[Genteel Death]

Are electronic elements in a rock band still meant to make them innovative?

[Genteel Death]

I like the record more than Loveless and much less than Isn't Anything or anything from that era.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Genteel Death

Are electronic elements in a rock band still meant to make them innovative?

I was kind of thinking the same thing. And the comment about tryjng to introduce drum and bass made me look at the record differently and experience a weird Dig Your Own Hole-era 1995/6 déjà vu feeling.

[Murmer99]

I find the album a bit dull. I liked their other two studio albums a lot but this one doesn't really do anything for me yet.

[Severian]

I wouldn't call it dull myself, but I think I can understand how it might seem that way to some. Seventy two hours after having access to it, and listening to it a number of times, I think I'm pretty satisfied with the album as a whole. I would go as far as saying that, like Genteel Death, I actually prefer it to Loveless, while still considering Isn't Anything to be the album to beat here.

The cover art is just terrible though. So is the album title. It gives it the feeling of something thrown together on a dare. But the music itself is great at best, and almost great at worst. I think it's better by far than it could have been, and I am still really loving the first three songs, and the last one. Can't quite choose a favorite yet, but it would be one of those.

[Murmer99]

It's not bad music, but none of the songs really go anywhere for me. Many of them drag on for too long as well. I would not put it above Loveless, but I'll keep listening to it to see if it grows on me. Listening to an album all the way through two times isn't really enough. And yes the album cover does suck.

[SYRFox]

Originally Posted by Genteel Death

Are electronic elements in a rock band still meant to make them innovative?

no. though they're at least often better than rock elements in an electronic band
note i didn't say i thought they would release something innovative. i said i thought they would go for a more electronic road, considering where they had left things - kevin shields into jungle, remixes of their tracks, shoegaze heading in this direction circa '94 (cf slowdive's in mind, etc). now as that was 22 years ago, it's hardly innovative

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by Severian

The cover art is just terrible though. So is the album title.

I adore the cover and I've grown to appreciate the "mbv" slapped on it. Maybe the album is untitled, and it is by mbv!!

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Skuj

I adore the cover and I've grown to appreciate the "mbv" slapped on it. Maybe the album is untitled, and it is by mbv!!

Hmm. Well, that would be an improvement, but I see no evidence that that is the case. Both album art and title are lazy and lack imagination. The albums itself is great, though.

[guest]

Originally Posted by Severian

Both album art and title are lazy and lack imagination. The albums itself is great, though.

on first glance, I thought the artwork was fucking atrocious, like really horrible. but having listened to the album I've gained a new respect for the cover, it mirrors that illusory aura that the album emits. it doesn't stand up to the music though, can't help but think that.

I think the title is fairly apt though, considering the fact that it really isn't an album in the traditional sense. it serves as a summation of MBV up to a point, just drawing a line under that incarnation of the band.

[foreverasskiss]

the thing about this band and their albums is when i hear them for the time they're astonising. then the 'wow' effect fades after a number of listens.

like the first time a heard Pavement's Wowee Zowee. "wowee, the greatest music i've ever heard". then, fades. gets limp.

same could be said with Whiite Light White Heat. awesome the first couple of days. now i only play the last 2 tracks. still over ten years after i originally heard it.

wire's last two albums are like this also. powerful, but in the end i always listen to what i first thought was boring and bland. i seem to like music that unfolds over time.

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by foreverasskiss

same could be said with Whiite Light White Heat. awesome the first couple of days. now i only play the last 2 tracks. still over ten years after i originally heard it.

But the last track is nearly half the fucking album, haha.

[foreverasskiss]

yea, and it's really the only track you need from that album.

Sister Ray is great for any mood. even better for an after meal digestion.

[Skuj]

Sorry we are off topic now, but I love that longish freaky one that Cale narrates. That whole album really is amazing, Man.

[foreverasskiss]

Originally Posted by Skuj

Sorry we are off topic now, but I love that longish freaky one that Cale narrates. That whole album really is amazing, Man.

yeah, it's a fucking jam, but after the first hearing..... really?? like really????

whatever she shoves whatever she shoves into his head is great, but really??? after the second time? not intense, but kinda cute. which is cool and allows it to be one of my fav Vel UNderground albums/songs(just by John Cale's voice). and his voice and noise alone. but is awesome!!!!!!

the jam is great, but the narrative is also great too. i once let my mom hear it just for the dramatic effect that it would cause on me and her hopeless son. helpless me, but dragged her soul down.

[Genteel Death]

A shaky interpretation of ''New You'' with some footage I took on a freezing London morning recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=skvc8cEfZ3g#!

[Nefeli]

i m listening to the other songs now via utube, because of 'new you', YOU posted baby.
pretty much consistent with Loveless sounds, which seems like a safe choice for them.
for now 'new you' i like the best. and it sounds fresh.

[Antagon]

I really like this album. The sounds are instantly recognizable and echo the whole Loveless-vibe, which one might argue is not very innovative but I really can't complain since I dig the hell out of its predecessor.

So it isn't anything completely new technically speaking but does it really matter? That giddy, dreamlike atmosphere is still there and I'd rather listen to a brilliantly executed Loveless 2.0 than something that is trying to break new grounds but ultimately doesn't really deliver.

In a nutshell: I didn't believe they'd release any new material anytime soon (or possible ever) and in this case m b v turned out to be a very positive surprise. Very good album, Loveless is still a tad better.

First verdict: 8.0-8,5/10 (Might need a few listens to settle for a definite score)

[Ghostchase]

I love it! Start to finish. I love the stutter in Only Tomorrow. Such a vast listening experience! The sound of my heart melting.

Am I correct in saying that this is a recording from the mid-late 90's, I remember Shields saying he has one older direct post-Loveless album and one more current album coming through the pipes in a interview on Soft Focus with Ian Svenonius.

[Antagon]

Originally Posted by Ghostchase

Am I correct in saying that this is a recording from the mid-late 90's, I remember Shields saying he has one older direct post-Loveless album and one more current album coming through the pipes in a interview on Soft Focus with Ian Svenonius.

It seems that at least partly it is. The wikipedia entry for the album states that part of it was recorded prior to their initial breakup, probably sometime around 1996 til 1997. It certainly sounds like some of the material was recorded during that time peroid.