My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

Kevin Shields is nothing if not a perfectionist, and when he spent 2 years between 1989 and 1991 exploring the science of noise, it would be hard to imagine that he would end up building the scaffolding for one of the most revered subcultures in alternative rock - shoegazing. £250,000 was the price needed to create a record loaded with wailing feedback, ethereal effects and muted, ghostly vocals – though it consists of loosely-organised tracks, they multiply to something much larger.

At the heart, Loveless’ songs are simple indie rock jams, but what makes them remarkable is the sound-play; the mix sounds meticulously crafted, it is clear that Shields and co. sacrificed life and limb perfecting the record’s aura. “Loomer” is a thunderous frame into the tranquil world that occupies lead singer Bilinda Butcher’s voice. You can hear the dream pop song underneath, yet it’s washed in effects and distortion, bolstering the track to feel like it has enough energy to shake the earth.

There are so many layers that uncover themselves over time, the music of this album is sub-nautically dense. Shields subtly referenced his music as punk music in interviews, alluding that his style of songwriting is not complex like that of Led Zeppelin, but as simple as the Ramones, something he said was much more difficult. It speaks to how time-consuming the album was, to pull from the abstract and produce a new sound - the sound of punk. Not to say that the album is monotonal; “When You Sleep” provides a more temperate moment in which the effects aren’t a thick slab, only a thin veil, the beauty of the song underneath can truly be appreciated as well as the tsunami on top. In the current era where “throwback culture” thrives, with Polaroid pictures and vinyl resurgence, Loveless has continued to maintain relevancy, because of its dirty, obscured sound that may not be organic, but it is unquestionably physical.