LoathsomePete

I won't lie and say that I'm a long time fan of My Bloody Valentine. While I was always aware of who they were and what genre of music they played, I always steered clear of their music in fear of catching the gay. Not only that but the little elitist sitting on my shoulder would always tell me that because they're so widely regarded then they must suck. Well never has that little cocksucker ever been so wrong because Loveless is a shining aural masterpiece and just proves that sometimes the majority can be totally right.

Loveless is quite possibly one of the most captivating dreamy sounding albums that feels like it was recorded after months of sleep deprivation until all the members of the band went into a catatonic state. Vocalist Kevin Shields even sounds like he's drifting off into a deep slumber in his lyrics which are practically incomprehensible, yet the lyrics come secondary to the amazingly deep and layered sound the rest of the band creates. This is probably due to the rumored £250,000 spent on recording the album, a figure that nearly bankrupted Creation Records.

Even as epic as the album is it is by no means perfect. There are a few songs that do not have that same polished feel to them and sound like pre Daydream Nation Sonic Youth. Now depending on if you like noise music could affect your opinion on these tracks. I also felt that the album ended rather abruptly and anticlimactically. The final track "Soon" is quite a lovely track, but it just doesn't provide that feeling of closure most final tracks are suppose to invoke. These are really just nitpicky minor complaints and they do not overall affect my feelings on the album.

There is no denying the massive impact Loveless has had on the alternative music scene since it was released. Many of the more popular '90's alt. rock bands have cited this album as a primary influence and the Smashing Pumpkins went so far as to hire Alan Moulder to help produce their magnum opus Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Their acclaim is not undeserving because they managed to do one of those rare things and that is to create new guitar sounds for a more populist audience. I am absolutely convinced some obscure band was doing the exact same thing at around the same time, yet it was My Bloody Valentine to bring the concept of swirling guitar sounds, waves of deeply layered fuzz, and only a vague idea of what Kevin Shields is saying to a wide audience. Loveless has become an album that I use to disprove similar close-minded individuals like my former self and has also become an album I can throw on whenever I feel the need to escape into a dreamy pseudo world without the need of intoxicants. It may be a new addition to my music archive but it has rectified some misconceptions I've had about popular albums and alternative music in a short amount of time, and thus is eligible to be put on my list.

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