a half-remembered 7” single played on an old vinyl deck blankets covering speakers turned to an mp3 listened to on half-broken headphones endlessly but is it any good? songwriting artifice distance production guitars roar like planes chainsaws engines indistinct noise lower case words titles mean nothing she found now mbv somewhere in here songs somewhere hiding in sound only tomorrow female girl sings over something that sounds so far away it's all abstract, treated a triumph of undoubtedly brilliant production over substance presentation over product who sees you a woozy, clear rhythm, over the usual, drone and roar as if nothing has ever changed in the past 22 years somewhere in there, words, chords, melody is this and yes is another a gentle, strained keyboard – sounding like a tinny preset from the late 90's, whilst a voice airly intones nothing new you is the nearest thing to a song as such which a recognisable, wonderful bass sound and a solid drum pattern i once heard someone describe the best rhythm section as playing akin to “lead drums” exactly this is the kind of solid, sparse, and keen drumming that makes the best music a roar a slew a tidal wave processed drums, vaguely recognise guitars a human voice that resembles a ghost nothing is endless a roaring mess guitars as lions, paused forever in a 80/second loop a drum fill end fade wonder 2 a whomping, looping, endless drums, sounding like a backmasked/taped, rotating, jet engine over this, a second drum fill, sounding like a fractured drum and bass line from 1996 guitars crumble vocals float around, barely audible sure, it sounds like nothing else in the universe but is that any good? metallica – or slayer – could do an insane cover version of this there's still time to put out a split 10” for record store day guys but is this any good? it's a musical version of michael bay film : a wonderful technical achievement, but at the heart of it, whatever this is all about is absent, a puzzle, an enigma, a set of wrapping paper, when you get to the heart of this, i'm not sure there is anything there, just clouds and smoke and production i don't know what mbv is trying to communicate, if anything, perhaps a musical meditation, to put you in the frame of mind where you lose all your world around you, explore the carpark of the mind, like the best music of its ilk, akin to some kind of transportation device not worth a 22 year wait

but on the other hand, maintaining their consistent reputation only releasing music under a conservative administration, since 1983