MY BLOODY VALENTINE Rip Manhattan Apart

Last night Roseland Ballroom was the hottest place to be, not only in New York, but in the whole world. It is truly a Godsend that Kevin Shields reunited the original members of My Bloody Valentine for their first tour in 16 years. I feel especially lucky to have witnessed this epic return to the stage by one of the greatest bands of my lifetime. The 90 minute set (the first of two sold out nights at Roseland) was absolutely mesmerizing. From the captivating opener "I Only Said" to the mind-altering 20 minute wall-of-sound climax, this was an astounding show. Every song seemed to be a highlight, but some of those included ferocious and devastating renditions of classic tracks like "Only Shallow", "Soon", and "When You Sleep".


The previously mentioned wall-of-sound climax was unreal. With earplugs firmly intact, I felt like I was the guy at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey - traveling at light speed, trying to catch my breath and feeling the rumble of sound in every single part of my body, for twenty minutes. It was madness, like I was starting to lose my mind! Sensory overload in the most amazing way possible.

ATP NY Underway, Live Radio Stream

All Tomorrow's Parties New York is well underway. For those of you (like me) who are sad you couldn't make it upstate for the weekend to catch the incredible lineup, you can still listen to many of the bands performances via a live stream at WFMU.org. Expected highlights of the weekend include Harmonia, Low, Yo La Tengo, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Dinosaur Jr., Mogwai, Fuck Buttons, and of course My Bloody Valentine (who also play Roseland Ballroom in NYC on Monday night).

In related news...

Harmonia, the German krautrock supergroup that was formed in the 70's by Michael Rother (Kraftwerk/Neu!) and Hans-Joachim Roedelius/Dieter Mobius (Cluster), are playing (le) Poisson Rouge on Monday night. White Williams will open the show.

Yo La Tengo have released the new compilation They Shoot, We Score collects compositions made for four different films, including Junebug and Shortbus. You can purchase the compilation here.

ATP NY Goes Back On Sale, Major Additions to Lineup

Tickets for the first All Tomorrows Parties New York - curated by My Bloody Valentine - have went back on sale, though these tickets have you staying three miles from the venue, rather than onsite. You can purchase tickets here.

As well, a handful of amazing bands have been added to the already ear-splitting lineup. Dinosaur Jr., Yo La Tengo, Harmonia, and Mercury Rev will join MBV, Mogwai, Thurston Moore, Fuck Buttons, Meat Puppets, Low, Built to Spill, Autolux, Tortoise and many more for the three-day event being held at Kutsher's Country Resort in the Catskills.

More info here.

FUCK BUTTONS - "Bright Tomorrow"

Firstly, Fuck Buttons are not for everybody. But if you've ever liked experimental noise, this Bristol duo are definitely worth checking out. Start with the hypnotic video for the edit of 'Bright Tomorrow' below. The debut album Street Horrrsing was recorded by Mogwai's John Cummings and mastered by Bob Weston of Shellac.

Fuck Buttons - Bright Tomorrow (music video)


Fuck Buttons will join My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai, Low, Autolux, Tortoise, Thurston Moore, Shellac, and Meat Puppets for All Tomorrow's Parties New York, September 19-21. Don't get too excited though. The weekend sold out in under five minutes.

BOY IN STATIC

Boy In Static is the sonic brainchild of Alexander Chen, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist from Boston with a romantic devotion to the shoegazer sound of the early nineties. Among the amazing fifteen instruments Chen uses, the viola, organ and guitar help to create lush and cinematic dream pop reminiscent of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.

With the help of Markus and Micha Acher of The Notwist, Chen released Boy In Static’s debut album “Newborn” in 2004 on the Alien Transistor label. The sophomore release, “Violet”, was released last May through Mush Records and found itself at the center of a critical landslide. URB Magazine praised the album, proclaiming that it “manages to astonish. Takes a simple color and turns it into a masterpiece.” And Stylus raved, “Lush, gorgeous. Likely to satisfy anyone still waiting vainly for that follow-up to “Loveless”. Turns solipsism into a virtue.”

‘First Love’, the album’s opening track, perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the record. The soft intro slowly gives way to melancholy guitars, juxtaposed by the subtle hopefulness of sleigh bells. ‘Where It Ends’, the album’s first single, could easily have appeared on a teenager’s angst-ridden mix-tape circa 1991, nudged beautifully in between tracks by say, Ride and Chapterhouse.

Boy In Static kicks off a brief tour in Passaic, NJ on February 9, with stops in Toledo, Chicago, Decatur, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

For more information on Boy In Static, visit Myspace.

Originally published at Kevchino.com as part of Buzzworthy.

Boy In Static - Where It Ends (music video)

In Shoegazer News - JESUS & MARY CHAIN, MY BLOODY VALENTINE

According to Billboard.com, Jesus & Mary Chain "...are now whittling down dozens of new songs to 12 or so for the new album." That 'new album', their first since 1998's "Munki", is tentatively set for a late spring 2008 release. Some tracks that could make the cut are 'All Things Must Pass', which they performed earlier this year on 'Late Night with David Letterman', and 'Dead End Kids', a track that was played live on their 2007 reunion tour. A label has yet to be selected to release the new album.

A new Jesus & Mary Chain 4-disc box set is expected to be released though Rhino Records in March. Kevin Oberlin, the manager of JAMC says of the collection, "There are some great finds -- demos of a couple songs, alternate takes and rare acoustic versions."


As previously reported, My Bloody Valentine are readying their first album in 16 years. It has just been announced that the set will be released digitally (ala Radiohead-style, though a price will be set) in 2008. A vinyl release is also being discussed.

**UPDATE** - The MBV album will not be released digitally and will be completely unlike the Radiohead approach with its release. Read more about this here.

Coachella Rumors...

As tipped by ProductShopNYC, you can now add Radiohead, The Verve and Spiritualized to the growing list of bands being heavily rumored to appear at Coachella 2008 April 25-27. Check out the post at PSNYC, which also includes their list of the 50 best albums of 1997.

Here are the strongest of the rumored acts so far:

Radiohead
My Bloody Valentine
The Verve
Portishead
Spiritualized

Tuesday Throwback - MY BLOODY VALENTINE

In light of the news that My Bloody Valentine are reforming and will soon be releasing the follow-up to their classic 1991 LP "Loveless", let's take a look back at why the band are regarded on an almost Godlike level.

After a series of EP's in the eighties, MBV released the 'You Made Me Realise' EP in 1988, considered to be the band's breakthrough release. The title track was released as a single, garnering a heapload of acclaim for the shoegazer band from Ireland.

You Made Me Realise (1988)


A new single quickly followed. 'Feed Me With Your Kiss' was taken from the official debut LP "Isn't Anything", an album that solidified MBV as a strong force in the post-modern rock world of the late 80's.

Feed Me With Your Kiss (1988)


In 1991 My Bloody Valentine released "Loveless", an album that is now considered one of the best albums of the 90's and the greatest shoegazer set ever recorded. Endless bands and artists note "Loveless" as a major inspiration.

Only Shallow (1991)


To Here Knows When (1991)


Soon (1991)


Following the staggering critical success of "Loveless", the band's record deal dissolved and they went into near obscurity. Kevin Shields went on to join Primal Scream for the albums "XTRMNTR" and "Evil Heat" and Colm O'Ciosoig eventually joined Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions.

In 2003, Shields contributed new solo songs to Sofia Coppola's beloved film 'Lost in Translation', a move that brought My Bloody Valentine's music back into the spotlight.

Kevin Shields - City Girl (from Lost in Translation) (2003)


A new MBV album is expected in the next few months. The recording will be a combination of new stuff and collected unreleased material from the "Loveless" era.

Coachella Rumors...

Taking it all with a grain of salt of course, rumors surrounding the 2008 Coachella Music & Arts Festival have officially begun, with seminal shoegazer band My Bloody Valentine and groundbreaking 90's trip-hop act Portishead already widely speculated as having confirmed. It was recently announced that the festival will be held April 25-27 in Indio, California.

According to a recent article in Entertainment Weekly, My Bloody Valentine are definitely going to reunite at Coachella. And another recent article on thedailyswarm.com states that Portishead have indeed already confirmed. There is still a long way to go and the official line-up won't even be revealed until January or February, but other bands also currently being mentioned as rumored to appear are R.E.M., Death Cab For Cutie, The Screaming Trees, The White Stripes and Radiohead.

New Music 2008 - MY BLOODY VALENTINE

Kevin Shields claims that there WILL indeed be another MBV album in the future, but no word on when exactly. We've waited sixteen long years, so what's another year or two? I just hope one of them doesn't die before they get the album out.

My Bloody Valentine