It's a busy time for My Bloody Valentine, which is not something anyone's said too often. Later this month, the band are releasing remastered versions of their two classic albums, Isn't Anything and Loveless, as well as EPs 1988-1991, a new compilation that brings together their first four EPs alongside a selection of rare and previously unreleased tracks.
As previously reported, these releases end four years of waiting for fans: in April 2008, a four-CD box set of old material was announced, and promo copies of Isn't Anything and Loveless were sent out. But nothing emerged, and the MBV camp returned to its habitual silence, despite the band re-forming for live shows that year.
Loveless, released in November 1991, was the band's last album; its gestation was long and complex – the costs involved were rumoured to have nearly bankrupted the band's label, Creation – but the result was hailed as a masterpiece.
For its re-release, the notoriously perfectionist Kevin Shields has remastered the album from the original tapes – but he also is also making available (as a second CD) a second version, a previous remastering from the original 1/2-inch analogue tapes, which he completed but never released.
Tell us what you think of both versions of Loveless in the comments thread.
Meanwhile, Shields has claimed he will finally release a new My Bloody Valentine record, comprising material begun in the mid-90s.
"If I've learned one thing about myself, it's that I'm 100% incapable of knowing when things will happen," he told Mojo magazine. "I listened to the stacks of CDs [from the band's mooted third album] and thought: 'Shit, this is better than the unreleased tracks on the [EPs] compilation. I decided it would be insane not to finish it."
Shields is now working to finish that third LP, comprising nine songs, for release in 2012. Once he's done with that, Mojo reports, he wants to make an original My Bloody Valentine EP, "recorded and released in as short a time as possible".
"The myth is that I'm someone who really overworks things but I'm not like that at all," he said. "It's just about recording when you feel good and capturing something as quickly as possible."
Looking forward to playing with Debbie Googe over the Summer.
— PrimalScream (@ScreamOfficial) April 27, 2012
Finally, in other news, My Bloody Valentine's bassist Debbie Googe is to replace Gary "Mani" Mounfield in Primal Scream's lineup for their shows this summer. Mani is rejoining the Stone Roses.
• If you're reading on mobile, click here to hear the album stream.
