Tom Lynch

When the Pixies toured in 2004 and played five dates at the Aragon Ballroom, I thought at the time that we’ve seen the last of the great, unlikely reunions, that it was finally time to put a cap on the era and begin searching for potential lasting newcomers. Of course, multiple successful reunions have since followed—Dinosaur Jr. and The Jesus and Mary Chain come to mind—but neither of those bands quite pack the punch of the Pixies, at least not for me. But alas, not even a half-decade later, just last fall, news that another disappeared group, a legend responsible for creating arguably the best record of the 1990s and then famously vanishing, was threatening a return. Not too much later, My Bloody Valentine was booked at All Tomorrow’s Parties and had scheduled a short US tour, including one stop, here, at the Aragon. And honestly, short of a Velvet Underground rebirth, I can’t think of a reunion more surprising, satisfying or enthralling.

Formed in Dublin in 1984 by Kevin Shields and Colm O Ciosoig, the band didn’t release a full-length until 1988’s fantastic “Isn’t Anything,” which allowed the four-piece to be quickly tagged with the shoegazer label, the multi-layered and reverbed guitars awash with whispered, sometimes barely audible vocals. (Listening back to the older MBV material that was collapsed onto 1989’s “Ecstasy and Wine” release, it’s interesting to hear the band progress from its pop-rock start to the sound for which it’s most known.) Two EPs followed, “Glider” and “Tremolo,” crafted while the band was working on what would become its masterpiece, 1991’s “Loveless.” A record as famous for its impact as it is for its creation—Shields and crew meticulously labored over the album, and the process became so massively expensive that it nearly bankrupted Creation Records—“Loveless” was an immediate critical success. The blurry, dreamlike guitar sound Shields had imagined on the record, achieved with liberal use of the tremolo and a whammy bar, was a wave of invention, and his and Belinda Butcher’s double-vocals, buried deep in the mix, were nearly frustrating in their elusiveness, but gorgeous nonetheless. However, in a rock world just introduced to “Nevermind,” My Bloody Valentine’s opus crashed commercially, and the band was dropped by Creation. They promptly signed to Island, but damaging events that for some reason still remain somewhat unclear caused the group to drift apart, Shields holing up in isolation Brian Wilson-style, the possibility of a third record dashed into the stratosphere.

Each member has worked in music since, most notably Shields, whose heavenly instrumental contributions to the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” still resonate. Last year Shields admitted in the press that the band had recorded a new record but abandoned the project, and later said a new record they’re actually happy with was three-fourths completed. Devastating meltdown or not, it seems the band didn’t quite know how to follow up “Loveless,” and the pressure, or lack on inspiration, or writer’s block, kept them from activity.

Whether or not a new My Bloody Valentine record will come in the future is anyone’s guess, and honestly, it might not be in our best interest. Among the most heartbreaking of modern rock tales, Weezer’s de-evolution has proved to be as depressing as they come, and it would really be terrible to see MBV suffer the same fate.

But at least we have the show. The one show could be enough. It’ll certainly be intensely loud, if you’re to believe the reports from shows the band’s already played. The fact the show’s teamed with the monumentally awful acoustics of the Aragon Ballroom is worrisome to say the least, as if the amps are jacked to the extreme, much of “Loveless,” or anything else the band plays, will sound like one indistinguishable noise, an incessant traffic of eardrum attack. The joy extracted from nostalgia will play a major role, I imagine, because most likely the whole evening is gonna sound like shit.

I can’t conjure the pure elation I would feel, personally, witnessing a reunited Replacements diving headfirst on stage into an “Unsatisfied,” or a “Left of the Dial,” or even a “Here Comes a Regular.” Or, similarly, The Smiths doing “The Charming Man” or “Ask” or “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” Or Neutral Milk Hotel doing really anything for that matter. But on Saturday when My Bloody Valentine performs “When You Sleep,” I’ll need you to give me some room, a little space on all sides, so I can properly come to understand the closing of another chapter.

My Bloody Valentine plays September 27 at Aragon Ballroom, 1106 West Lawrence, (773)561-9500, at 8pm.

(2008-09-23)

Also by Tom Lynch

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Tip of the Week
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If the strongest musical bonds between musicians are formed at an early stage, then local five-piece The Names That Spell have a serious advantage. Having played together since each member was in his early teens, everything has led to this moment: the self-released “A & R,” an attractive assemblage of countless instruments, a kind-of-indie-pop record with a delirious determination to explore the outer realms
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