E.P. Review: My Bloody Valentine “You Made Me Realise”

We all have them. The hard-to-find gems we wish we had, but just can’t afford. The albums we have been searching for but cannot find.  The Holy Grail.  For the past year, my Holy Grail was the 1988 Creation Records E.P. You Made Me Realise by Shoegaze/noisepop/alternative band My Bloody Valentine.  We all know and love Loveless, but their earlier E.P. was just as strong and satisfying.  I was curious about it, so I listened online (Grooveshark, I think) and was blown away by the quality of the five songs.  I knew this was something I needed to buy eventually, and the fact that it’s out-of-print and rare made it even more attractive.

Prices for this E.P. are through the roof online.  Currently on Amazon, you can find used copies for over $100.  For five songs!  It’s usually just as expensive on Ebay, and bidding wars can get kind of crazy for it.  A few weeks ago, I decided to take a chance on a new listing for it, and ended up being the winner!  Finally, the oh-so-difficult-to-acquire MBV E.P. would be mine!

Now, on to the music itself.  The title track, and most famous on this E.P., is “You Made Me Realise.”  This song was a landmark moment in My Bloody Valentine history.  The guitars got meaner and the vocals became sweeter.  That mix of mean and sweet would define the template of the rest of MBV’s rather short career.  For most of the song, nothing too revolutionary happens.  No weird guitar experiments, just heavily distorted electric and bass guitars and relentless drumming.  The solo section, though, is a different story.  Suddenly the song breaks down into an ever-louder swirl of noise and feedback.  This section was the inspiration for the “Sonic Holocaust” that MBV performs at nearly every live gig during this very song.  Whether you’ve experienced it or not, this version of the song shows you where it came from.

”Slow<’ as the title suggests, slows things down without letting go of the intensity.  In addition to the buzzing guitars, you can hear a swooping, swirling, alarm-like drone throughout the entire song.  This, friends, is the beginning stages of what would eventually become songs like “To Here Knows When” and “Only Shallow.”  That sound, made by playing the guitar while manipulating the tremolo arm, was another key mark on the blueprint of the MBV sound.  The result is hypnotic, addictive and rather sensual. 

“Thorn” is perhaps the weakest song on this E.P., but it’s saved by the catchy melodies and fast tempo.  Once again, we hear a swirling drone in the background.  Aside from that, this is typical mid-80s guitar pop.  Kevin Shields’ voice is acceptable, but has never been the strongest.  Still, that constant background noise sets this track apart from all the others you can find from 1988.

”Cigarette In Your Bed” is sung by Bilinda Butcher, and it’s quite different from anything else on the E.P.  The song alternates from vocal sections featuring heavy amounts of echo and, mostly, subtle drumming from Colm O’Ciosoig and little else; to bursts of moderately-distorted electric guitar.  The band doesn’t try to invent new sounds here, but they do create a moody, almost gothic sound that proves a great feature for Butcher’s sweet voice. 

The final track, “Drive It All Over Me,” is perhaps one of the best tracks on the E.P., which is an accomplishment considering the quality of what comes before it.  Heavy bass, heavily distorted guitars, jangly rhythm guitars, and a very pretty, indistinct voice (which actually sounds like a mix between Kevin and Bilinda) all come together to serve a truly lovely melody. MBV is a band that knows how to use melody, and I think this is one of their best.  While listening to this song, I’m almost reminded of Smashing Pumpkins’ earlier work.  Tracks like this are where 90s alternative rock came from.  I really like the vocals on this track.  They are fairly similar to what Kevin and Bilinda did on Loveless.  As with the other tracks, hints of what was to come can be found all over the place on this E.P.

If you want to know where My Bloody Valentine found their unique sound, look no further. But don’t be afraid to enjoy the songs here on their own merits, because they are all very strong and this E.P. is a great collection of music.  This was definitely worth the price I paid for it, and I can’t believe music like this was being made when I was only eight years old.  Thanks to the internet, I’m now able to listen to great songs like these that would have otherwise been inaccessible and perhaps lost.