Post-Creation years: 2013 - ?
m b v (2013)
Cut to 22 years later, and the world has changed since the 90s: streaming platforms like YouTube grant unfettered online access to video content, Barack Obama starts his 2nd term as the president of the US, and "Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy is all the rage. So why did that sneaky mastermind Shields choose then, of all times, to finally make good on MBV’s promised follow-up? Timing.
He has notoriously claimed that if he couldn’t do things the right way he wanted to at the right moment, he’d just wait until the time was right. As flimsy and unfair a statement is, perhaps he was on to something.
Punctuality be damned, the self-titled m b v was an answered prayer to those keeping the lanterns lit in hopes of a new Loveless. One bold soul might even venture that with so much elapsed time, the Valentine’s sound may have taken a beating. Not a beating, but again, a band in flux. While the telltale traits are there, m b v splices up its 9-song journey into the band’s irrefutable past, and a sonic vision of the future.
Layers of sound are still omnipresent fixtures, as is Butcher’s rapturous voice intertwining with Shields’, but for the first five tracks, percussion is either non-existent ("she found now", "is this and yes"), or chugging along at a sluggish hypnotic pace ("only tomorrow", "who sees you") and drenched in buckets of pink noise.
It’s not until "new you" that the beat picks back up and we catch a glimpse of 90s MBV, but this is the point of no return before Shield reveals what he’s genuinely been cooking up in his lab.
“In another way” kicks off with squealing sirens set against a relentless drum track before Butcher tries to make sense of the chaos, and we float away on pulsing guitars and keyboards. Suppose MBV’s early repetitive number, "Glider," was an exercise in perseverance.
In that case, the brutal rising beat of "nothing is" is like witnessing the coming of your demise—or salvation. "wonder 2" closes out the album and is an experiment that very well may define the band's new direction.
Imagine a breakbeat recorded on an active airfield scientifically fused with flanger effects, alarm-like tangents, and Shield’s sparse, buried vocals. Loveless II, it's not, but it was never going to be. Instead, in many ways, m b v is even more of a mesmerizing riddle than its popular elder brother, with tracks to be unpacked and pored over long after its release. And yes, they also sound amazing when played backward and at half speed.
What now?
This concludes the introduction and where all MBV’s most recent content output stops. “I want more", you say? Don’t we all. The band that spearheaded a hard-hitting genre, broke a label, and whose live shows have been known to cause attendees to physically lose control of their bodily functions must have something new brewing in the wings, right? ’Tis not for us to say.
However, if the noise messiahs have ascended into wax heaven, we always have their past works to gaze upon. Check out their music on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever your ears can handle it.