List Price : $21.98 Price : $10.61
Product Description
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 M.B.V.'s previous incarnation as jangly indie-popsters, but Kevin Shields and company crafted wide-ranging experiments within those confines. Feed Me With Your Kiss' mix of bruising guitars, drums, and sensual boy-girl vocals define M.B.V.'s signature sound.
Amazon.com
Three years before 1991's Loveless, My Bloody Valentine's masterwork of impossibly dense soundscapes, the Dublin quartet offered some fairly affecting dream pop on its first full-length album, Isn't Anything. Both worthy of Creation's "shoe-gazing" heritage and skewed enough to stand up next to pre-grunge guitar bands like Sonic Youth and the Pixies, the record makes the most of a group that hadn't yet found its bearings. And at its best, Isn't Anything hints at how great it will be when their sonic discoveries are finally honed. --Roni Sarig
Isn't Anything Reviews
Isn't Anything Reviews
| 32 of 33 people found the following review helpful  "Pupating genius is genius nonetheless.", By This review is from: Isn't Anything (Audio CD) It would be far too easy for me to simply slap this album with a 4 and a half star rating, state, "this isn't Loveless," and call it a day, but instead, I'm choosing to review this (outstanding) album as if the monumental, phenomenal, perhaps-best-album-ever Loveless was never created.The humbly titled Isn't Anything is one of the most underrated and tragically ignored albums ever. I would say that it's easily among the top 25 albums of the 80s, but hardly anyone has a strong opinion on it. It has become massively influential throughout the alternative/indie world, but never duplicated. Looking at the cover art and song titles like "Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)," you're given a clue as to how the album sounds: distant, distorted, and dreamy. The song craft is strong, the vocals are ethereal, and the guitars are deliciously, noisily lush. Listening to the sound samples on Amazon does no justice to this album, for it is far better experienced on headphones... Read more 21 of 21 people found the following review helpful A masterpiece in its own right, By Polite Young Man (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews This review is from: Isn't Anything (Audio CD) I don't usually take issue with Amazon's editorial reviews, but Roni Sarig makes two big blunders. First, he calls Isn't Anything "worthy of Creation [Records]'s 'shoe-gazing' heritage." Before this album, there was no such "heritage." This album created such a buzz in the UK, Creation used its producers and sound engineers to make pop bands like Lush and Ride sound as much like this record as possible ... this was the album that set off the shoegazer movement. Despite those efforts, though, no one ever managed to create an album that sounded just like this, not even MBV's follow-up. Second, Sarig and many other reviewers seem to think Isn't Anything is merely a step towards greatness. This album does not have the insane, orchestral density of Loveless, but for that reason it's able to deliver a much wider variety of pleasures. The bass-driven stop-start of "Soft as Snow," the relentless guitar attack of "Feed Me With Your Kiss," the pairing of quavering tremelo and creepy, childlike... Read more 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful While Sonic Youth were busy daydreaming ..., By This review is from: Isn't Anything (Audio CD) "Isn't Anything" is different. Different from what? - "Loveless" of course, but it's hard to pinpoint where in why it is different. These are the exact same people playing and singing, the same label. Budgets are considerably lower, i guess; especially in the case of MBV it could mean that the record is terrible, but it is not - it is just very very different. To a "Loveless"-trained ear (and there are a lot of "Loveless"-trained ears) it will sound very atonal. But the scariest thing is that it sounds very atonal even to a Sonic Youth-trained ear! Trust me, i own almost all of the SY back catalogue (plus even weirder extras...) and i considered shelving "Isn't Anything" after the first listen. I was afraid of listening to it again for two weeks, but when i finally did - gorgeousness! - i understood that it is a work of genius and not a miserable debut of a clueless young band, as i thought at first. Granted, it may sound very un-ripe... Read more |
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