My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything Review

Overlooking Isn’t Anything is easy considering the masterpiece to follow. A ghost once told a rat chef that good things come to those who love to cook, and the same can be said for listeners who pace themselves and head into a discography in search of chronological joys. We are richer for listening to everything a band has offered in the order it was released. Some may listen to Isn’t Anything last, and although it’s not a disservice to the band, it’s an amateurish way to engage with My Bloody Valentine. They didn’t toil away in the studio for decades, making three defiant, counter-culture albums which still stand tall today, just for people to skip over their debut. It just isn’t right. Rectify it. Keeping their listeners on their toes with music that could fit onto the Doom soundtrack, Isn’t Anything is an out-there breakdown of conventional messages. Pair those burning fingertips and lustful comments with the grating and grinding instrumentals of a song like Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside) and you have a collision of musical intent.  

My Bloody Valentine at their best is an act of subversion. Classic pop structure in their messages and sincerity, but undone and broken down by effective, sinister-sounding instrumentals. Kevin Shields’ desire to touch on the Avant Garde, on the noisy blur which would become shoegaze, is crucial to the success of Isn’t Anything. There are raw moments of their indie pop origins on songs like Lose My Breath, but this is more from the sparse sound in comparison to their loudest moments. Isn’t Anything is as much the birth of shoegaze as it is a psychological test on the band members. Bilinda Butcher brings about this dreamlike sound with her vocal work not only because she digs deep to get there, but because she had just been woken up to record her parts. Isn’t Anything is a test of what a band can do when pushed to their very limit. That’s where a band can often find their creative best.  

You can hear that on No More Sorry, a cinematic-sounding thrill. My Bloody Valentine finds the balance between slower tempo tracks where contemplation reigns and roaring, effective examples of the shoegaze style. All I Need into Feed Me With Your Kiss is a two-punch thrill from the band, who at this point in the album begin demonstrating their desire to muddle the vocals, to mix the roaring instrumentals into a more prominent spot. Rightly so, it serves the intensity the band were so great at conjuring. Consistency is the true quality Isn’t Anything has. From song to song the changes are severe, volatile, and yet My Bloody Valentine maintains a constant confidence. Decades on from effectively offering the first clear shoegaze album, Isn’t Anything remains ahead of what other artists tried.  

Spirited performances and a real desire for perfection are what guides My Bloody Valentine here. It’s not a guarantee of all artists, some will settle for less, and often have. But when you have a song like You Never Should, it’s utterly crucial to land the nuances right, even if they’re going to be drowned out by the roaring guitar work or hammering percussion sections. Even the barely audible bits serve a wonderful purpose for My Bloody Valentine on an album which is constantly pushing for more. A hell of a start for the group and of course it would go on to be overshadowed by Loveless, but the work found on Isn’t Anything is close to that quality. They would work out bigger, better sounds on their follow-up but there is a lot to love about Isn’t Anything, mainly the confident attitude that leads to such brilliant instrumentals and dreamy yet somewhat disturbing vocal deliveries.