Alternate shades of blue with “m b v” written in lowercase purple text. Anglo-Irish rock band My Bloody Valentine, bloody maria-released on 2 February 2013.
Recording for m b v began prior to My Bloody Valentine’s breakup in 1997. Shields resumed recording in 2006 at the time when the band was reunited, with further recording occurring after 2011. Rumours spread that several albums worth of material had been recorded and shelved prior to the band’s 1997 breakup. In 1999, it was reported that Shields had delivered 60 hours of material to Island Records, and vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher confirmed that there existed “probably enough songs to fill two albums”. Recording sessions for m b v began in 1996, after bassist Debbie Googe and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig had left the band.
Shields began recording guitar riffs to tape, laying the foundations for several songs. In 2006, Shields resumed recording at the time when the band was reunited, combining recordings from the 1996 and 1997 sessions with additional instrumentation. Final vocal, bass and drum tracks and overdubs were recorded in 2011 and 2012. She Found Now” was the only song recorded “completely from scratch” in 2012. Mastering was completed on 21 December 2012, after four months of mixing and editing in late 2012.
Shields mentioned drum and bass as an influence on one of the album’s songs, and jungle music had influenced some of the original material recorded in 1996. Shields said “there’s probably about three more that will come out sometime. 94, and a little bit of new stuff. Facebook page on 2 February 2013. The band’s website was relaunched at 11:58 GMT on 2 February, where m b v was released on mbv Records. Physical copies of the album were released on 22 February. My Bloody Valentine announced live dates in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia during February 2013.
The tour began on 3 February in Seoul and concluded on 22 February in Melbourne. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 87, based on 46 reviews, indicating “universal acclaim”. Shields, pushing 50, has finally accepted that he has painted himself into a corner. However, as the album unfolds it transforms itself into a remarkable act of renewal”, later concluding there was “a wild, undisciplined feel to the music”.