Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Isn't Anything

 
Album Review: Isn't Anything
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Albums

Isn't Anything

Buy Now

Similar Albums:

Perfect Prescription, Sister, Smile, Lovely, Heaven's End, Darklands, You're Living All Over Me

Review

Though it's often seen as just a precursor to their magnum opus Loveless, in its own way My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything is nearly as groundbreaking as their 1991 masterpiece. Not only was it the most lucid, expansive articulation yet of the group's sound, it virtually created the shoegazing scene and spawned legions of followers. The album's tightly structured songs still bore traces of My Bloody Valentine's previous incarnation as jangly indie popsters, but Kevin Shields and company crafted wide-ranging experiments within those confines. "Feed Me with Your Kiss"'s mix of bruising guitars, drums, and sensual boy-girl vocals define My Bloody Valentine's signature sound, while "All I Need"'s weightless guitars and vocal melodies melt into a heady haze. Shields' unique tunings, tremolo, and miking techniques stand out on "You Never Should" and "Nothing Much to Lose," but Deb Googe's surprisingly funky bassline on "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)" reaffirms that all of the Valentines contributed to their innovative sound. Indeed, many of Isn't Anything's disturbingly beautiful highlights come from Bilinda Butcher. On the wrenching "No More Sorry," she sings abstractly pained lyrics like "Your septic heart and deadly hand/Loved me black and blue," barely audible over a swarm of fragile yet menacing guitars, while on "Several Girls Galore" she's sexy, yet dazed and distant; it sounds like she's whispering in your ear outside of a blaring nightclub. The Valentines' dark side is especially prominent on the album, particularly on "Sueisfine," where the chorus slyly morphs from "Sue is fine" to "Suicide." Isn't Anything captures My Bloody Valentine's revolutionary style in its infancy and points the way to Loveless, but it's far more than just a dress rehearsal for the band's moment of greatness. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside) Kevin Shields, Colm O'Ciosoig My Bloody Valentine (2:19)
Lose My Breath (Lyrics) Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (3:37)
Cupid Come (Lyrics) Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (4:29)
(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream Kevin Shields, Colm O'Ciosoig My Bloody Valentine (3:17)
No More Sorry (Lyrics) Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (2:47)
All I Need (Lyrics) Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (3:03)
Feed Me With Your Kiss (Lyrics) Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (3:54)
Sueisfine (Lyrics) Kevin Shields, Colm O'Ciosoig My Bloody Valentine (2:12)
Several Girls Galore (Lyrics) Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (2:20)
You Never Should (Lyrics) Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (3:22)
Nothing Much to Lose (Lyrics) Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (3:17)
I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It) Kevin Shields My Bloody Valentine (3:11)

Credits

My Bloody Valentine (Producer), My Bloody Valentine (Main Performer), Dave Anderson (Engineer), Bilinda Butcher (Bass), Bilinda Butcher (Guitar), Bilinda Butcher (Vocals), Joe Dilworth (Photography), Steve Nunn (Engineer), Deb O'Closoig (Bass), Alex Russell (Engineer), Kevin Shields (Guitar), Kevin Shields (Vocals), Colm O'Ciosoig (Drums), Deb Googe (Bass), Dave Anderson (Engineer)
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Isn't Anything
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Isn't Anything
Studio album by My Bloody Valentine
Released November 1988
Recorded Spring/Summer 1988
Genre Shoegazing
Length 37:48
Label Creation (UK), Sire (US)
Producer My Bloody Valentine
Professional reviews
My Bloody Valentine chronology
You Made Me Realise
(1988)		 Isn't Anything
(1988)		 Feed Me with Your Kiss
(1988)

Isn't Anything is the debut studio album by My Bloody Valentine, released in November 1988 after three years of exclusively issuing extended plays and mini-LPs. Distributed by Creation Records in the United Kingdom, the album is currently available on Sire Records in the United States.

Contents

Background

When the band's original vocalist Dave Conway left, to be replaced by Bilinda Butcher, Kevin Shields returned to their avant-garde roots, and began to explore the possibilities offered by the studio facilities available after signing to Creation Records.[1] The first fruits of this experimentation was the single/EP You Made Me Realise, released in July 1988. Uncut writer David Stubbs called it "one of the most important, influential British rock albums of the Eighties".[1] While recording the album, the band got by on about two hours sleep a night, something which has been suggested is reflected in the vocals.[1] "Several Girls Galore" has been described as "a cubist take on the Jesus and Mary Chain".[1]

Style

Displaying strong influence from Cocteau Twins, Dinosaur Jr, and The Jesus and Mary Chain, Isn't Anything established My Bloody Valentine as one of the leading forces of the shoegazing movement.[2] The album comprises burned-out torch-style songs ("Lose My Breath", "No More Sorry", and "All I Need"), jagged guitar anthems "(When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream", "Feed Me With Your Kiss") and dream-pop melodies ("Several Girls Galore", "Sueisfine"). The titular word in "Sueisfine" was always sung as "suicide" live, but the pronunciation is ambiguous on the album.

A music video was shot for the song "Feed Me With Your Kiss." This video is mainly noteworthy because neither Shields nor Butcher play their usual Fender Jaguar and Fender Jazzmaster respectively in it, instead opting for a Gibson ES, Charvel Surfcaster, and a different Fender Jaguar.

Track listing

All songs written by Kevin Shields, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Soft as Snow (but Warm Inside)" (Shields, Colm Ó Cíosóig) – 2:21
  2. "Lose My Breath" (Bilinda Butcher, Shields) – 3:37
  3. "Cupid Come" (Butcher, Shields) – 4:27
  4. "(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream" (O'Ciosoig, Shields) – 3:16
  5. "No More Sorry" (Butcher, Shields) – 2:48
  6. "All I Need" – 3:04
  7. "Feed Me with Your Kiss" – 3:54
  8. "Sueisfine" (Shields, O'Ciosoig) – 2:12
  9. "Several Girls Galore" (Butcher, Shields) – 2:21
  10. "You Never Should" – 3:21
  11. "Nothing Much to Lose" – 3:16
  12. "I Can See It (but I Can't Feel It)" – 3:10

The initial vinyl LP copies came with a free bonus 7" which was packaged in a plain white sleeve. The songs on it were titled "Instrumental A" (3:19) and "Instrumental B" (4:36). "Instrumental B" featured a Public Enemy drum loop (from "Security of the First World").

Personnel

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d Stubbs, David (1999) "Sweetheart Attack: My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything is the Eighties rock album", UNCUT, February 1999
  2. ^ Taylor, Steve. "A to X of Alternative Music". Continuum International Publishing Group , 2006. 159. ISBN 0-8264-8217-1


v • d • e
My Bloody Valentine
Bilinda Butcher • Debbie Googe • Colm Ó Cíosóig • Kevin Shields
Dave Conway • Tina Durkin • Joe Byfield
Studio albums
Isn't Anything • Loveless
Compilations
EPs
Singles
"No Place to Go" • "Sunny Sundae Smile" • "Feed Me with Your Kiss" • "Soon" • "To Here Knows When" • "Only Shallow"
Related articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Isn't Anything".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More