Loveless

No me llega a agradar del todo.

After listening to this album, I've decided that I just have to accept that there are some bands - like Deftones and Sonic Youth - that my slightly older, perhaps slightly cooler friends like, that I just can't get into. For me, although there were one or two tracks or moments in songs that I enjoyed on this album, overall, they just drone on a bit too much for me, and the production, artful though it is, means I can't hear the lyrics. Oh well!

Bit noisy at first and then half way through it grabbed me

Space sonic. It’s like Smashing Pumpkins without Billy. The guitar melody begins to make more sense as you get deeper into the album, but the indistinguishable lyrics make it tough to get attached. Perhaps upon further listens I would warm up to it. The guitar work I’m sure was very impressive as a genre definer at the time. I can appreciate that.

There is a lot here too love. But holy hell there is so much wasted time on this record. All those great ideas only really should fill half of this thing. I love shoegaze and this is super cool shoegaze. But this could be better with just a little tightening up.

ооОоОоО, шугейзовое. Причём побольше, чем Blur, которые играли шугейз. Сделано прикольно, но мне показалось местами, что недостаточно тяжело и по-детски. Может быть, это моё корявое восприятие такое.

Sådan lidt Sonic Youth agtigt Åbningsnummeret er meget groovy, de er ikke i så godt humør generelt. Lidt for meget distortion til min smag, men ellers ok.

Wasn’t too crazy about this one. It’s a high 3, but it didn’t catch me. Plus Touched is terrifying.

3/5. It has great potential and the songs are easy to listen to despite the heaviness behind each one. I just get lost in each one to the point that I don’t know which song I’m on. They blend into each other and they sound great but it’s not for me. I would listen to it again but not often.

As beloved as Loveless is, it's just never really clicked with me for whatever reason. It's fine.

Shoegaze just doesn't do it for me. There's no momentum. There’s too much sad boi apathy and I find myself bored by it. I do understand it's place and how it evolved; I can appreciate the divergent nature of it, and this record is certainly the highest form of shoegaze, the most revered and quintessential album belonging to this genre. Respect and all that, but I still come back to the fact that it does nothing for me sonically. Stirs no passion, inspires no excitement. Middle of the road neutral rating.

Pretty good! Dad didn't like it.

One long prolonged fuzz. Okay

yea its good

This sounds like the music from someone's dreams somehow translated to real life. Indistinguishable vocals and all.

Not an album I know, really quite enjoyed it. Elements of the Cocteau Twins reinterpreted with guitars and without all that is amazing about Liz Fraser

Está medio raro, pero está bien. Había visto ya varias veces mencionado este álbum, así que tenía unas expectativas un poco por encima de lo normal, y, aunque no estuvo tan mal, tampoco me pareció tan bueno como esperaba. El álbum tiene un sonido que, aunque es bastante característico, también es bastante extraño. Si de por sí me cuesta un poco de trabajo entender lo que dicen las canciones, con este álbum, ni si quiera me molesté en intentarlo. Parece que el cantante de empeñó en grabar las canciones a los 2 minutos de despertarse. No es algo que tache de malo, pues creo que le da personalidad, más bien es solo algo que me parece resaltante. En cuanto a las canciones, no son muy disfrutables que digamos, muchas son repetitivas y algunas ni si quiera suenan bien. Tampoco es como que sea desagradable como tal, pero no es muy convencional y, cuando suena extraño, muchas veces, no es un extraño muy bueno. Finalmente, al momento de escribir esta reseña, le pongo 3, pues no creo que sea la gran cosa, pero, personalmente, tampoco me pareció tan mal.

They're clearly very into their distortion. Not bad at all, but the vocals weren't the main point of focus. Definitely better than their other stuff I had heard. Fave track(s): Loomer, When You Sleep

A milestone in music which I rather appreciated for what it neans/is than enjoy listening to. „Sometimes“ stays extraordinarily beautiful. 3.3

bon mais pas super original

- floating lyrics over strong guitar - huge Smashing Pumpkins vibes - atmospheric

Scuzzy, grungy goodness.

I definitely thought this was My Chemical Romance or some early aughts emo band... oops. And what a pleasant surprise!

I liked this album!

If they made an instrumentals version of this album, I would like it more. The lyrics stay on the same subject in this whole album, but the vocals sound good.

I dug the sad-grunge-punk vibe thrown by the band members, however I don't think I'd enjoy listening to more than three songs in a row. The guitar stared to sound like a cheese grater after awhile.

So much of this album was droning hence the term "Shoegaze" (thanks Ethan). However, what was neat was hearing other bands that influenced my bloody valentine and who my bloody valentine influenced themselves, from Morrissey to Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana. Only place I can think of listening to this sound is at Rebel lounge, really really stoned and just swaying with long haired weirdos.

Cool... That happened. Seriously this is just melt into a couch and not return music. I left it on in the background during my morning routine and it was pleasant but that's about as far as I go. In reading about it I learned what the "shoegaze" music genre means

I found the bassy distortion tracks enjoyable but the overpowering treble really killed some tracks

Engaging but a bit listless at times. Plot twist, I watched the completely unrelated film of the same name tonight as well.

I like how it starts and how it ends, but just couldn’t get swept up in everything in between.

I actually really liked the first track, and the last one. The rest was sonic experimentation, “art” but not “music” to me. I enjoyed listening, and put the bookends on my rotation. But the rest is one and done.

Ég tengi ekki alveg við þessa plötu. Draumkennd angistin flæðir þó frekar ljúflega.

I have been stuck on this album for a while. Not that I think it's bad, it's just that noisy shoegaze is something I don't seek out to listen to any time, I never feel like it. Which is not a value proposition at all, just preference. I'd even say it's pretty good for what it does and it was an influential album so for that reason it is interesting.

Got a bit of a smashing pumpkins vibe with this just not as good. The musicality of this album is great but the vocals are weak and drowning under all the distortion, which may be the point....all the same not for me and it's what brings this down to a 3.

Starts rough - but the longer you listen the easier it is to tune your brain to the right wavelength. I have badly wanted to like this for a long time, because I can see how much pleasure it brings to the people who get it. I'll never love it, but starting to see the appeal..

In theory should be right up my street. Interesting soundscapes and approach, but not quite the masterpiece I’d been led to believe. At times the musical and production approach seem to match the album title well, which was disappointing.

Opens off strong, but the next few songs: what is that? Got me using colons and everything. I'm not really into the whole white-noise-emotional-circle-jerk kinda thing, it's the musical equivalent of praising modern art(splashes and slashes).

Expected some emo goth shit but was actually a decent listen. In saying that, zero songs particularly stood out.

This didn't do much for me. About as interesting as it got in the first 5 minutes, and every song circled into pretty much the same jammy repetition, blurred with heavy handed effects.

Shoegaze classic

algunos temas son realmente densos

Very cool

Another beloved band that is a huge inspiration for artists I love who I've somehow never listened to before! So excited! Hmm, I'm not a big fan of the mixing. The vocals are so incredibly quiet compared to the instrumentals. I like it overall, but will probably never listen again...

The album has a Smashing Pumpkins feel to it, which I would like if not for all the guitar distortion.

At its most palpable moments, this reminds me of Cocteau Twins. Otherwise, it is mostly simple and repetitive songs with a thick layer of noise and distorted guitar sounds on top. This does give the music an interesting dreamy quality, but it is not enough for me to stay engaged for the entire album.

A little too noisy.

I wanted to like this more than I did...I love only shallow, and sincey other songs approached that, but a lot of it was undifferentiated

Started pretty intriguing but quickly faded to background music.

loveless is the second album by Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was certified silver in the UK and is widely criticized as one of the best shoegaze (indie & alternative rock) albums - influencing various subsequent artists in the genre. This beautifully trippy album performed well critically, but not as much commercially, causing the band to break apart a few years later and not release another album for about 20 years. The music is interesting and I recommend it however, I could not differentiate the tracks through my first listen. The music already sounded fluid, but it began to melt together so that every song sounded the same. I'll have to give it another listen, but this is my original rating.

Comme vous vous en doutez, cet album a donné lieu à une énième déconvenue pour Robert qui en a encore pris plein la figure. Eltrapeze et moi l'avons encerclé alors qu'il était sur le chemin de sa boulangerie et l'avons roué de coups, et ce devant plusieurs témoins. En espérant que son séjour à l'hôpital l'aura au moins un peu fait réfléchir.

Notes - THE shoegaze album/band - Established and solidified a lot of genre conventions - Released on creation records - the recording contributed to the label’s bankruptcy - This album has never hit the spot for me - I appreciate the work that went in production-wise, but I’ve never found the songs themselves to be super compelling Fav - When you sleep - There’s a reason its the most popular - Good tune and memorable melodies Least fav - I only said - not a fan of the melody lead and the rest of the song doesnt do anything for me 3.5/5

didn't realize this was from late 80's early 90's. I can see the love for shoegaze.

Already reviewed: "I was waiting for this to show up. It was only a matter of time, but I expected it would take more than a week. It's fine, it's swirly, atmospheric. It's got a few great pop tunes on it, but I can't say I listen to it often for fun. I probably don't do enough drugs."

Nice. Feels a lot better than the last MBV album we had, less 'white noise'.

This is just a lot of mumbling and whining that's drowned out by fuzzy guitar, making the record sound like it's being played from inside an empty tin can. when you sleep & i only said were both pretty good though, but man, I wish the entire album sounded more like the last track, soon. The guitars and drums on that song open up and sound a lot less hazy - while being nicely complemented by the bumbling, incoherent vocals. Maybe it's just a matter of preference, but as a whole this made me feel like the old woman from Spongebob, sitting in my wheelchair going "WHAT?!!?? WHAT ARE THEY SELLING?!?!?!?" as he and Patrick try to get me to buy some chocolate.

Interesting. 3

Meh slightly punky croons

isn't anything (much)

Fine, nothing wrong with this but nothing particularly exciting either.

Three great tracks extended into a full album. This honestly feels like droning black metal if you took out most of the darkness/distortion, and that I must respect. I want to be very clear this feels better than a 3.5, but even so a 4 just doesn't feel quite right.

rimelig god shoegaze ikke noget der rammer personligt

- irgendwie psychodelisch - bringt die Instrumente einer Indie oder Punkt Band mit - Melodisch - Kann etwas einschläfernd wirken - wirkt an manchen Stellen wie zusammengewürfelter Krach (Jazz?)

Oooh wel een toffe ontdekking. Zeer goed voor op de achtergrond. vooral 'i only said' vind ik top.

Good

I don’t now what it was. Listening in the care.

3.5

meia bomba

Was expecting a very emo album based on the name, but wikipedia tells me this is "shoegaze". That checks out, exemplified by the 4th track, "to here knows when" (did not enjoy). Most of the album is actually kind of cool, I can see that the style has been influential.

It's a very unique and ethereal sound. I get that. It also has passages that are pleasent to listen to. All in all it isnot my kind of music, I can see how it is a very influential record though. I will give it 3 stars.

Honestly disassociated for like half of the album, but that usually means it's good in my terms. As expected of MBV, very indie rock.

Scarier than I thought it would be. Like trying to remember a song; "Everywhere at the End of Time" -esque 3

Shoe gazing Que no me comunica nada. Tampoco me molesta, pero ni ganas de que explorar mas.

I'm glad I gave "Loveless" a second listen. The first time through, I was overwhelmed by the weakly orchestral whale murder on "Touched" and the subsequent instrument malfunction and moaning of "To Here Knows When." Those tracks stuck with me, and it wasn't until the album was almost finished that I realized I enjoyed the second half more than I'd thought. The second listen solidified what I had realized by the end of the first go-round - "Loveless" (and mbv) aren't quite it for me, but I can respect their experimentation and path-forging efforts. This album is apparently the defining release of the shoegaze subgenre, though shoegaze seems very small and niche, whereas mbv seems equally influential in alternative and indie rock in the 90s and even 2000s. I thought shoegaze was named for the generally mopey and muffled vibe of the songs, but I've learned that it was that the guitar sound was so driven by pedal effects that the musicians spent much of their time staring at the pedals, and thus, their shoes. But while "Loveless" surely inspired much shoegaze that I've never heard, and Wikipedia claims that shoegaze was pushed aside by grunge and Britpop, a lot of grunge adjacent alternative rock in the 90s feels a lot like my bloody valentine. (As an aside, my instinct to proofread is very annoyed by the lack of capital letters in my bloody valentine.) The band that came to mind most while listening to "Loveless" was not a shoegaze band, but rather Smashing Pumpkins. After the album finished, Amazon Music's attempt to create a like-minded radio station was also heavy in 90s alternative and grunge.

Sort of trancey rock which I quite enjoyed. As ever some tracks much better than others so a solid 3*

OK. I've tried a few times with this album. Its fine but no more for me.

I wish there were a 3.5.

I tried to get this. Some sounds worked, but I like to hear vocals, not some ambient fuzz.

Maybe as background music to movie scenes but overall kinda weird

Probably a good version of what it is supposed to be achieving. Not for me.

I've heard of this group and they pop up a lot on recommended indie lists but this was my first listen to their recordings. I really enjoyed the mellow vocals (but couldn't really make out the words). The music, however, was very noisy and production a little overbearing. Not really sure I can say I enjoyed it but it was certainly an unusual album.

Enjoyable, but not memorable

Loved the noisy guitar/understated vocal combo.

Pleasantly surprising, this one. Hints of Autechre and ambient droning, whereas I think I expected something like a bad metal score to a slasher movie.

My first listen to a My Bloody Valentine, which is a surprise. Not sure what I was expecting, other than to maybe like this more than I did. It was solid though.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs:

Can't tell what is being sung, but an interesting, hazy, shoegaze type sound

I love the opening track Only Shallow. The others don't hit me as well, but it is still a good and important album for alt music.

We need to talk about headphones culture. Seriously.

its alright i guess, shoegaze alternative rock

I know the indie police will come for me, but it's a little bit boring. I see they're trying to make noise and beauty meld into an original thing... But the music doesn't realise that ambition, at least until 'soon' which is a tune. I'd come in expecting more, as I knew it's reputation. It's not bad, but it's a bit too background for me. It feels tasteful, like coffee table books and Insta homes. Come and get me indie police!

Ok album. It is from 91 but still sounds 80's. Not my prefered choice, but still ok.

Not familiar with the album and it really did not hold my attention. I guess I am not a fan... Apparently there are sonic innovations for the guitar here...I guess I can recognize that contribution to music, but it doesn't really capture my soul at all. It just kind of hung around in the background of my awareness as I listened to it droning on and on.

I guess I am realizing that the “shoegaze” genre is something I prefer in smaller doses as opposed to whole albums. I didn’t dislike this but got bored during the first song. It just didn’t hold my interest. I don’t mind listening to this and there are points I found interesting, but they sort of fly by and I feel like I’m always waiting for something else to happen.

Aquele rockzinho início anos 1990, meio nirvana meio Dawson's Creek (haha). Combinou com a chuva de hoje.

Fun, loud, early 90s

Sounds like the Cocteau Twins going goth. It's not bad, but I'd rather be listening to "Heaven or Las Vegas" for the one millionth time.

Remember this from my teenage years. Proper moody show gaze

I don't know what I expected but this is really good! Crazy wall of sound style for a lot of it.

I didn’t really get MBV at the time this was released but says more about the music I was listening to then. Looking back 30 years it was very much ahead of its time and influential to many bands since then. Soon is great but some of the rest of the album washes over me a bit. More of a ‘single track on radio’ than ‘listen to whole album’ for me but I don’t dislike it

I guess one of the advantages of having the vocals so mixed down is that you don’t need to worry too much about the lyrics. I like the droning, textured guitar sounds. They remind me of a more muddled version of The Jesus & Mary Chain, and while I was never a big fan of that band, MBV, like Sonic Youth, benefits by having a second (female) vocalist – though at times it’s hard to tell if Bilinda Butcher she’s singing or if it’s just another layer of feedback.

Probably good for driving or studying or something. Kind of just noise but not unpleasant. This is the bad that your college freshman roommate insists is absolutely brilliant for reasons he cannot quite articulate.

It's like the deliberate surrealism of Salvador Dali , with Van Gogh's fuzzed and enriched palette. The album is at once a hazy blur of sound and a precise vision of production. I think it's the sort of album that a student or a music industry professional could study endlessly, in search of just how they manged to so completely fill every possible inch of the soundscape. I'm not sure that I really connect with the album all that much. It feels like more of a work of Dali, and I'm more of a Van Gogh fan (to reuse my earlier anologies), but I can fully appreciate the artistry involved.

Not what i was expecting, thought they were an emo band!

Just not a genre that will grow on me.

The genre itself is just too messy for me, the sound and vocals are merging into each other, hard to hear and understand anything. Songs are not catchy or memorable either

I constantly hear about how really good this album is. I think it's good, I want to like it way more than I actually do though. Maybe it's that this album influenced a lot of music I really enjoy or maybe the sort of low tune singing and soundscape idea isn't for me.

I first listened to "Loveless" blaring out of a tiny portable speaker in my shower room while trying to clean the grout in the tiles. The acoustics of the room lent themselves well to the band's cavernous ocean of sound, but I didn't really enjoy most of the album and that mildew didn't go anywhere. My experience probably wasn't what Kevin Shields and co. had in mind when they forked out £250k on this back in 1991. I was pleased to have the opportunity to listen with fresh ears, get lost in the music, drown in the reverb, and finally understand what all the fuss was about. I was still just thinking about bloody Dettol and latex. There are some gems for sure: "Only Shallow" kicks things off with a cacophonous bang, immediately presenting a unique take on guitar-playing with a sirening riff above layer upon layer of feedback and tremolo-bar usage. It's certainly impactful and the distant, dreamlike vocals kicking in for each verse elevate the song to delirious, foggy heights. "Touched" is a brilliant but brief instrumental with a queasy mix of strings and feedback, feeling almost proto-industrial: I would have loved to have heard more of this side of MBV. In the remaining songs, it was half-and-half: "When You Sleep" and "Soon" had some great refrains that sounded like woodwind or synths but were probably sampled vocals or guitars, but lasted longer than I was interested in them. However, tracks like "To Here Knows When" and "Sometimes" just got lost in too much low-end distortion, and by "What You Want" there wasn't much more I felt I could get from "Loveless." The formula of obscured vocals and layers of guitar effects wore thin for me after a while: it's all technically commendable, but I didn't find enough to call it a favourite. Although it may be sacrilege to say so, for me it lacks the memorable tunes for a more seamless blend of noise and pop like "Psychocandy", achieved five years earlier by Jesus and Mary Chain. I'm not rating below a 3 here, as I think there's plenty of room for this to grow on me. I also appreciate the dogged vision of this project (any artist willing to spend years sculpting a specific sound isn't to be trifled with). My tiles still have bad grout.

Too much noise in the background, for me

I did not expect this, why did I think this was like mid 2000's screamo? I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it

80s druggie vibes

It was fine.

This was a weird one, not really sure if I liked it or not. Most of the songs sounded the same.

Yesterday my 17 year old was wearing a My Bloody Valentine t-shirt and I thought to myself, "I should check them out." Today, here they are on my 1001 songs list. Strange. Anyway, this was just ok for me. I don't love the dissonant noise type stuff. Some songs were better than others. 3 stars.

Creative dreaminess

3.75

I was waiting for this to show up. It was only a matter of time, but I expected it would take more than a week. It's fine, it's swirly, atmospheric. It's got a few great pop tunes on it, but I can't say I listen to it often for fun. I probably don't do enough drugs.

too sonic for me.

Higher end of a 3, nearly 4

Very into a lot of their riffs Not to be my Mom about it, but "a lot of their songs sound the same". This autoplayed into another band after and I didn't even notice. That being said, was still into it.

“Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine (1991) This is good Irish/British shoegaze pop. An album with a title that is not the same as the title of one of the songs included on it frequently gives the listener a needed clue to a unifying theme. In this case, My Bloody Valentine succeeds, without sophistication, in depicting the sadness of isolation, with a somewhat hopeful resolution on the final track. With lyrics that are very spare, emotional snapshots really, the words prompt momentary and static consideration, nothing more. But they are well enough composed as discourse designed to steer the listener toward the sounds of the music—and those sounds are remarkable. This group does unique things with electric guitars and keyboards that initially sound like mistakes—like alternative tunings and fleeting tone ‘dips’ that sound like the tape got stretched (or the LP is warped, for those of us from that era). But through deft repetition and rhythmic consistency, a first time listener soon discovers that they are intentional, and they go beyond the mere experimental. It seems that the musicians have studied and become adept at creating a sound environment that takes us beyond convention. And it’s a nice trip. It’s not exactly atonality (it sticks to standard progressions), and it’s certainly not cacophony. Each departure from the expected is sustained long enough for the listener to get used to it before moving on to the next one. They go slow. Sampling is utilized (e.g., on “Touched”) to counterpose standard compositional techniques with the stunningly intricate innovations that the group brings to the ears. Vocals, bass, and drums remain steady throughout, giving these songs a pop appeal. After listening through the entire album, however, it seems that certain of their innovations are overused (especially the ‘dips’—why not try an occasional ‘bump’?). It would be interesting to compare this music with the group’s later work. While “Loveless” is certainly fascinating, it’s definitely not for everyone. You could listen to this while you work, but it might distract you from your livelihood. Use with caution. 3/5

Noisy and low fi. Can hear it influencing plenty of other genres and bands

Didn't really click with me tbh

I was never into them when I was younger, this is the first time listening to an entire album. I think I missed the bit in this one and now it’s too late.

Liked the two popular songs - Shallow and When You Sleep.

I have tried and tried with this album. This time on headphones while in a walk. A little more appreciation this time but still the magic escapes me. Maybe the melodies like the vocals are buried too deep for me to find. When you Sleep is the highlight. I'm getting there and this time I WANT to listen again. 3.5 🌟

I feel like...for the time this type of shoegaze was pretty new and sounded great. However, I'm not sure this is a "must hear" before I die type of album. Most of it became background noise.

Mixed feelings. I see the appeal, I’m sure it’s ideal when you’re feeling the right kind of gloomy, and nothing about it is bad per se, it’s just not my cup of tea

Started off good and different but got REALLY weird near the end.

Good stuff.

I knew the name of the band, but I'm not sure if I've ever taken time to listen to any of their music. On my first listen, "Soon" was the track I liked the most, and "I Only Said" was the track I wished would end sooner. Perhaps on a second listen, I might think that this album was more enjoyable. Either way, this feels like a 3-star album.

It was good, although more atmospheric than anything

Pretty noisy. I liked the noise except the vocals are so low that I found myself straining to hear them.

Noisy but very teenage indie

Pleasent noise.

Really strange. Some cool guitar, but not really my things.

Helaas niet kunnen luisteren op spotify of Deezer. Ik ken het album wel uit die tijd, dus deze verdiend een score

There are some cool musical ideas on here but I don’t like how you can barely hear the vocals and the droning distorted guitar gets kinda tiring. There’s not a lot of contrast. I liked When You Sleep, Sometimes and What You Want the most

Some good sounds, slightly phsycadelic guitars. Enjoyed the album, vocals fairly non descript but sound good and atmospheric.

vocals are NOT what I expected. reminds me a lot of smashing pumpkins sometimes. Not a huge fan.

.

Nice shoegaze.

I could love this less. Same ethereal energy as Virgin Suicides with more arena sounding guitars. Reminds me of Viva Voce and solo drive to Presidio.

I thought they were emo. This was more ambient. Pretty decent.

Alright nineties rock.

A classic shoe gaze album that defined the genre. Personally not my favorite shoe gaze album (I prefer Cocteau Twins), but still overall decent to listen to.

A little bit girly

Noisy but good

I think this might be an album you have to listen to A LOT in order to "get it". I just am not sure that will happen for me.

you keep bugging me for not listening to this one and so i did and its just another sad emo albim that i hear clairo on at timea???

I like some noisy distortion on occasion(Sleigh Bells comes to mind) but i couldn’t listen to all of this. Now it’s on my YouTube algorithm

Me gustó pero todas iguales muy de fondo creo

nah, too repetitive

This is seriously just distorted noise. I suppose I can give it some credit for being different but… wow. DNF (2)

Man, so many people praise this thing like it's the greatest album ever made, including a lot of artists I love. I just don't get it. There's occasionally a good riff here or there but it mostly just sounds like someone humming over white noise.

This is the second album I've had by this band on here, and the second time I've wondered why. Is there a reason anyone needs to hear shoegaze before they die? One of my favorite genres is progressive rock, so I’m no stranger to odd guitar tunings, weird time signatures and vocals that some people despise. But in prog it makes for a unique, organized experience and here I feel like it’s a discordant mess with mumbling and moaning over it. 2⭐️

Jangly, raw, but seemingly and oddly submerged as well

Not my words — I'll quote a review from the internet, couldn't say it better myself: 'About 6 or 7 years ago, when I first learned about this album and tried listening to it on my phone with cheap earbuds, I figured I just didn't have the right gear to appreciate this opus. Later, when I came back to this album with decent headphones and a player, I still thought I was simply unworthy of grasping all the nuances and facets of this work. And only after I got truly good headphones and an amplifier, and put on the 24/96 version of the album, did I finally realize what overrated crap it is

Not what I expected

Too god damn much navel gazing shit on this record

An endless drone. It bored me and I DNF. Some of the droning was pleasant.

Muito barulho e pouca música. Vocal muito baixo.

When it started I was like oh I'm going to have to give this some attention but I largely just couldn't hold onto any of it. More forgettable than I thought it would be. Maybe it was the day

Like I said last time they came up, This is inoffensive. It's a nice listen but nothing popped me. Last time I went 3, this time I'll go 2 for a nice average.

Only Shallow 2.7 Loomer 2.4 Touched 2.4 To Here Knows When 2 When You Sleep 2.8 I Only Said 2.3 Come in Alone 2.6 Sometimes 2.4 Blown a Wish 2.3 What You Want 2.3 Soon 2.4 Score: 2.418181818

few words. vocals.

YouTube play. Odd. Will not Dig. Cannot Flush. Nope. Next!

Alas, I feel I am not really shoegazer material.

Unintelligible Dreamy Smashing Pumpkins. At least with Corrigan's nasally voice I can understand what he is saying. Sonically, I like it. Lyrically, I could barely hear what he is saying. Odd that it's not on Spotify but other albums are. 2.5

La verdad no me gustó el estilo de la banda

2/5

This wasn't bad, but a lot of these songs just went on and on a d went nowhere. I definitely can't say this was my favorite. It felt like there wasn't much here to set this apart. Very "noise" like with mumbling for vocals Liked Songs: "Only Shallow" , "When You Sleep" , "I Only Said" , "What You Want" , "Soon"

A little too airy and insubstantial for me. It wasn't awful but I just don't really like My Bloody Valentine's music. It was alright as a background album while I was doing some work though, not distracting but not a standout either.

I tried. I tried many times. I tried on headphones, I tried on speaker. I tried during the day, I tried at night, I tried in the summer, I tried in the winter. No amount of listens changes the fact that this album is a slog that only occasionally manages to convey its walls of noise into actually enjoyable songs. Granted, when it does it leads to some amazing moments of beauty, but finding them is like looking for a needle in the hay.

Nej till detta. Gitarroljud i 50 minuter med sång som knappt hörs. Det är min upplevelse. Jag har lyssnat på bandet vid något tillfälle tidigare men gillade inte då heller. Coolt band förstås och det hade varit kul att gilla dem men, men...

Heard of this band but not sure I've ever listened to them. I like the music but the vocals leave something to be desired. This album is just boring. I can see why it was important at the time but it really just drones on and on. It feels like this album just never ends, very boring an repetitive.

p655. 1991. 2 stars. Noisy and distorted Brit alt-rock that gets tedious very quickly. Nope.

A lot of noise, though I didn't hate it entirely?

Sin más

This one is not fully on streaming. But I remember from earlier in my life that it wasn't that special to me. Shoegaze adds to other genres but by itself it doesn't excite me much. My bloody valentine isn't the exception I want them to be. I'm sorry.

It only let me listen to one song

No. There is no universe in which I find this appealing or interesting. In this game two strikes and you’re out.

That was a ray of sunshine. Is there a difference in the songs...sludge, incomprehensible lyrics, same sounding, not a difference in tone. Yeah, I'm amazed that people like this, whatever it is. I've tried to like these folks, but it just doesn't resonate with me on any level. Okay, it's better than ABBA. I'll give them that. And it's probably cool to say you love MBV, but I'm gonna be honest: wtf are they singing? Perhaps it doesn't matter...? 2 "better than ABBA" stars. (Okay, they might be good in concert since who really listens to the words live....)

Bland and unremarkable.

this one was a snoozefest made snoozier by the fuzzy sound engineering

no sorry

#bernwoche ich verstehe die Produktionsentscheidung das eh schon flächige noch flächiger zu machen in dem alles ohne lautstärken- und frequenzausschläge einheitlich vor sich hin wubbert und leidet überhaupt nicht. Denn eigentlich mag ich ja diese Art von Gesang und Abwechslung von flächigen Gitarren und simplen Melodien. Aber auch bei den Melodien oft einfach nervige Sounds.

Es wird mir total klar, warum das Genre "Shoegazing" heißt. Was besseres als zu dieser Musik auf meine eigenen Schuhe zu starren fällt mir auch nicht ein. 6 Minuten Tracks, die nur 3 Minuten tragen. Zwischendurch starke Arrangements und Melodien, aber es ist mir zu repetitiv. Ist mir zu repetitiv. Zu repetitiv. Zu repetitiv. Zu repetitiv. Zu repetitiv. Zu repetitiv. Repetitiv....pitiv...pitiv...tiv.....

Tja

Contender for the most overrated album of all time? This album gets so so much praise, one of the best albums ever blah blah blah... I'd been putting off listening to this based on the times I'd heard 'Only Shallow' on the radio or whatever, as it just sounded crap. Which as I was probably hearing it through crappy speakers, I thought I'd give it a fair chance by playing it on my proper speakers. I was hoping for a Frank Reynolds 'Oh my god... I get it' moment but it didn't arrive. Kevin Shields apparently reinvented the guitar, why should I care unless it sounds good? It's like those people who have world records like most hurdles jumped over on a pogo stick in 3 minutes while wearing a diving suit. Good for you, I guess? I thought maybe I just dislike shoegaze, dream pop/rock as a genre, but I don't think that's the case. I like Cocteau Twins, they do this sort of thing far better. Just how it's produced takes most of the blame I think. This sort of dreamy pop should sound ethereal, open, relaxing, like you're floating on air. Loveless sounds hemmed in, the constant droning causes tension in the head. It's the sort of dream you have where the alarm clock is blaring in the bedroom and your brain has mutated it into your dream in some unpleasant fashion instead of waking you up. Now I've said how much I dislike this album, I'm gonna contradict myself a bit and say it wasn't as bad as I feared! It wasn't complete torture to listen to, but certainly not one of the greatest albums ever.

man everything here is so muddied. Distorted guitar and almost like a weird film of interference over everything. Not the absolute worst but if they cleaned up the sound a little more I think it couldve been a lot better.

Distorted guitars and that’s about it. Left very little impression on me

Fuzzy music over barely audible vocals. I get this is considered one of the best of the shoegaze genre but being the best of the worst doesn't mean it's good.

in my mind, this was a horror movie

Guys, it's okay to tone the reverb down.

I guess I like the idea of MBV better than the reality

Verrek, dat eerste nummer ken ik gewoon. Ik was eigenlijk al voorbereid op de inmiddels 3e matige plaat van My Bloody Valentine, maar door dat eerste nummer gaat dit misschien redelijk meevallen. Hoopte ik, maar het tweede nummer is weer precies hetzelfde irritant wazige geluid met veel echo en ruis. Het zuigt heel veel energie weg. Ik krijg hier zelfs zowat hoofdpijn van. Gelukkig zit er meer samenhang in het middelste gedeelte en laten ze de vreemde vertraging weg of is die minder prominent aanwezig. Om op het eind het er weer in te pleuren. 1 album van deze figuren was wat mij betreft al meer dan genoeg. Op basis van dat beginhitje zou ik zeggen dat ze dan het beste dit album zouden hebben gekozen. Ik heb eerder een 2 en een 3 gegeven. Door het eerste gedeelte van dit album heb ik even gespeeld met een 1. Laat ik het op een 2 houden, omdat ik "only shallow" oprecht een prima nummer vind.

Ne zamee

Only one song was listed on Spotify, but honestly didn’t try to kill myself finding the rest cause it just all sounds the same for me.

If there was one thing I learned from this list is that I can't get into noise pop or shoegaze or whatever the hell is supposed to be, and I really tried to like it.

Can’t quite get it to 3. The effects are too often ineffective. Some bits are pretty good though. 2.5

Unfortunately this album is not available on my chosen streaming platform, so I had to listen to a low quality Youtube rip. I think I have an idea of what it is going for but if you're mad at this review, please dont be lol. 2.5/5

Wasn’t on Spotify so listened from YouTube. Wondered if the upload quality wasn’t great, eventually accepted no it’s supposed to sound this way. So much going in that for me it turns into too much. Makes it hard to appreciate each thing. Atmospheric for 5 minutes or so, but eventually felt trapped in an endless loop. Don’t know what the point was of having different tracks, they all felt the same. I kind of get it, but…nah.

Not my favorite kind

I appreciate what they've done but this just isn't for me. Also, it wasn't a Spotify.

Not my genre at all, potentially good music but spoilt by the production

wenig hörbar.

Shoegaze, jetzt weiss ich woher gewisse Bands diesen Stil haben. Faszinierend aber schwer erträglich.

Sounded like just nose but hard to find online. Listened to album as one track on YT music.

Mmm…

Listened to a couple of tracks but not motivated to continue

This website sure loves noodley records.

sobe o tom de voz, pelo amor de deus pressão baixíssima e ainda palhaçada de música em lowercase

47. avg mbv

I want to start a garage band.

A ghost recorded this album. I didn't understand anything.

More bog standard 1990s fare that is the hallmark of this list. This one is really quite dull.

Very much noise experience

Sometimes I feel like I like this album. I feel like I'd need no distractions, a dark room and some high quality headphones to get the absolute most out of it. When I don't have this, which is 99% of my music listening opportunities, i don't get the effect and it just sounds distant, mixed up and a drone. Will endeavour to find that dark room one day.

Legendary. Just not for me.

its not on spotify

#230/1001. My son is in to shoegaze music now. As this was on the list I played it to him in the car, asking what does he think. His answer repeats the list: I don't know, it sounds quite meh. As for me, I remember browsing LPs in so many record stores 30 or so years ago, and bumping in to this cover many many times, imagining what the band would sound like. Ok, now it was on the list and it sounds exactly as I thought it would. So I don't regret not buying it, although I'm sure the album would have meant a lot more to me.

79/1001 First listen. Apt album cover. A narrow field of colour from a broader spectrum. It looks like it sounds. I’m sure I only know of this band from their merch at Hot topic. I’ve never come across shoegaze music in the wild before. Not the sort of stuff you hear through the regular channels. I could probably get into this if I spent enough time with it. There’s nothing going on here making me want to do that though. 3/10

eh

4/10

didnt really like it. It sounded as if it was being played on an old 1960's record player, too much treble not enough bass. It was a racket.

Very eerie feeling. Klausos 4. Dziesmu šobrīd un būtu kā ārā no šausmenes 😬 Salauzts radio atp...lol. Okay, jā, man jau bail. Nesaprotu the glaze for this. Pēdējas kādas 4 dzieamas palika jau labāk, bet, godīgi, man slikti palika nedaudz. 🫡

Gott mangel. När melodier kan anas i larmet blir det rätt bra, som i inledande Only shallow, When you sleep och What you want. Men det sker för sällan.

Tror jag hade gillat det här på 90-talet (troligen upptäckt några år sent). MBV är ett band jag flera gånger tänkt lyssna på utan att det blivit av. Nu har jag det. Den spontana reaktion blir, ”jaha”. Varken mer eller mindre. Rimligen har man blivit mer kräsen med åren. Det här maler på utan att någonting händer. Shoegaze må ha varit det coolaste i världen 1991 men 34 år senare inser man att det knappast åldrats med värdighet. Vissa melodier är småtrevlig, likväl inget som läggs på minnet. Texterna då? Ingen aning helt omöjligt att ens gissa språket. Svag svag tvåa.

I'm a fan of distortion. Hendrix, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Husker Du and Sonic Youth in moderation. This seems to be an album dedicated to it and was a barrier between me and the lyrics. There were a couple tracks I was on the verge of enjoying, but most set my teeth on edge.

Redefinição de ruído e barulho a serviço do pop. Não curti a mixagem e tudo o mais. CHT. 2 a 3 estrelas

I've tried so may times over the years to like this album, but I must be the only shoegazer who doesn't like MBV! Only Shallow and Soon are brilliant but the rest is just noise and as much as I like a bit of fuzz, there is a lack of any kind of melody.

I can see how many British and Irish bands were inspired after listening to this album. The opening track is easily the best: volcanic, tender, and yet, piercing. It's a strange song but a fantastic blend of noise and silence. That song alone gives this album an instant 2.

Not for me

In smaller doses this would be a fun listen. It gets old quick in album form.

Not for me. Too much witchy-90s vibes. Favorite Song(s): Honey Power

The birth of this record was difficult, to put it mildly, partly because of the character of Kevin Shields, who is either a once-in-a-generation creative genius or a self-indulgent divo, depending who you ask. I don’t think this album is anywhere near as groundbreaking as its hagiographers claim. The guitar had been used as an ambient noise creator for years before this record came out. The lit critic Clive James, a master of the polite insult said of abstraction in poetry that it ’…widens the scope within which incompetence can fail to declare itself.’ The same is true of abstraction in music. One person’s creative chaos is another person’s self-indulgent mess. I’m in the second camp.

I think this album has potential, but the distortion is too thick for me. The best song was "what you want"

Not necessarily my cup of tea. But I can appreciate this, and I support anyone who promotes guitar pedals.

Not a fan of this style of music with guitar overdrive and vocal mumbling.

I understand the guitar skill but come on we are all not Eddie Vedder or need to pretend to be him

If this project has taught me anything, it’s that shoegaze is not for me. I don’t hear groundbreaking; I hear messy and lazy. What really shocks me is how much time and money went into making it. You’re telling me this took years and a fortune? I could’ve made most of this album in my basement with a cassette recorder and a handful of faulty pedals. Revered or not, this is a big swing and a miss for my ears.

Not my cup of tea.

Mix is a bit shit

Interesting. Decent listen and a lovely bit of 90's nostalgia.

This is the second album from this Irish band. The music is decent, although not memorable. This band is another one of those bands using the ‘wall of sound’ concept. There’s a bit of ethereal sound here, too. The biggest negative is that the lyrics, for the most part, are unintelligible.

Never listened to this band, which seemed like an oversight by me (90s indie/alternative? that's my wheelhouse!) until... I listened to this band. I do like the vocals, especially Butcher's, but they are totally drowned out by unpleasant guitar. Much more "noise pop" than "dream pop". If this is what shoegaze is, give me some hatglance instead!! (Maybe part of this is my crappy laptop speakers, because I really feel like I'm missing something.)

Not big on shoegaze

Not for me. I get the whole shoegaze sound, I can't understand what they're saying, so it just sounds like guys jamming in a jam hall.

Shoegaze staple, but i don't like shoegaze. Almost turned this off early, glad i made it to the end - the closing track is really awesome

Too distorted for me

Too much noise, saturation, you name it.

# 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

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

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

Not my jam

2.4

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

noise pop? ambient indie? tedious boring and pretentious?

2/5 Best Track - "When You Sleep"

influential, yes. listenable? not really

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

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.

At times indistinguishable from a tape deck eating a cassette.

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

Sperimentale e curioso, ma non per me

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.

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.

Droning tuneless noise. Bleh.

Indi pop. Not my thing. Too much electronica

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.

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."

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

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

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.

Gross

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.

Early 90s indie/alt sound. Not my thing

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Dollar General Smashing Pumpkins

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

Didn’t enjoy