My Bloody Valentine - EP's 1988-1991 (CD)

Three previously unreleased MBV songs you say? Oh, go on then. 

Let's get those 'new' tracks out of the way first. None of them sound like they could be on Loveless, which is a good thing in my book, so if you prefer that earlier MBV sound then you should give these a listen. 'Angel' is the best by far with a gorgeous, breathy Bilinda vocal that stays on just the right side of the ooooh-aaaah, these-pills-are-strong-aren't-they dividing line between great and "actually just a bit annoying". But the other two...well, any MBV fan should find them very interesting, let's put it that way. Indeed, if you prefer that even earlier, janglier MBV sound then you'll probably actually rather like 'Good For You' and 'How Do You Do It' cos they both have strong elements of their Ecstasy-era stuff. But there's a good reason why some things remain unreleased, and if you're expecting to hear masterpieces then adjust your expectations. 

Nah, the reasons why any self-respecting MBV fan should give this reissued singles collection a chance are:

a. to hear 'Glider' gloriously stretched out for over ten minutes and,
b. to test the mettle of their probably-quite-fucked lugs by doing the whole "can I tell the difference?" thing.

Now, as someone who has listened to the originals way too much (seriously) I am 100% certain that they *do* sound different. Indeed, stick on some decent headphones and they often sound *very* different. And while it's hard to put into words exactly why this is, it is a rare joy indeed to hear old favourites like 'Swallow' and 'Emptiness Inside' afresh again.    

Whoever did the metadata for the CDs, though, needs shooting. Or, at least, a stern telling off by the Quality Control team. The charms of trying to remember which track is actually which when they've been so disasterously mislabelled soon wear thin.