devastatingly good, and nearly miraculous given the fact that this album had 22 years of hype behind it. i agree with some reviewer who said it's a third part opera old school mbv, new material, antidote i would actually simplify it guitars, synthesizers, percussion. the music is dynamic, some songs are forceful and ferocious, others are smooth, gentle, romantic, they all intertwine, they build on one another. it's a welcome resurgence of the beauty of the electric guitar, and a clear pointer towards new directions the band hopefully continues to follow. ace.… Expand

22 years after making the seminal shoegaze album of the 1990's, no band came close to achieving the level of success with droning guitars and faded vocals, as My Bloody Valentine had. That is, until MBV. While it certainly is a step down from Loveless in terms of perfection, and is less erratically creative then the 1988 precursor Isn't Anything, MBV is still a step above all guitar rock today, because of the sound My Bloody Valentine has alone perfected. Whether it proves to be as timeless as it's predecessors may take another quarter century to determine, but surely this is a magnificent return, made by one of the most reclusive bands of all time.… Expand

Definitely not a bad album on the whole, although I think sentimentality may be partially behind the perfect scores it's receiving. As the eponymous, tripartite title suggests, this album is not really a cohesive work, but more of a collection of tracks from their long years of silence. As such, it's quite inconsistent. There's some really classic content here, and for that reason you should give it a listen; but there's also a fair amount of less worthy stuff.

Loveless and its associated EPs were incredible achievements; the melodies were perfect and otherworldly, and yet the band intentionally obfuscated them behind layers of wonderfully creative noise.

And there are indeed some glimmers of that magic here, especially in the first three songs, which also seem like they're the earliest content from the two-decade recording period, most resembling the band's previous work. "Only Tomorrow" in particular is the clear highlight of the album, with a swooning, feminine melody, alongside a pained, jagged guitar, swooping vocals, and finishing with a strange, sluggish solo.

But after that, as we enter the more recent and unconventional side of the album, I find that things progressively lose their lustre. The melodies, surprisingly for this band, become quite forgettable and rambling; the harmonies and rhythms, bland. This reaches its nadir in the closer "Wonder 2", for which I really don't have much praise. The noise is still there, but now, instead of hiding brilliance, it almost feels like it's there to hide a lack of musical substance... and without the underlying crystalline beauty, the chaos becomes rather empty and uninteresting.

However, the disappointment here is easily countered by how great it is to see My Bloody Valentine finally out of their rut. They've shown that they still have their ability to match their younger selves, and I eagerly await the planned EP of brand new content.… Expand

I wish Talk Talk had come out of retirement instead. M B V sounds like Loveless with all the substance removed. I would review it in detail, but despite having listened five times I still couldn't say what it sounded like.

I got to see MBV live back in Vancouver in the early 90s during the bands heyday. While back then I was into the whole shoegazer/madchester/etc scene and I really liked Loveless, when I heard the band were coming out with a new album (lol I'll believe it when I see it), I was curious. I dusted Loveless off and gave it the first listen in probably over 10 years and it brought me back to younger days....so when I picked up the new album, I was really curious to see what the band would churn out after all these years. The end result.... most of the album could have been holdovers from Loveless, the other half sounds like old farts trying to stay trendy and relevant. Not bad, but not as good as some of these metacric reviews would lead you to believe.....… Expand

My Bloody Valentine have not just returned, they have progressed. They have written m b v as if they’d traveled back to the early-to-mid-90s. This does not sound like a comeback album, this sounds like a long-awaited follow-up. Is it better than Loveless? No, but I never expected it to be. Will it be as influential as Loveless? Unlikely. But it’s “Welcome home”, it’s “Welcome back” and it’ack” and it’s “Sorry you ever left us.”… Expand

Its just incredible how they can manage to stay fresh and original after a staggering 22 years. Great stuff here.

This is a great record. Whether you loved 'Loveless' or have never heard of My Bloody Valentine before this, this is a great record. Kevin Shields writes pop songs, then he processes the hell out of them, cranking on the fuzz, distortion, reverser reverb, flangers, phasers, and things that we probably didn't even know existed, until that pop song sits in a sonic space not unlike the reality we create when we dream. Sometimes those dreams are ethereal and soothing. Sometimes they're chaotic sensory overloads with no direction, or end in sight. Always, however, they're unique and inspiring, and that's why this band means so much to so many people. M B V picks up where Loveless has left off. A whole new generation of artists are set to be inspired.… Expand

The album is strong but not as strong as its ratings will have you believe. It will build you up over the first six tracks, give you the impression you are listening to a masterpiece, but by the final track you're somehow still waiting for a climax that came and went. It loses focus in its final three (of nine total) tracks. Loveless was consistent, amazingly so. 7.7/10

An almost perfect near-masterpiece comeback album of the year-I tried to be realistic about it and not to expect miracle after all this time but this is even better than I hoped it would be.

MBV is surprisingly good and fresh-sounding. A lot can go wrong when a band has an excessive amount of time to record/revise (think G n' R's "Chinese Democracy" which most certainly did not live up to the hype). Thankfully, that is not the case here and for the most part, MBV delivers. The songs are direct and focused and while the trademark sound is still there (fractured guitar drone and ethereal vocals), there is a new reliance on 7th chords which gives this an updated sound. MBV is not stuck back in the 90's which was my biggest fear before listening to this. My only gripe is a couple of songs which seemed more like half-baked ideas than fully realized songs (she found now, is this and yes), but the other tracks more than make up for this. MBV is a worthy successor to "Loveless" and well worth the wait. PS The jet-engine sample in Wonder 2 is one of the coolest things I've heard in the past few years.… Expand

This is near-perfect album is full of the ethereal and dreamy goodness we can expect from My bloody Valentine, but it is also more dynamic and mercurial than previous efforts. I can only hope their next album is not released 22 years later. Is it as good as Loveless? I'm not sure, and that might be the greatest compliment I can give this album.

M B V. Superb and fresh. After 22 years, My Bloody Valentine are back and with a near-super record. By far, the good things are its strong songwriting. Definitely buy it. Go Now!

Holy moley! A new MBV album. How long has it been? Well that crappy Kevin Costner-in-tights movie had just come out, and Paula Abdul still had songs on the radio…that long. So is it any good? Yes. Does it have swirling guitars and new sounds to blow your mind? Yep. (More jet engine!) Is it better than Loveless? Nope. But it’s an adequate follow up (which is a monumental compliment) and an an interesting, totally worthy record in its own right. For those not familiar with this band…it might be a tough introduction. There are no singles here. Just heavy guitars, drowned out vocals, and complex melodies that sometimes require a few spins. Listen to it with headphones. Listen to it loud. Enjoy! Thanks for not disappointing Kevin Shields. A-…or 9/10. Cheers! –CCC… Expand

As close to perfect as I can imagine. I just missed Loveless, caught up on a second hand cassette which I now realise wasn't stretched out. But I just missed it. Knees deep in pavement and nirvana in 92, saw them both live, and I feel this album, I feel every turn.

A truly unusual album. My first experience with My Bloody Valentine, as I'd never heard of Loveless before, which I subsequently loved after hearing this M B V. Not what I expected at all when I'd heard people talking about this new great album, and after listening it over and over I did learn to appreciate it, and now I truly adore it. The layers of melody, of the guitars and whatnot, I don't need fancy words to express what a tremendous effort this album was. The most amazing though, is how a person would think to make music that sounds like this in the first place. Truly original, just like its 21-year predecessor.… Expand

I would like to bring this album back down to Earth. I understand that Loveless was a classic for its time, but I feel that if any other band produced basically the same album 2 years apart (let alone 22 years later) they would be ripped to shreds by some of these critics. I liked the album, but with the exception of "If I am," nothing really stood out to me. In fact, the album's closer, "Wonder 2" is downright grating. Perhaps I need to listen to it more, but it doesn't feel like they've done much more than replicate the sound from Loveless.… Collapse

Ever since having gotten away from alternative christian rock, the genre I was forced to stick with for most of my young life, the first sub-genre I latched onto was shoegaze. Something about the languid pace, and juxtaposition of towering guitar feedback walls with sweetly sighing vocals brought me peace where christian music made me want for unreachable goals. That being said, I was one of the many who saw Loveless as a trippy masterpiece, and one of the many who believed MBV would never release a sequel for fear of not living up to their prior heights.

My wait for mbv was more like 10 years since I found the group at 14. Still a long time to fruitlessly hope for a follow-up, but I digress. In short, this album is amazing for its bravery. It sounds less like a sequel to Loveless, more like an older sister. The sweetness is sweeter, the harshness is harsher, yet it all remains shrouded in a coat of mystery like always. This is one of the rare bands it's hard to discern the psychology behind, making the music all the more fascinating.

Just like Loveless, this won't be for everyone's taste. Most non-indie followers won't get it, and most indie kids won't appreciate the lack of pretentiousness or irony, instead preferring Thom Yorke's latest bland variation on The Eraser. But if you want the world to slow down, to surround you in shadow while you're led by comforting vocals that might or might not be ghostly, immerse yourself in mbv and let the fear melt away.… Expand

Beautiful! what can you say...
I wasnt even born when they start, but im so glad they're back
its not so intense and deep as loveless but i think they scored very good with this one!