My Bloody Valentine set to release two new EPs in 2018
It's not a good idea to take the phrase "hold your breath" too literally while waiting for new material from shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine. After all, the band did take a cool 22 years to follow up the critically acclaimed 'Loveless' with their 2013 comeback album 'M B V'.
Now, after another five-year hiatus, the indie rockers are all set to delight us with a double whammy ahead of their 'live comeback' set for this year. The band has confirmed that they will be releasing not one, but two EP's this year. In fact, frontman Kevin Shields said the new live dates will act as a sort of deadline for new material.
“We’re going to play live again,” he revealed in the fall, “so that’s always a really good way to guarantee that we’ll get the record done.”
Earlier this January, Shields had promised a new My Bloody Valentine album in 2018. We even merrily gave MBV a slot on out list of 'Top 15 upcoming albums of 2018.' Since then, we’ve learned that the project is actually a “sprawling EP." Or perhaps a few of the tracks will lead to a full album. Whatever the case, Shields said he wanted to “get away from my ‘every 20 years and make an album and then tour and disappear for five years,'” routine, so new music is definitely on the way. Now, fans can rejoice because we have a better idea as to when.
In an interview with Stereogum, the MBV frontman confirmed that the band is currently planning to release two EPs over the coming months. The story reads, “Kevin Shields has now turned his attention to two new My Bloody Valentine EPs — one to be released this summer, a second to come next spring.”
Of course, we would understand if you were wary about this news. But there's something about this year that's been fuelling the comeback of an unbelievable number of bands, especially from the 90s. A Perfect Circle recently dropped their comeback album 'Eat the Elephant' after 14 years and all the stars seem to be aligning right finally for Maynard James Keenan to make a much-awaited comeback with Tool's new album. So in all likelihood, we might get to listen to some new material from MBV before this year is done.
Meanwhile, MBV are currently slated to appear at a handful of summer festivals, including Japan’s Sonic Mania, England’s Meltdown, Spain’s Bilbao BBK Live, Denmark’s Roskilde, and Los Angeles’ FYF Fest.