My Bloody Valentine started life off in London as a slightly fey indie band typically associated with the London indie scene at the time, NME etc.

In 1988 they released 'Isn't anything' on creation Records. This was a huge step forward into noise rock and the scene which was later to become known as shoegazing. For many this is still their best album.

For the next three years, Kevin Shields, Colm O'Coisig and the rest of the band holed up in a studio and produced and engineered what was to become the masterpiece, not just of MBV, but of the era.

Loveless is like nothing else you have ever heard. The record cover, a pink haze which might depict the fender of a guitar suggests at what is within. A common tale at the time was that when people first put it on they thought their record player was broken.

A testament not so much to the playing on the guitar as to the production that followed, Loveless contains brilliant tunes shrouded in guitar feedback, overdubs, reverb and, well, noise.

Belinda Butcher, and apparently a speeded up Kevin Shields, provide glimmering translucent vocals amongst this dreamlike cacophony. The voices were to be used more like an instrument than voices in their own right. They are part of the whole and not the primary focus. The lyrics themselves are indecipherable but apparently a lot of the songs are about making love.

Much of the album follows this pattern, 'Only shallow' and 'To here knows when' being some highlights. Right at the end of the record when you think it couldn't get any better 'Soon' appears and introduces a lolloping dance beat which sets dance floors alight.

Loveless truly is in a class of its own.

Loveless is such a mind melding blend of sonics that it is difficult to criticise the actual sound quality of it. I had a Creation pressing. When I bought the recent Plain recordings issue, I did discover that it was clearer and somewhet more distinct. Its on excellent quality vinyl and in a nice gatefold sleeve. Plain are from the Runt distribution group of labels, the same group who bring you 4 men with beards.

If you see it, buy it!