenage favorites - in the 90s, specifically Smashing Pumpkins. And to extend the comparison, I was missing the more dynamic songwriting and vocals of those successors.

Really picks up after track 4

This album has been in my collection since its release, in fairly regular rotation. And of course it’s seminal shoegaze. But I just don’t love it as much as many might.

Vocals are not my favorite, overall not my style. Can see why some people like it so not 1 star.

Have you ever had jellied eels with m&ms on top? I hate it. The same feeling for this album.

Mixed feelings about this. I found it sounded quite pleasant at times and enjoyed listening, however I couldn’t hear a fucking word half the time. I get what they were going for and maybe once you know the lyrics it becomes a really cool way to listen to a song but as of now it seems like the levels were not mixed well at all.

Shoe gazing ain’t for me.

Meh

Would be a great album if you enjoyed long, drowning, dissonant guitar chords. Otherwise, not for me but still somehow better than other albums on this list. Sticking with my rating from the other My Bloody Valentine album.

Is this mumble rap for white people? I kind of like it, but I don't think I would ever recommend it. It is definitely a vibe.

I know people who love this album. I know people who love most things shoegaze. I'll leave the reviews to them. This just isn't for me. For shoegaze I'll take Catherine Wheel, Stone Roses and Hum.

Simply a masterpiece

It was fun to ride to work in the rain while listening to it

Better than the first album that was suggested. Good instrumentals, though I dislike how much the vocal work takes a backseat.

Unremarkable, although it seems to be a precursor for bands like the Cranberries, on the one hand, and Coldplay, on the other. But they’re not as good as either. Not offensive, but didn’t need to hear this. A 2.

I'm not a big fan of this album. I've tried to listen to it several times and I just think it is alright. It might have helped if I was exposed to it earlier but there was so much other music that caught my ear back then. I'm sure I will give it another chance in a few months like I always do but I am not convinced that I will ever learn to like it.

We need less of this in society.

yay i finally like this

Dollar General Smashing Pumpkins

Pleasant enough but nothing to stir me. More avant-garde than expected

This was both enjoyable to listen to, yet also uninteresting and non-memorable. Each song was like a muffled Smashing Pumpkins song.

My third album by My Bloody Valentine – the first two both got two-star ratings. I don't know whether this one has better tunes, I've adjusted to their seasick shoegaze sound, or the generator has just beaten me into submission, but I quite liked Loveless. Now give me something else.

wait... this fucks!

_review rendered inaudible by wall of guitars_

Not available on Apple Music.

Didn’t enjoy

Ooooooh I fucking loved this. Feel like I would have been all over this in high school. Felt like a melancholy soundbath. Amazing and influential.

No, Loveless is not better than Pet Sounds but it's a great, perfect album just like Pet Sounds is but don't go in thinking this can top the greatest album to ever come out of North America-it can't. Death to Pitchfork. Loveless is a dreamy sounding album influenced by Neil Young, Phil Spector and all the noises & distortions of unrequited love. It's one of the very best albums on the 1001 list easily blowing away a good 90% of said list. Listen to Loveless when you can give it 100% of your attention. Stop checking your idiot phone. Close your eyes. No double tasking while hearing this one. Bathe in its enigmatic beauty. Seriously, no doom scrolling while listening to Loveless.

I had trouble focusing on this album due to how muted the vocals were. I get in certain songs it's more moaning than words, but I'd rather have no lyrics than impossible to hear lyrics.

One of the greatest albums of all time

Has a similar feel to early Pumpkins, but even more dreamy and extreme on the guitar sounds. After some research, MBV inspired some SP sounds.

Got this album on Mother’s Day and the layered dissonance intertwined with haunting melodies accurately sums up my feelings about Mother’s Day.

Tune your guitars. Write songs. If you’re going to play with dissonance and atonality learn it properly. Don’t turn knobs and stumble on a good sound. Craft it. Shape it. Pretentious nonsense. I was discussing this with a friend and he said give it another listen. You’ll find there are songs and structure. And he was right. Which actually made it worse because it seems to me that they got to a 'that’ll do' stage and stopped. And it cost a fortune to make. Eventually sends the label broke. And then they come back 15 years later having learned nothing, having achieved nothing having not developed. Do your fucking job. 1 star.

Loveless was a revelation. It took the lessons of the Velvet Underground and descendants (Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, et hoc genus omnes) about the use of noise in rock and roll and took it to an extreme. It wasn't pure noise (a la Merzbow) -- there is still melody and a song in there -- but the presentation was so extreme that it threatens to break everything you know about music. Everything is mixed upside down, bathed in distortion and reverb and other effects, with a woozy relationship to pitch and harmony. Vocals to the back! Drums almost inaudible! This is genuinely groundbreaking record, and I have yet to hear anyone who has managed to take this approach any further (including MBV themselves). And they were loud, by god! I saw them at the Sydney University Refectory in 1991, and the volume was staggering. A friend who was a massive MBV fan smuggled in a tape recorder to bootleg the show. But when we listened back to the tape, it was 90 minutes of white noise. The volume just blew out the poor little condenser mike in his walkman beyond what it could handle. Personally, I like something that is noisy and difficult and loud (really loud!), but still has a tune, and that it right in MBV's sweet spot, but I understand that many won't find it palatable at all. But everyone should listen to it at least once, just to hear how far you can push the rock music form. God knows why it cost as much to record as it did. That is a mystery to me.

When You Sleep

one of the best. I was so excited to see this as my album. Of course I’ve listened to this many times. I am always in awe of this album. How can you make music like this? It’s perfect.

I was really into the instrumentals of the opener Only Shallow, but my only gripe was that the vocals were so distorted that it was hard to understand anything. Well, it turns out that it actually gets worse as the albums goes on. Same deal on When You Sleep: catchy riff but can't understand a damn thing. Then you have other songs where the production makes the whole song sound so muffled. I thought maybe my headphones were not working right or my volume was low. This would be a 3 or better because I tend to enjoy psychedelic/indie rock like this, but this falls down to a 2 for me. Really tough listen.

This one came highly recommended to me some years ago, and I've listened to it a bunch of times. On my first listen I remember not really understanding the appeal. Breathy vocals with sludgy atmospheric instrumentals that make for a bit of a wall of sound effect. Over time and successive listens, however, I have grown to appreciate this album a lot. Whenever I listen to it, I get the impression that the music is washing over me in successive waves. The production is beautiful in creating a balanced effect. Through heaps of distortion, you can still pick out strummed acoustic, and breathy synths. Despite their fog on glass nature, the vocals never feel overpowered. I love the opener Only Shallow -- built around an off-balanced synth warble and as close to "driving" as this album gets. When You Sleep is another standout with its drawling synths underscored by aural chorus elements. Also love the placid dream-evoking Sometimes -- feels very Beach House adjacent. This isn't an album I come back to frequently, but its always a pleasure. High 4 / 5.

To Here Knows When is a 1 star song. I Only Said was fine for 2 minutes, but it was just the same thing over and over. A sludgier, worse Joy Division. To Here Knows Why tanked the rating, but the rest of the album didn't do it any favors. This might be the highest 1 I will give. It's not the worst thing I have ever heard, but I just know it's not a 2.

Why is there just so much noise going on in this album? These songs annoyed me because they never really went anywhere. Was still music so it is tough to give a 1, but I just disliked it so much that it's getting a 1. Quite possibly the first ever High 1

Jackson's favorite genre shoegaze! This is known as the most influential shoegaze album so I'm excited to dive in. Loving the sludginess of this so far. Although I wish the vocals were a bit more pronounced in some of the songs, but besides that the production in this is lush as hell. Transitions are great as well. I can definitely see where Beach House is influenced by these guys. Soon is an awesome closer. It's easy to get lost in these songs and for that, they get a 4.

A bit disappointed. Love Shoegaze but this felt very thin

Started out thinking I was going to LOVE this album. And while I did enjoy it, it got repetitive after the first few songs and couldn't really differentiate between songs.

Textured but droning after a short time

3.5

Have tried to listen to this loads over the years but it's never clicked... I think it might have this time...

This is THE seminal shoegaze album known for its dense, innovative "wall of sound" guitar work and ethereal vocals. It blends overwhelming noise with delicate melodies, creating a unique and immersive sonic experience. While not always immediately accessible, its influence is undeniable.

It was probably big for the time but there's a lot of this out there now. A lot of different sounds all at once that drown out the vague and mediocre lyrics. Some decent guitar though. Looking up the lyrics helps you see that the dude who wrote these is seriously pent up. Bro bankrupted a label so he could be horny on mic and play the same two riffs for the last minute and a half of songs. It's okay, but it doesn't really deserve this much attention. Just noisy pop with some droning and moaning

A true masterpiece. A gem like no other

Definitely an important album , I just don’t find MBV as satisfying as Slowdive

So much better than the other MBV album on this list

Can appreciate some of what's going on here but I'm mostly just bored. Just not for me sry.

i listened to this like last week so i’m not gonna bother but i love the album regardless. the fuzz penetrates the brain and fills it with beautiful fuzzy mildly abrasive guitar noise. i do like the vocals as well. all in all legendary amazing album it also pioneered shoegaze which is one of my favorite genres so i love that ofc

Ooh, very interesting, I really like it! First time I've heard of the 'shoegaze' genre, which this apparently defined - kind of ethereal, ambient, distorted version of indie rock?

A shoegaze classic with which I am well familiar. Let the soft, fuzzy guitars wash over you.

This album is not bad but nothing about it stood out to me either. Just another nondescript entry that gets a check mark, but I'll never listen to again.

Behind the distortion and experimental guitar sounds is an album I would describe as a balance between dreamy (several songs were sleep inducing) and layered texturing. The sounds and songs are interesting, like most shoegaze, but it only sustained my interest for so long. I like a lot of it, but overall this doesn't overwhelmingly convince me to seek out more from MBV.

listened while I was working and the album flew by. had a lot of fun though

Only Shallow To Here Knows When When You Sleep I Only Said Sometimes Soon

Was looking forward to this. Some good reviews and an album I’d been meaning to get to grips with for years. Listened to it in the garden on hottest day of year. Fell asleep half way through it was so boring. Woke up with red face having had too much sun. Shouldn’t blame this album but I will. 2.4/5 30/5/25 🥵

You know that kid that looks down at their feet and mumbles incoherently when they force themselves to speak to you? Now make them the singer for a really good band ...

listened to again great shoegaze

Noisy, monotone, boring musing with some mumling indstead of singing

I tried. I saw all the reviews waxing lyrical and I tried. And I just don’t get it. The feedback and distortion takes away most of the nuance. Which is possibly the point. But it doesn’t make me want to listen again. Better than the last effort from them though. I don’t remember much about it but I gave it a 1. This one is a 2.5, so there is that

No thanks, some started off as music but turned to mush

Very layered and dense, but sentimental in essence.

Okay, I get it noise is the damn point. 4/5

Just a beautiful nosy haze to get lost in for a while, I love it.

Love this album, my favourite of theirs. Could use some more in the low and mid ranges to give a fuller sound.

I liked this better than I remembered. At it's best it's kinda got the catchiness and feel off the pixies mixed with the grit and dissonance of sonic youth. And I do like that kind of grainy early thing they're doing the whole time. Sometimes that gets old, but today it worked for me.

8/10. The pinnacle of shoegaze.

I don't get this being on the list. It's not overly unpleasant or anything but the only thing they did uniquely was mix the vocals into inaudible territory.

Again, pretty solid, just nothing stands out to me.

This is another one that's going to require more listens from me, but as of right now, I've really enjoyed it and plan on returning to it soon.

Great relisten! Noisy shoegaze in the "my vacuum cleaner is malfunctioning" style is getting up there for me. What really brings it out is getting absorbed enough into the noisy, all-consuming atmosphere that you can start to pick out the really pretty melodies buried underneath.

It was a little hit or miss for me, with the misses being wild pitches off the plate that hit the batter. I liked a few songs, particularly the opening and closing ones, even though some of the better songs overstayed their welcome. Again, liked some, but others were extremely annoying noise that made me want to rip out my ears. I wanted to give it a 2.5 but I rounded up to 3.

This album fucked me up. My ass is not made for noise rock. Standouts: When You Sleep, Soon

I just love this album. My journey with it has been so interesting because I didn't understand it at first, but after spending a lot of time listening to other music I came back around and really appreciated it. For me this is one of those milestone albums that doesn't really invite comparison.

Noisy

Another situation where I judged an album too quickly based on the cover and band name and was actually pleasantly surprised.

Loveless is the second studio album My Bloody Valentine. It is regarded not only the band's best work, but also one of the best albums of all time. The band used heavy distortion and studio effects on their guitars and vocals, and the music they produced is full and overwhelming, while somehow being serene and uplifting. This collection of songs is fascinating and engaging - and clearly influential. My Bloody Valentine created a sound that help define alt rock and pop of the 90s and the aughts.

Loveless was the future of rock, but somehow the high standards of it weren't followed by its peers. From the momment you hit play and the four snare drum hits of Only Shallow starts you know you are in good hands. Sometimes is the most ballad-y cut of the album that it gives a breather, the album would suffer from not having a track like that one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jjXxKadVdQ

Bro its loveless

10/10 I’m back in high school on the bus on a cold foggy morning when this album crushed my puny stupid brain me like vacuums

Landmark 90's album. This is really good at scratching an itch that only Shoegaze manages to do. It doesn't have the most hooks or the best songs and songwriting, but the wall of noise coming from this album is just really pleasant to listen to. Only Shallow is easily one of the best songs from the 90's.

Dark but beautiful. Best listened to on good headphones with the volume up.

I didn't know what i was epecting - but loud noise was generally my first thoughts. As i've learned through this project. NEVER EVER judge a record by it's cover. Pretty good actually. Get some pixies vibes here. Ok - take it back. Just overall really f'n good. Wow - had no idea what I was walking into. People calling this a top 25 album of all-time is some high praise. Need to give it a re-listen to give it that sort of acclaim

A great listen every time I come back to it, which is truly often! Looks how it sounds, which is totally entrancing!

Always struggled with trying to "get" mbv but nowadays I just put it on and enjoy. Don't know if I get it but it's weird and nice!

i like it but i gotta admit ive never gotten it... liked it more that previous listens but it still kinda does nothing for me

Wall of (sometimes Indistinguishable) sound

It's got atmosphere, but it's otherwise boring.

The album name is loveless but it is absolutely loveable

Everything about it is great, no notes. Soon is one of my favorite album closers of all time. I had no idea Shields had so much influence on all the other instruments as well. Album cover matches the music perfectly. Not sure what else I'd want out of an album. 13th perfect rating, 651 albums in Rating: 5.0

I'm thankful for this album's influence on Trent Reznor, as we might not have received THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL and THE FRAGILE sounding quite the way that they do, and I am convinced the latter two are among the very best albums released not in the 1990s, but of all time. Having said that, I am very unlikely to listen to this particular album ever again. Sure, it created and further elevated the elements that would make the shoegazer genre, but they lacked the kinds of song structure I need to enjoy them.

Ich glaube es könnte mir gefallen, weil mir das psychedelische gefällt, aber der Gesang ist so leise gemischt, dass ich da Kopfschmerzen von bekomme. Vielleicht auch von diesen ganzen Gitarren Effekten