After just over 21 years since their last album ‘Loveless,’ My Bloody Valentine has finally released a follow up titled ‘m b v.’ After a record like ‘Loveless’, which had impacted the genre forever, Kevin Shields and the rest of the band set out to build a record that would prove to be as timeless as the other. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, the band is also made up of Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums), Bilinda Butcher (guitar/vocals) and Debbie Googe (bass). After the band’s last album was released in 1991, they had reportedly recorded over sixty hours of new material which was surrendered to Island Records in 1999. Including whatever new material was created since then, the new album only encompasses 9 tracks with a run time of forty-six minutes and thirty-seven seconds. The album is currently selling for $16 with many eager fans willing to pay.

After the band announced via Facebook that the album would be available immediately, a few site bugs (mostly due to popular demand) delayed the actually release for just over three hours. Reports have stated that the band had finished the last of the new material just before this past Christmas, but the album could include material dating as far back as the year after ‘Loveless’. Regardless, the band finally gave its fans what they’ve been waiting for and it surely isn’t disappointing.

A lot of the sounds and effects are the same, but ‘m b v’ seems to have a more subtly developed composure. With smooth, yet grungy guitar riffs and vocals barely making it past the noise, the band seems to stick to their innovative sound that otherslike The Babies, Yuck, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sigur Rós have followed. Track 2, (“Only Tomorrow”) is beautiful in every way possible. Track 8, titled “Nothing Is, which rocks hard with a repetitive riff, and Track 4 (“Is This And Yes”), which takes on a mellow synth dream pop sound, are the most similar to each other in the sense that they stand out as the most unique material when compared to their former work.

Bilinda’s welcoming voice seems to drive the album with Shields taking a backup role for most songs. You can tell that the band’s heart was in the recording process and the raw emotion is clear. Shield’s Indie-rock style seems less intriguing since we’ve heard it being done before, but the new songs themselves are enough to buzz about for a long time to come.

My Bloody Valentine, a band that has no bad songs, have proved to be worth the wait with ‘m b v’. We can only hope that now we don’t have to wait another two decades for the next release. With less studio tricks and a more raw sound, the album is sure to impress all kinds of fans, each with different expectations. Some argue that the wait was due to the band’s effort to top ‘Loveless’, an impossible task. Maybe ‘m b v’ came after a realization that a less enhanced sound could be encouraged and a classic album like ‘Loveless’ shouldn’t be topped. All speculation aside, the album is worth every minute of the listen and we look forward to what the band has in store in the coming years.

Rating: 8/10