MBV & M83

So news is spreading quicker than a Dwain Chambers 60m sprint – My Bloody Valentine are confirmed for this year’s Electric Picnic. Sign me up! Having missed out on Glasgow tickets, it’s a welcome relief to know I’ll finally catch them. Please put them in a tent, late! MBV are arguably one of the few bands truly worthy of the enormous, obscene amounts of cash currently being thrown at retired acts to reform. The Verve anyone? Why bother? Having worn out my copy of Loveless on vinyl, and scratched the beejaysus out of my Isn’t Anything CD – that album is now twenty years old!! – it’ll be nice to have something new to add to the MBV experience. Most fans/anoraks like myself have been reduced to watching endless re-runs of that Rapido feature on youtube, or videos such as this below.

Not a million miles away (in many respects), Anthony Gonzales is preparing for the release of his new album on April 15th, entitled Saturdays=Youth. M83 – no longer a duo – are clearly one of a number of bands raised on a steady diet of MBV, albeit with a more electronic slant. It’s judgement day for Gonzalez here at IPTOR HQ, as I feel he has been slightly off target with his last two albums. Although they contained moments of staggering beauty, I can’t help but feel something was lost in the split, when Gonzales parted company with Nicolas Fromageau following a stressful tour. For me, Dead Cities, Red Seas, Lost Souls is still the definitive M83 record. But here’s hoping Saturdays=Youth lives up to expectation. Gonzales is clearly hotting up for the release, as an M83 youtube channel has just been created, containing some videos of previous singles. No doubt there’s a new one on the way. Watch this space. To play us out, here’s the video to a track off Dead Cities – Run Into Flowers.

Would this song even exist had it not been for MBV?

You decide.