Let's settle this once and for all.
Many have tried to sound like MBV and without exception every single one has failed. But who's come closest? Maybe for just one song. Maybe for just one bit of a song.
― imago, Sunday, 11 February 2018 23:45 (six years ago) link
I'll start the bidding with Cornelius - New Music Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QzZ_HmjPvA
― imago, Sunday, 11 February 2018 23:52 (six years ago) link
fucking do my head in this band. i think theyre the best guitar band of their time, untouchable, so powerful, but kevin shields needs to get a haircut and move on. sitting about moping and remastering age old albums, recycling old material and passing it off as a new record... just write something new already.
― meaulnes, Monday, 12 February 2018 00:29 (six years ago) link
m b v was new though, kind of - and it was great
now everyone answer my questionnnn
― imago, Monday, 12 February 2018 00:40 (six years ago) link
There's a fantastic guitar band from Canada called No Joy. They can approximate the sound when they want to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AivFulF-NPk
― kornrulez6969, Monday, 12 February 2018 00:55 (six years ago) link
Guitar - House Full Of Timehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxsXEM73Xio
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, 12 February 2018 01:26 (six years ago) link
this album is basically a loveless ripoffhttps://fleetingjoys1.bandcamp.com/album/despondent-transponder
― Men's Scarehouse - "You're gonna like the way you're shook." (m bison), Monday, 12 February 2018 01:43 (six years ago) link
the first song on crush by astrobrite?
― brimstead, Monday, 12 February 2018 01:49 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWi3ZWIEZEI
― wmlynch, Monday, 12 February 2018 01:54 (six years ago) link
i recorded this album by my mates band and they really had glider guitar down. https://sorryescalator.bandcamp.com/track/remit-like-i-do
― meaulnes, Monday, 12 February 2018 02:07 (six years ago) link
you have to crank this at mbv levels, but give this a shot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrzCQ0rHb4s
― Karl Malone, Monday, 12 February 2018 02:33 (six years ago) link
ooh, both Fleeting Joys and meaulnes' mate's band get pretty close! I think the latter is marginally winning this so far
― imago, Monday, 12 February 2018 09:15 (six years ago) link
Swirlies - Pancake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls3imCyjuyE
― Colonel Poo, Monday, 12 February 2018 09:56 (six years ago) link
oh of cooooourse! and the best thing about swirlies was that they were also completely their own thing, while also being able to fairly closely replicate the aural magic of shields
― imago, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:05 (six years ago) link
Our Destiny, from the Purple Rain reissue has some woozy proto MBV guitars.
― Cow_Art, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:16 (six years ago) link
I Was A Lover by TV on The Radio.
Almost sounds like MBV samples are thrown in there.
― Cow_Art, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:18 (six years ago) link
cosign swirlies, "jeremy parker" for me to be more precise :)
― nxd, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:28 (six years ago) link
The second album is where they really spread their own wings
― imago, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:32 (six years ago) link
Belong - Same Places (slow version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAXxreB9AhI
― neilasimpson, Monday, 12 February 2018 10:35 (six years ago) link
Not really a total sound-a-like, but definitely heavily inspired by Soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dhVcLac45Y
― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 12 February 2018 11:52 (six years ago) link
Fleeting Joys, meaulnes' mate...
Lilys - In the Presence of Nothing (which I seem to still have tagged as In the Presence of MBV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7mUBb394JE
First couple Ringo Deathstarr albums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3xATi5s9-A
― Acanthonus armatus (Sanpaku), Monday, 12 February 2018 17:21 (six years ago) link
Velocity Girl - My Forgotten Favorite
― sleeve, Monday, 12 February 2018 17:24 (six years ago) link
Dälek - Ever Somber comes pretty close except for the drums obv.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Z9i7fxIgk
― JoeStork, Monday, 12 February 2018 17:40 (six years ago) link
I'm also voting Cornelius: Salon Music - Galaxie Express (69 mix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA_JaLyZFJo
― Spencer Chow, Monday, 12 February 2018 17:44 (six years ago) link
Ladytron - "Sugar" was very MBV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95lvxzyptj8
― Spencer Chow, Monday, 12 February 2018 17:46 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II9aWvcP66w
― kolakube (Ross), Monday, 12 February 2018 17:50 (six years ago) link
I was going to suggest this one by Ulirka Spacek (where the guitar kicks in at 1:27): https://youtu.be/X_1VM36PaaA...but having listened to the tracks linked to above, some of those are *much* more similar to MBV. So I'll just link to it anyway because I like it.
― the salacious inaudible (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Monday, 12 February 2018 17:55 (six years ago) link
Lilys - In The Presence of Nothing for sure. To me it is unfairly written off for sounding so similar because there is some excellent craftsmanship that went into that record.
But if the question is who blatantly copied them the most precisely that Ringo Deathstarr track in particular certainly wins the contest.
Swirlies had a very unique and American sound within the spectrum of artists-that-employed-bendy-guitar-and-krautrock-beats post MBV. Lots of slacker indie and lo-fi and punk added to the mix with them. Then They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days In The Glittering World Of The Salons went much further away and it remains one of the most unique and timeless records of the time/scene imo.
― Evan, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:27 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTolIDDtfzk
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 12 February 2018 19:31 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMDWuj_fsU0
Lock thread.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:36 (six years ago) link
Re-open thread
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkCtkT4HRGQ
Lock thread again.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:37 (six years ago) link
xpostcome on LBI, that's totally different than "only shallow". for example, there are 16 snare hits at the beginning instead of 8
― Karl Malone, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:38 (six years ago) link
Holy shit, I had no idea that a) the guy from Secret Machines was in School of Seven Bells or that b) he died of cancer in 2013. That's pretty sad.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:39 (six years ago) link
there are 16 snare hits at the beginning instead of 8
i mean instead of 4!
dammit
― Karl Malone, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:39 (six years ago) link
True, true KM :)
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:43 (six years ago) link
I was going to post something from Bailter Space (who were of course more or less contemporaneous):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9mlWfgxHfg
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:44 (six years ago) link
Oh god I love that song so much
― Evan, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:48 (six years ago) link
Met too. Such an underrated band.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 12 February 2018 19:49 (six years ago) link
Xp. That Ulrika Spacek track is great and sounds like MBV without the occasionally unnerving hoover sound. I really like the powerful, doomy guitar.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 12 February 2018 19:50 (six years ago) link
i'm so out of the loop. has anyone received the represses of isn't anything or loveless? do they sound any different or is kevin shields, shockingly, an audio madman who obsesses over tiny details that the rest of us can't hear? also, did anyone get the bonus alternative secret free version of isn't anything that came with the pre-orders?
pic.twitter.com/luBZ2GPaol— TheOfficialMBV (@TheOfficialMBV) February 19, 2018
― i remember the corned beef of my childhood (Karl Malone), Monday, 19 February 2018 18:39 (six years ago) link
one person i know says it's the definitive version
― lowercase (eric), Monday, 19 February 2018 18:45 (six years ago) link
it's been a month since my order was apparently shipped. how mangled do you suppose it's going to be when it finally shows up?
― scoff walker (diamonddave85), Monday, 19 February 2018 19:26 (six years ago) link
supposedly they sound so good because of how warped each record is
― lowercase (eric), Monday, 19 February 2018 19:31 (six years ago) link
how mangled do you suppose it's going to be when it finally shows up?
i have to admit i'm still a bit bummed about the state of my m b v record, which arrived with bad damage to the spine, a big dent on the front cover, and multiple skipping scratches
― i remember the corned beef of my childhood (Karl Malone), Monday, 19 February 2018 19:49 (six years ago) link
yeah same thing happened with my m b v so i'm not sure why i trusted them again this time
― scoff walker (diamonddave85), Monday, 19 February 2018 19:55 (six years ago) link
Every pressing of Loveless I've ever found sounds all wobbly and off-center, I hope they finally have it fixed now
― PaulTMA, Tuesday, 20 February 2018 00:17 (six years ago) link
I think that's just the tremolo bar guitar.
― Screaming into the void has never been easier (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 00:56 (six years ago) link
i think "lsd and the search for god" are the most blatant mbv clone band i've ever heard
― ziggy the ginhead (rushomancy), Tuesday, 20 February 2018 01:01 (six years ago) link
Got the new versions a few days ago (along with bonus test pressing!). Haven't listened to Isn't Anything Yet, but Loveless is perfect.
I expected it to sound dramatically different because of everything that was said about the analog mastering process, but it's Loveless as it always was. You have to crank it up loud as fuck and bathe in perfection.
― Cow_Art, Tuesday, 20 February 2018 02:57 (six years ago) link
they arrived today safe and sound, completely unmangled!
― scoff walker (diamonddave85), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 00:32 (six years ago) link