Loveless

The flagship album for the shoegaze and dream pop styles, Loveless sings its sweet disoriented lullaby-like melodies through a hazy blur of swirly, warped sound over looped patterns of submerged percussion framing ultra-simplistic structures.The most definitive element of distinctive sound emerges from the strangely saccharine, layered guitar noise, foremost in the mix, and the bent, curved notes produced by the unique style of "glide guitar", or oscillating the tremolo bar while strumming, which creates a bizarre effect of the guitar dropping in and out of tune, pausing and dementedly rerouting the stream of sound in a fluctuation of flooding distortion."Close my eyesFeel me nowI don't know how you could not love me nowYou will know, with her feet down to the groundOver there, and I want true love to growYou can't hide, oh no, from the way I feel"The music's obscure sense of blending harmony shrouds melody in a haze of wave-like sound, while restrained rhythms pulse in subtle swells of momentum and gradually fading currents into an unperceived infinity of continuous motion. Fuzzy and twisted forms of energy steer the music into a vapor-like dimension of sound through which emerges a single, lucid tone of atmospheric vocalized expression, surrounded by distant layers of ethereal whispers, lushly harmonious and heavenly, somewhat muted in the mix yet emitting a dreamy resonance. An ambiguous, dreamlike awareness of defined sound is maintained throughout, as gliding currents of melodious, seemingly shapeless layers of distorted sound shape atmospheric harmony of deceptive confusion, and song-defining foundations and refrains, including sudden transitions employed in simplistic yet diverse pop-song formats.Much of the music's methods are charmingly deceptive and surface-betraying, such as the harmonic diversions into obscure expansions, which seem random until considered in reflection of compositional context. The presence of multiple expressive sources allows a trance-like flow of communication within a transcendent, seemingly contradicting quality of abstracted sound. This gives the music a vast impression of form contrasting the simplicity and clear definition of song structure, while also supplying a spectacular, spellbinding sense of splendor in the surreal shape of pure floating sound, ultimately responsible for this album's timeless legacy.A fantastic production emphasizes the music's thematic agenda of seemingly formless, enveloping noise in vague definition of design, reflected brilliantly on the album's cover in both shape and hue. Through this particular concept of moving sound My Bloody Valentine communicates wistful sentiments and restlessness through distant, happy-sad tones of blissful promise emphasized most clearly and directly in the exquisite, irresistible chorus melodies. But what keeps this music so enchanting is its concept of ambiguity, as even the formulated tensions of the effervescent emotional themes are left without a clear definition of positive assurance, representing through these tricky arrangements of shifting patterns and cyclic explorations of thematically reflective passages the eternal search for a final, happy answer to a dilemma far too complex to promise such a resolution.

Often when you listen to music that does not fit your normal tastes it would be easy to dismiss it after a couple of listens, and that is often a mistake. It is a mistake I have made a few times myself but I have learned from my mistakes. Personally, I think there are 4 kinds of music. The first is the kind that you like from the first listen. This means you have heard similar music before and the synapses are there, but it often means you will tire of it fast. The second kind is it takes a few listens and then you really start to like it and these are often some of your long term favorites.The third kind is you listen a few times but you still don't like it and then you put it away for a month and then you revisit it and you realize that you like it a lot better than you thought but its not one of your favorites. The forth is you don't like it when you first hear it, you still don't like it after a few listens and then you still don't like it a month later when you try again.Every disc you buy should be given the three tries before you dismiss it for the forth reason. Trust me, I have learned from experience. I often made the mistake of dismissing a disc to fast only to have to buy it again because I got rid of it. This was the case for me and Loveless. I owned this back when it first came out and heard all the great reviews but after a couple of listens I never did listen to it again.Fast forward 10 years later and happened to have heard a couple of tracks and realized I really liked them so I bought the disc, again. Loveless fell in the third category for me. While I would not put it in my Top Ten of all time it definitely is in my top 100. Don't make the mistake I often did and give up to quickly on a disc.

I received this album over a year ago, from Amazon. I figured it was a good time for a new sound. I had read about it in a few places, where it got enormous amounts of praise. I ordered it without even listening. I guess I tend to give in to hype. I finally listened to it as I was embarking on an evening walk through the streets of Leominster, MA. I had squeezed my dated portable CD player into my jeans pocket.It ended up being one of the best walks I ever took.Loveless is one of the most beautiful, enigmatic, and unique recordings I have ever had the pleasure to hear in my short life. To me, it is more than an exceptional shoegaze album. I believe it trascends that genre as something completely peerless.Metaphor time:When I listen to Loveless, two things come to mind. Firstly, it reminds me of a hot shower. It has that same warm sensation, feeling like hot water washing over my whole body. It even resembles the heavenly drone a shower makes. Yes, I know that's just a noise, but then this is a fairly noisy album. It's not noisy in a vitriolic way, though. It's more of a soothing noise.Secondly, it sounds like love. You know, that if an abstract noun like love made a noise, it would sound something like this. It's ironic, I know, considering the title.Loveless also sports an excellent album cover. I think it implies what the music sounds like quite well.Then there's "Only Shallow", the first track. It's a perfect way to begin an album. You hear two drum beats and then WOOSH, you're swept up in a mindblowing sonic storm of guitar riffs and drones. Then the tender, spacey female vocals kick in. It's nothing short of amazing.I suppose this album isn't for everyone. Maybe you don't like showers. Maybe you don't care for "noise" or feedback in music. Maybe you like being cynical about hyped albums (I think a term commonly used is "sacred cow"). Whatever. To each his own.