Editing My Bloody Valentine (band) (section)

==Style==
===Influences===
My Bloody Valentine's musical style progressed throughout their career. The band were originally influenced by [[post-punk]] acts such as [[The Birthday Party (band)|The Birthday Party]], [[The Cramps]] and [[Joy Division]]; according to author Mike McGonial the band "brought together the least interesting elements" of their influences.{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=21}} They were also influenced by certain dark post-punk bands who were experimenting: "the best of all was [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]], [[the Cure]] and [[Killing Joke]]".<ref>{{cite news |first=Karen |last=Leng|url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/programs/curated/kevin-shields-mbv-interview/13293944 |title=Double J Interview: Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine |work=ABC |location=Australia |date=8 April 2021 |access-date=7 June 2021 |quote=[from 10 minutes 13 seconds]}}</ref> Their debut mini album, ''This is Your Bloody Valentine'' (1985), incorporated a further [[gothic rock]] sound which AllMusic referred to as "unfocused and derivative".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-your-bloody-valentine-mw0000738624|title=This is Your Bloody Valentine – My Bloody Valentine: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|work=[[AllMusic]]|publisher=[[All Media Guide|All Media Network]]|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref> However, when the band began experimenting with pop melodies on ''[[The New Record by My Bloody Valentine]]'' (1986), it marked "a vital point in the development of their sound",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-new-record-by-my-bloody-valentine-mw0000940802|title=The New Record by My Bloody Valentine – My Bloody Valentine: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|work=[[AllMusic]]|publisher=[[All Media Guide|All Media Network]]|last=Abebe|first=Nitsuh|access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref> which was influenced primarily by [[The Jesus and Mary Chain]]. The band later took a "rarified, effete and poppy approach to [[The Byrds|Byrdsian]] rock" with their two successive releases, "[[Strawberry Wine (EP)|Strawberry Wine]]" and ''Ecstasy'' (1987).{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=24}}  ''Isn't Anything'' and its preceding releases were influenced by American bands, most notably the distorted guitar-based [[noise rock]] of [[Dinosaur Jr.]] and [[Sonic Youth]], as well as the experimental dream pop of British group [[A.R. Kane]],<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/19/ar-kane-rudy-tambala|title=AR Kane: how to invent shoegaze without really trying|first=Rob|last=Fitzpatrick|date=19 September 2012|website=The Guardian|access-date=31 July 2017}}</ref> during which time Shields developed his trademark guitar techniques.{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=54}}

The band were further influenced by [[dance music]] and especially [[hip hop music|hip hop]], of which Shields said "it beats the shit out of most rock music when it comes to being experimental, it's been a constant source of inspiration to us."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dalton|first1=Stepheb|title=My Bloody Valentine: 'It's just pure noise for the hell of it' – a classic interview from the vaults|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/may/01/my-bloody-valentine-interview|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 2012|access-date=23 February 2018}}</ref> Shield's experimentation with guitar tone would be influenced by [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] sounds employed by [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]] and [[the Bomb Squad]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=Kembrew |author2=Peter DiCola |title=Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling |url=https://archive.org/details/creativelicensel00mcle |url-access=registration |date=2011 |publisher=Duke University Publishers |page=[https://archive.org/details/creativelicensel00mcle/page/193 193] }}</ref> which Shields described as "half-buried or muted, a real sense of sounds being semi-decayed, or destroyed, but then re-used."<ref name=q/> The band experimented with [[sampler (music)|sampler]]s around the time of the ''[[Glider (EP)|Glider EP]]'', utilizing them to play back and manipulate their own guitar feedback and vocals on keyboards; by the time of the ''[[Tremolo EP]]'', they had acquired an [[Akai]] sampler.<ref name="q">{{cite web|last1=Parkes|first1=Taylor|title="Not Doing Things Is Soul Destroying" - Kevin Shields of MBV Interviewed|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/08745-kevin-shields-interview-mbv-my-bloody-valentine|website=[[The Quietus]]|date=10 May 2012 |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig recorded music influenced by the rapid rhythms of the UK's underground [[jungle music|jungle]] and [[drum and bass]] scenes.{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=102}}<ref name="p4k">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17726-mbv|title=My Bloody Valentine: mbv &#124; Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Richardson|first=Mark|date=6 February 2013|access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref>

===Sound===
{{Listen|filename=My Bloody Valentine - In Another Way.ogg|title="In Another Way"|description=From ''[[m b v (album)|m b v]]'' (2013), "In Another Way" blends Shields' guitar techniques with elements of [[drum and bass]] music from the mid-1990s.|filename2=|title2="You Made Me Realise (live performance)"|description2=My Bloody Valentine performing the interlude for "[[You Made Me Realise]]" in 2013, the band often performs this track in an exceptionally loud volume.}}
One of the most recognisable aspects of My Bloody Valentine's music is Shields' electric guitar sound, which "use[s] texture more than technique to create vivid soundscapes."{{sfn|DiPerna|1992|p=26}} During the late 1980s, Shields began customising the [[tremolo]] systems for his [[Fender Jaguar]]s and [[Fender Jazzmaster|Jazzmaster]]s; extending the [[Vibrato systems for guitar|tremolo arm]] and loosening it considerably, to allow him to manipulate the arm while strumming chords,{{sfn|DiPerna|1992|p=26}} which resulted in excessive [[Portamento|pitch bending]]. Shields used a number of [[Scordatura|alternate]] and open tunings<ref name="lastv" /> that together with his tremolo manipulation achieved "a strange warping effect that makes the music wander in and out of focus", according to ''[[Rolling Stone]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Azerrad|first1=Michael|author-link=Michael Azerrad|year=1992|title=The Sound of the Future: My Bloody Valentine|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|issue=6 February 1992}}</ref> Shields' most notable effect is reverse digital [[Reverberation|reverb]], sourced from an [[Alesis]] Midiverb II or [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] SPX90 effects unit. Together with the tremolo manipulation and [[Distortion#Audio distortion|distortion]], he created a technique known as "[[glide guitar]]".{{sfn|DiPerna|1992|p=152}} Shields effects rig, which is composed largely of distortion, [[Equalization (audio)#Graphic equalizer|graphic equalizer]]s and tone controls,<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Double|first1=Steve|title=Kevin Shields, My Bloody Valentine Interview|year=1992|magazine=[[NME]]|issue=9 November 1992|page=14}}</ref> consists of at least 30 effects pedals<ref name="nytimes" /> and is connected to a large number of amplifiers, which are often set to maximum volume to increase sustain. During live performances, in the closing song "You Made Me Realise", My Bloody Valentine perform an interlude of noise, which can last for half an hour and often reaches 130&nbsp;[[Decibel|dB]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7132-my-bloody-valentine|title=Articles: My Bloody Valentine &#124; Features|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Ewing|first=Tom|date=23 June 2008|access-date=28 June 2013|archive-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604204045/http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7132-my-bloody-valentine/}}</ref> Shields later remarked "it was so loud it was like sensory deprivation. We just liked the fact that we could see a change in the audience at a certain point."<ref name="gdn" />

[[File:Glide guitar 1989.jpg|thumb|right|Shields performing in 1989 with his "[[glide guitar]]" technique, in which he strums while holding the [[vibrato bar]].]]

Bilinda Butcher's vocals have been referred to as a trademark of My Bloody Valentine's sound, alongside Shields' guitar techniques. On a number of occasions during the recording of ''Isn't Anything'' and ''Loveless'', Butcher was awoken and recorded vocals, which she said "influenced [her] sound" by making them "more dreamy and sleepy".<ref name="DeRog">{{cite news|last=DeRogatis|first=Jim|author-link=Jim DeRogatis|title=A Love Letter to Guitar-Based Rock Music|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|url=http://www.jimdero.com/News2001/GreatDec2MBV.htm|date=2 December 2001|access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref> The vocals in most My Bloody Valentine's recordings are low in the mix{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=75}} as Shields intended for the vocals to be used as an instrument.{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=76}} Critics have often described the band's vocals as androgynous.<ref name="spin08">{{cite magazine|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|title=The Opposite of Rock 'N Roll|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|issue=August 2008|pages=78–80}}</ref>

===Lyrical themes===
My Bloody Valentine's lyrics are mostly written by Shields. However, Butcher wrote a third of the lyrics on both ''Isn't Anything'' and ''Loveless''.<ref name="td" /> ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' writer [[Simon Reynolds]] has noted that the band's lyrics often contain sexual themes, which are "a paradoxical blend of force and tenderness".<ref name="spin08" /> Butcher herself has referred to a lot of the lyrics as "plain nonsense." According to Butcher, she "didn't have a plan and never thought about lyrics until it was time to write them. I just used whatever was in my head for the moment."<ref name="td" /> Some of her lyrics were written as a result of attempting to interpret rough versions of songs Shields had recorded. Butcher has said: "He [Shields] never sang any words on the cassettes I got but I tried to make his sounds into words."<ref name="td" /> Butcher and Shields would often spend eight to ten hours a night writing lyrics, even though few changes actually resulted. Of this, Shields spoke:
<blockquote>Words are extremely important in the sense that we've spent way more time on the lyrics than ever on the music. Music is spontaneous and it's either good or bad so you just take it or leave it. Where lyrics, all the stuff comes out and then we usually just finish them right before we have to sing so it's usually these nights of eight or ten hours just trying to desperately make sure it's going to be as good as possible, even though most of it's there anyway and it's always been there. There's nothing worse than bad lyrics. For me a bad lyric is a lyric that jumps out at you, and that's offensive, it takes you completely away from enjoying the music.{{sfn|McGonial|2007|p=78–79}}</blockquote>