i’ve been pretty reluctant to do any reviews of my bloody valentine because i want to avoid repeating a band to review in the future-and with my bloody valentine, there are just so many different songs of theirs i could review because i’ve listened to all of their work past 1988. yeah, they’re one of my favorite bands, because over time, i’ve come to realize i just love getting overwhelmed by sound.
i picked up the Isn’t Anything vinyl about a month ago at a record store a couple hours from my home, because i couldn’t find Loveless and i’d been meaning to listen to this album for a while. and since Isn’t Anything has been removed from all major streaming platforms except youtube, this is the first song i’m reviewing that i’ve exclusively listened to on vinyl. how fun!
Isn’t Anything was a bit strange to listen to on the first few spins. but one song immediately stuck out to me, and that’s “Lose My Breath”. the instrumentation is warm, dark, and minimalistic all at once, especially compared to the rest of this album. it’s weirdly creepy too, with the twanging, off-kilter guitars and butcher’s mumbling, odd vocal melody, like a lullaby gone wrong. and the lyrics are probably some of the most personal i’ve seen in any my bloody valentine song: sure, you can’t hear most of them, but most interpretations of mbv lyrics i’ve seen have been rather abstract, loosely connected words about love, loneliness, and lust. but in “Lose My Breath”, the lyrics are clearly about singer bilinda butcher’s tumultuous relationship and mental health issues. it’s a perfect compliment to “No More Sorry“, which is also about her nervous breakdowns, but especially about protecting her young son. would you look at that… a creepy lullaby, and a couple songs later, a song that has to do with a broken family. if only they were right next to each other on the track list. but i’ll save that for my eventual review of Isn’t Anything. give it a listen if you haven’t already!
q-street 