my bloody valentine - Loveless (first reaction)

[@DAVECHER]

I'm liking this album even more with every listen. Uncut reaction is on patreon: www.patreon.com/DAVECHER

[@oliveee]

what is your fav track?

[@vinylandcassettegeek]

That flute sound in i only said makes it seem like I am floating everyone I hear it. When I have a crush on someone, that sound or the entirety of soon makes me melt like butter everytime I hear it. My forst listen was back in November 3rd of last year. 2 days before its 32nd birthday. It took 3-4 listens before it became my favorite album ever. The feeling is indescribable still to this day. Now it makes sense where The Smashing Pumpkins got their sound. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness was my favorite album until I discovered this gem. I have the album on CD, Cassette, and LP. I love it so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@positive.juice.apartment]

it sounds like somebody’s heart weeping

[@HO-yc3pv]

The greatest thing about this album imo is the fact that even if we strip down the noise and aesthetic importance of this, it would still be a perfect dream/indie pop album. The melodies and chords are just perfect.

[@richieheyward161]

That chorus melody in Loomer will forever give me chills.

[@startervisions]

Fun Facts: There is barely any reverb on anything. Most of the tracks only have a few guitar tracks, several at most. Almost all over the drums are recorded samples played by Kevin with an MPC machine. The vocals are more layered than any of the instruments. They wanted the singing to sound androgynous so they blended Kevin's and Bilinda's tracks together. Kevin Sheilds wrote most of the lyrics. He had the idea to cover all the microphones and himself with blankets while recording his vocals. They would record a lot of them during the late nights and early mornings. Bilinda would sometimes listen to Kevin singing from outside the room and write her own lyrics to sing based on what she thought he was singing.

[@PianoDentist]

I thought reverb --> drive pedal on the guitars, which is/was an odd signal chain, but gives the guitar it's sound.

[@jmckenzie962]

Kevin actually achieved most of this album's effects using _reverse_ reverb, combined with his "glide guitar" technique which involves playing while bending the guitar's tremolo arm, continuously bending the strings in and out of tune to create a "warping" effect. MBV was very different from the other shoegaze bands in this regard, who mostly used reverb, chorus and flanger pedals. Kevin has also repeatedly stated that they were taking a lot more cues from American noise rock bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr than the Cocteau Twins, the commonly-thought of progenitors of shoegaze. So if you really like MBV you'll actually probably like SY and Dino Jr more than bands like Slowdive. I'd also highly recommend Drop Nineteens, they were an American shoegaze band who were mostly inspired by MBV and Sonic Youth rather than Cocteau Twins.

[@silverlink8805]

@Gupster 23 Not normal reverb, but reverse reverb to get a weird wall of noise

[@silverlink8805]

@Gupster 23 loomer & to here knows when also have the reverse reverb

[@FuturCrayon]

There is definitely a lot of reverb on the record - reverse reverb + gated reverb before fuzz in the signal. There are no chorus / flanger which were the typical "dream pop shoegaze" pedals around 89/91 though. And I think the sampler wasn't a MPC but a S1000.

[@deekismusic]

My personal favorite record. Loved seeing the reaction slowly go from “wtf” to “ohhhh okay.” Trust me, it gets better with every listen. The perfect mix of noisy textures and dreamy pop. Solid vid!

[@agdgdgwngo]

Dopethrone as your profile pic too, you have good taste

[@brightongreet812]

Souvlaki by Slowdive is one of the other big Shoegaze albums. I'm sure you'd love it! Though arguably no band did this sound better than MBV

[@abbycap302]

oh please do souvlaki

[@derekradell8932]

Souvlaki is in my Top 10 greatest albums of all time. There are few albums more beautiful. I may be in the minority, but I'll take Slowdive over MBV without a second thought. In my lifetime I've worn out 2 separate copies of Souvlaki and still listen to it at least once a week!

[@kuriousoranj8193]

Ride - Nowhere says hi :P

[@thefewerstream2467]

Souvlaki by Slowdive is another great album in Shoegaze

[@davimag2071]

Some interestings and nice concepts about Shoegaze that make it a unique genre: 1. Wall of sound (the use of layers and layers of vocals and guitars), 2. Glide guitar (a technique created by Kevin Shields, the guitarist from MBV, this adds a vibrato to guitar lines), 3. tons and tons of guitar effects (reverb, reverse reverb, delay, fuzz, distortion...) You can search about those elements if you're interested about :) Lyrics are not usually the focus, but the atmosphere, feelings and textures instead. The BIG 3 of Shoegaze is: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride. Shoegaze has survived through the years by mixing around with Alt Rock, Indie, Post-rock (especially this one) and Ambient music.

[@davimag2071]

And Shoegaze is my favorite thing S2 (together with Post-rock, ambient, lofi and alt rock too)

[@davimag2071]

@Gupster 23 Oh, true. Since he reacted to Cocteau Twins, he could react to Lush too, the girls were very influenced by CT :)

[@JustALittleCrazy1337]

Always nice seeing a reaction to Loveless. Great 90s album, another one worth checking would be In the Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. Possibly the best indie rock album of that decade

[@DAVECHER]

Yeah I've already listened to in the aeroplane over the sea. Great album.

[@3xtan327]

Ik I’m kinda late but wouldn’t itaots be considered more indie folk than indie rock?

[@richieheyward161]

Years ago, on my first listen I did NOT like this album. Now it’s one of my all time favorites. Kevin’s use of reverse reverb on his guitar is masterful, and even his non-reverbed vibrato arm work on his guitar is groundbreaking. Bilinda’s vocals add so much space to the soundscape, Debbie holds down the groove on bass, and Colm may only ever play like two or three fills but damnit can he play the hell out of them. I adore this band.

[@stevepower9801]

This album takes multiple listens before you truly appreciate how good it is. I was 18 when it was released in 1991 and it took me at least five or six listens before it even began to fall into place. There's a good few albums that have grown on me over the years and this is definitely one of them. It has such a unique style and texture to it that other bands have tried to replicate over the years since, but very few have managed to accomplish the same result.

[@Pantouflard]

My new hobby, searching for videos of young kids hearing Only Shallow for the first time and wincing when it hits.

[@Nimno74]

Watching people hear this masterpiece for the first time never gets old.

[@multifoiled5850]

It was fun watching you hum along, because if you ever saw this band live the music went through you and made your whole body hum (It was loud). I'm glad you enjoy this album!

[@ndesdsadfd]

Maybe one of my favourite albums ever. Some other great albums of the same mood are Boo Radleys "Giant Steps", Slowdive's "Souvlaki" and "Nowhere" by Ride. Oh, and The Verve's "A Storm in Heaven".

[@shoegazerrrr]

touched honestly might be one of my favorites on the album i don’t know what it is about it but it just really sticks with me, and not to mention the personal connections i have to that song and the album as a whole

[@shoegazerrrr]

sometimes is definitely depressing asf, wonder why it’s one of my favorite songs ever on the planet, it’s so good and i just love it so much. i also have an insane about of memories connected to that song lol

[@samajax]

When it's used in Lost in Translation, sublime.

[@who_cares848]

I had to listen to this album 2 or 3 times before it finally clicked. Its one of my favoites though. To here knows when is my favorite track, i get lost in that shit when im stoned.

[@stevomcneill]

"when you sleep" is most triumphant, huh? back in college i bought the cd 5 singles for "SOON" and "To Here Knows When". i really thought the cds were warped. then i tRIED AGAIN again AND I Could hear that melody . and i was sooo blown away. it took a while for me to convince some of my friends. i saw Primal Scream Xterminator tour a decade later, but ended up escorting Kevin Shields thru Deep Ellum Dallas Txas.looking for aftershow nightlife. i think it was a weeknight. some Dj friends of mine just happened to be throwing a party that night. and the house crowd definitely knew who he was. and the drummer from Stone Roses. one more bloke. kevin was so sweet.

[@manosduras1]

I used to ski all day everyday to this CD. Tons of powder, the suns out with clouds passing by, you have your kush and MBV playing as you fly down the slopes with your rose tinted glasses. Im sure you heard this before but you should react to Joy Division- Unknown Pleasures or anything from Siouxsie and the Bnashees. Cheers

[@jacobneylon647]

Quebec by Ween would be a great album to react to. Such an underrated band.

[@mawtymawty9010]

This album nearly bankrupted the studio that released it. It cost something like £160,000-250,000 to record. The studio expected recording to take five days- it took two years. The 29-year-old second-in-command at Reaction records had a nervous breakdown, calling Kevin Shields and begging him to deliver the album. His hair turned grey as the studio hemorrhaged money. Sheilds and Belinda Butcher (the vocalist) hid themselves behind a curtain in the studio so that the engineers wouldn't bother them or offer advice. It's amazing that this album even exists, and it shows the real cost of creating something that is near-perfect aesthetically

[@user-vp8gq6hc3j]

loved your reaction, i'd recommend mbv's other albums as well as slowdive's souvlaki album. loveless and souvlaki are generally considered the two best shoegaze albums and both are amazing in their own ways :)

[@slowbass]

I have been listening to this album since the day it came out (which blew my fucking mind) and on every listen I still discover new things. I literally bought it because of the cover and have never bought an album where the cover explained the whole sound entirely like this. It is to me one of the very few PERFECT albums ever made and so underrated by the general public, the 2nd being "Music has the right to children" by Boards of Canada. It was the most inspirational and influential album that came out in my lifetime for me and there will never be anything like it. I was fortunate enough to meet Kevin Shields and he could not be a more humble nice person which made it even cooler to be so inspired by him. Anyway, I'm glad younger people are taking the time to appreciate what came before.

[@gh41996]

Lush is another great shoegaze band! Spooky (1992) and Split (1994) are constantly in my rotation!

[@happycrimson]

Definitely respect your decision to not score the albums you listen to on first listen. I find myself coming back to albums months after discovering them and hearing something almost entirely different; to accurately rate an album after listening to it once is extremely difficult (depending on the album, of course). Some albums - the ones that hit you right away - such as OK Computer, are just obviously amazing. Others take more time. But yeah, thanks for making these videos. You've actually reignited my interest in many albums. But even aside from that, your analyses are much more interesting to me than most other reactors.

[@DAVECHER]

Thanks for the support!

[@jonashorn8354]

Kinda funny how you say this because OK Computer was one of the albums that took me the longest to fully get in to. I always liked some of the tracks, but it took my like 10 listens until it fully clicked and I finally grasped the genius of it.

[@happycrimson]

@@jonashorn8354 That’s understandable. Some albums click faster for some more than for others, and I think many factors can influence how quickly one catches onto an album. Music is pretty strange and can affect us in very different ways, so it’s no surprise that people will have different experiences with certain albums.

[@Nirvanafanboy1991]

Seriously whoever came up with the name my bloody valentine is a genius. Best songs Sometimes, blown a wish, what you want, only shallow. This genre tends to in my experience be two things punk and D.I.Y. the lyrics are not usually important if you are interested in the genre check out the album Space Song by Beachouse if you have not already its classified as dreampop which is technically the same. Congrats on your semester and good luck on it.

[@derekradell8932]

The band took the name from the 1981 Canadian slasher film

[@Danceeagle9725]

@@derekradell8932 they actually didn’t know that movie existed until after being established as my bloody Valentine

[@rowandraper3185]

you should listen to LSD and the Search for God or Velocity: Design: Comfort. Both amazing shoegaze albums, the second being more glitch/dream pop.

[@stevomcneill]

shoegazer LPs lush "gala" anything by lush is wonderful RIDE "NOWHERE" and their other LPs which arent necessarily shoegazer, but they made a point of changing up each album.

[@terryr9052]

I would love to see the whole Spooky album by Lush reacted to!

[@wjcolclasure]

i love how the YT reaction genre is bringing Loveless to so many new people.

[@aidenferry23]

if you’re more curious about the “noise” part of noise rock, check out sonic youth! daydream nation is a foundational indie rock album by them

[@maximilianmiller1963]

he gotta listen to velocity : design : comfort

[@MichaelJohnsonAzgard]

Lyrics are essential but only the singer will ever know them.

[@kqatsi]

Isn't Anything is more raw than Loveless-but I think I love it even more than Loveless.

[@heron9580]

You should check out Slowdives album ‘Just for a day’. There’s basically no reactions on youtube to that album despite it being amazing!

[@cragnog]

I get you man! And I liked the way that you got this album! Thanks (1 year belated) for the vid!

[@Harrison244]

Such a dope album and so far ahead of it’s time - the guitar effects are soooooo sick

[@startervisions]

everything by MBV is wonderful

[@xtan150]

Really enjoyed this video! Loveless has been tied with Boards of Canada's Geogaddi as my favourite album of all time for over 10 years, which is crazy for me to think about as I'm used to that changing as I find new stuff. Always go back to these albums, and really speak to me. For a first listen you took away a lot of what I consider to be the coolest stuff about it. It's an overwhelming listen, and as a first time into the genre you had a lot of insight here. My world was changed when I decided to listen to the album while tripping on psychedelics....I could hear all the layers distinctly...and it's interesting, because the layers aren't simply guitar overdubs, most of it has to do with parallel saturation/EQ/Compression on a guitar. Very harmonically rich stuff happens at high volumes on preamps, and the combination of bending guitar chords using the whammy bar pulls out so many overtones and phantom melodies, which ultimately guide Kevin's playing in real time. It's all about the tones here, they create the movement within the chords. Whenever I listen I find my mood and focus will decipher cohesive melodies and grooves within the tones of a single guitar, it's a remarkable shapeshifting album whose simple arrangements permit the engineering to allow for exploration of its textures. Like a moving painting. For instance, in Only Shallow's chorus you can sort of tap out of the 4/4 rhythm and focus on the tremolo pulse on the upper guitar licks, and it makes the whole song's tempo appear to speed up and slow down. I think the fact that it's within a relatively simple rock context makes it all the more compelling--it's like, there's an entire world hiding within a single chord. These sorts of things exist in ALL music really (for instance all over OK computer, as you were mentioning that album), but it's super cool how MBV manages to make this element a central focus and guide the creation of their work. Boards of Canada has many tracks that give this impression as well, which is why I put them in the same category regardless of genre (they have also mentioned MBV as a big influence I later learned!). If you haven't done so, check out Twoism and Geogaddi, incredible stuff.

[@xpo3oxhitherto149]

Played it to friends when this came out and no one liked it but me 🙂Apparently a record label went bankrupt when producing this album? It took like 2 - 3 years to produce .

[@VideogametimereviewsBlogspot]

Souvlaki by slowdive is also a masterpiece. on the more poppy side of the spectrum is Antisocialites by Alvvays and it’s also quite good. I’d love to hear your thoughts on either of those!

[@davidlukey5189]

Great reaction to a hugely influential album. I personally prefer their earlier album Isn't Anything, but I accept that I'm in the minority. You Made Me Realise, or maybe, When You Wake (You're Still In A Dream) would probably be my favourite MBV song.

[@coldercoronet6248]

You Never Should is both an incredibly written pop song and one of MBV’s most sonically intense. I fucking love that song.

[@personne7542]

What You Want is my favorite. That flute mixed in...

[@pavancheruku6311]

PLEASE LISTEN TO SOUVLAKI. My favorite album of all time.

[@davimag2071]

Yet your profile pic is Loveless, LOL

[@AlectriXSharpness]

@@davimag2071 I was just going to say that hahah

[@12sleep34]

@@davimag2071 loveless is probably just the best looking album ;)

[@davimag2071]

I know that you love Radiohead, so I'll give you an example of Shoegaze's influence on Radiohead: Blow Out (last track from Pablo Honey) :)

[@startervisions]

and "Don't Ask Why" from MBV's Glider EP is probably what Radiohead was listening to while making Ok Computer

[@DAVECHER]

Ohh true blow out does sound similar to this now that I think about it

[@mleml2799]

“It just sounds massive” what a perfect way to describe it haha. Great album!

[@The_RedVIII]

I really hope you react to their last album mbv as well, because in my opinion it's even better than Loveless.

[@LONEEAGLE_space_rock]

Great Review; they have sophisticated crypto- lyrics, heavy Glide -guitar saturated with s=distortion and an array of pedals they gaze at all night long

[@limesparks]

And a shoegazer is born ❤️💜

[@davimag2071]

8:48 Guitars, in Shoegaze it's all about guitars

[@whenyouwakeyourestillinadream]

MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF ALL TIMMEEE

[@shoegazerrrr]

isn’t anything by mbv is probably my favorite album by them and the drums are definitely more out there and better, i recommend it honestly 🤷

[@bonniepiex]

Loveless it's a very good album, i like you reaction

[@agdgdgwngo]

@2:01 I'm mainly into music that's considered quite heavy, I think that's why I love MBV so much really. But no one, well, rarely, when people are talking about MBV do they ever call it heavy, or say it rocks, which is weird because it's extremely heavy and rocks pretty hard.

[@MrPboys1]

Rare album that still gets better with every listen and I have had it for 30 years and it's always an experience, though would highly recommend also checking out isn't anything the first album and the EPs released before they are equally impressive and I probably listen to isn't anything more

[@gomez323]

"The production sounds really good" -Said no shoegaze fan ever.

[@jonunderscore]

Speak for yourself friend

[@shoegazerrrr]

i could straight up mansplain the entire history of shoegaze rn but i won’t for everyone’s safety, but i really appreciate how you are going in completely unaware of shoegaze and still like thinking about it in a great open minded way because i see a lot of people immediately shrug off shoegaze right off the bat and not even give it a try, like you just have to really really listen.

[@theharknetts]

It’s on my top 10 albums I’ve ever heard and I’m a lyrics guy.

[@Problembeing]

I went round to Bilinda's (the vocalist) flat for tea once. She was lovely.

[@Problembeing]

Check out another great shoegaze band from the 90s, Curve, and their album Cuckoo.

[@shoegazerrrr]

it’s so funny to me because i seriously think of mbv as chill and not in your face at all LMAOO

[@Biggle]

idk if you take requests but it would be awesome if you checked out glitter by pasteboard, another phenomenal shoegaze album that never gets enough credit

[@davimag2071]

Pasteboard

[@Biggle]

@@davimag2071 i love yuragi but havent heard of any of the other ones, definitely gonna heck em out

[@davimag2071]

@@Biggle Do it!!!! Definitely worth I'll even give you recommends: Uzu ni naru (Kinoko Teikoku), Moondiver/ Crystallize (Tokyo Shoegazer), I hate I hope (Lemon's Chair). These are shoegaze gems

[@nathanieledwards7150]

I would pay good money just to hear "sometimes" for the first time again

[@heynerl4423]

Listen to Beach House , Bloom or Teen Dream

[@LoudHMVideos]

you should give Slowdive a try. i feel like it's the best band to get into shoegaze :)

[@Alix777.]

Soon is the best track by far.

[@pillettadoinswartsh4974]

I think he was expecting it to be more.....................chill.

[@geob3963]

Gala - Lush Ringo Deathstarr

[@benlevin2961]

There was a Floor Tom the entire track you were saying "no drums" lol

[@DAVECHER]

which song?

[@benlevin2961]

@@DAVECHER Loomer

[@benlevin2961]

@@DAVECHER Which speaks to the subtleties in production in albums of this ilk, layers there, but not perceived. Not what's expected in a palette that is not used to it.

[@drewjohnson536]

Please react to The Flying Club Cup by Beirut

[@nathanieledwards7150]

" a great high synth thing" 😂 better not let Kevin shields hear you say that.

[@Hubajube]

It's funny you said lo-fi and rough around the edges. The production costs were so high that it bankrupted their label!

[@charmofknlypi]

man react to fka twigs - magdalene plz

[@nickgee461]

No synths, all guitars.

[@aaof-d-mio-fv2fb]

You styled like Our generation is weird

[@Paul-of6jx]

listen to bladee lol

[@DAVECHER]

I'm scared to but I'll do it eventually lol

[@12sleep34]

@@DAVECHER when u do it listen to either EXETER, eversince, gluee or 333. Those are my favorites 👍🏻👍🏻