My Bloody Valentine's "Radical Change" Imminent

04/17/09 5:19pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

My Bloody Valentine will be very different soon, according to frontman Kevin Shields.

Shields recently told the Dallas Observer newspaper that "everything" about My Bloody Valentine would go through "a radical change" at "the end of August," including the expansion of the band.

"In that respect, we'll add another member to the group, just to do more stuff," Shields said. "And sound-wise, absolutely. You know, it'll be... taking a different approach."

Shields also told the newspaper that one track was recorded for a follow-up to My Bloody Valentine's 1991 classic, Loveless, in 1993. Eleven others followed three years later. Another track was written during the same period.

Some of the relatively new (as new as tracks written more than 10 years ago can be, of course) tracks could be played on their forthcoming American tour. Shields describes them as more melodic, less poppy and "a bit more expansive."

Shields told the newspaper that the group attempted to record the tracks at the beginning of the year, but failed. They'll try again in June or July.

Given that My Bloody Valentine have spent so long recording the record, Shields has acquired quite the reputation as a perfectionist. Loveless took two years to record and nearly bankrupted their label, Creation Records.

My Bloody Valentine signed to Island Records in 1992. But when bassist Debbie Googe and drummer Colm O'Ciosoig left in 1995, MBV's third album wasn't released. Shields told the New York Times newspaper last September that he continued recording by himself until 1997, when Island refused to pay for any other studio time.

The Times also reported it took four years for Shields to get out of his contract with Island. It wasn't until he was remastering My Bloody Valentine's catalogue three years ago that he realized "all that stuff I was doing in 1996 and 1997 was a lot better than I thought."

Despite all this, Shields recently told the Austin Chronicle newspaper that he doesn't think he's a perfectionist.

"I just know the difference between achieving what I want to achieve and not achieving it," he said. "Most of that early Creation stuff from '88, for example, was done very cheaply and done very quickly.

"It wasn't about being a perfectionist. It was about doing what you can do in the time you've got.

"Then when I made Loveless, I decided that I wasn’t going to finish things off based on the fact that there was no more money left. I decided I would only allow things to be released when I was happy with it. That's where I got that reputation, really, from that Loveless period."

My Bloody Valentine will curate the All Tomorrow's Parties: Nightmare Before Christmas festival at Minehead, England's Butlin's Holiday Resort from Dec. 4 to 6. They'll play the fest along with Sonic Youth, De La Soul, The Horrors, E.P.M.D. and Sun Ra Arkestra. The band curated and performed at last year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Monticello, N.Y.

You can see My Bloody Valentine here:

April 19 Indio, CA @ Empire Polo Fields (Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival)
April 21 Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall
April 22 Dallas, TX @ The Palladium Ballroom
April 24 Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
April 27 Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
May 28 Barcelona, Spain @ Parc Del Forum (Primavera Sound Festival, outdoor show)
May 29 Barcelona, Spain @ Auditori Forum (Primavera Sound Festival, indoor show)
Aug. 1 Jersey City, NJ @ Liberty State Park (All Points West Music & Arts Festival)