Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Year Formed: 1984

Members:
Kevin Shields - guitar, vocals, sampler
Colm O'Ciosoig - drums, samples
Bilinda Butcher - guitar, vocals
Debbie Googe - bass

Bands In The Family:
Spacemen 3, Dot Allison, Experimental Audio Research, Spiritualized, Primal Scream, Snowpony, Stereolab

Notes:
The British music press labelled them "shoe-gazers" for their listless live performances, and they have the "distinction" of being the first band to be branded as such. Founder Shields has painstakingly guided the evolution of the band's sound through several relocations and line-up changes. He's lent a hand, from time to time, to the amorphous creations of Experimental Audio Research, brainchild of Spacemen 3's Pete Kember.

Guitar-woven tapestries of sound come a dime a dozen and end up, more often than not, hanging lifelessly in the air. My Bloody Valentine's churning guitars emulate the warm fluidity of cellos, creating limpid membranes of sound driven by undulating, visceral rhythms. Since their inception, they've spawned a myriad of languid imitators, none of whom have ever achieved such a lulling din.

This album is the result of nearly three years of meticulous toil, thanks to Kevin Shields' notorious perfectionism,and remains one of the decade's most influential albums. Stereolab has surely benefitted from Butcher's ghostly vocal stylings and "Loomers'" vast swath of tape loops.

The wavy "To Here Knows When" rivals any of Dinosaur Jr.'s hazier concoctions, and though O'Ciosoig's drumming is often relegated to the gullies of Loveless, he emerges adamantly on this track, refusing to be enveloped by the overpowering hum. The band rely heavily on wispy leitmotifs, threading them deftly through seemingly impenatrable layers of guitar, and on "Touched" and "When You Sleep," these sampled themes divulge Shields' familiarity with Fripp and Eno's ambient recordings of the late 70's.

If you like My Bloody Valentine, check out:
Dinosaur Jr. You're Living All Over Me
Flying Saucer Attack Mirror
Jessica Bailiff Hour Of The Trace
Spiritualized Lazer Guided Melodies
The Stone Roses The Stone Roses
Stereolab Cobra and Phases...
Swervedriver Raise
Mercury Rev Yerself Is Steam
Cocteau Twins Heaven Or Las Vegas
Lush Lovelife

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