Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard the Duck
Loveless might not be doing anything new but Shields did manage to sculpt the sounds in a way which to me is the aural equivalent of being in love
the only other album that sounds to me like that is The Cocteau Twins' Milk & Kisses and that was several years after
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A host of bands sounded - or at least attempted to sound - like Loveless after its release, but very few sounded like it before. It was doing something new, yes the likes of S3, Sonic Youth and even Dinosaur Jr were experimenting with feedback and distortion, but Shields managed to do something with guitar music that hadn't been done before. His 'glide guitar' technique, pitch-bending, digital reverb, use of samples and studio manipulation resulted in a sound that, when released, had peers stumped. It expanded sonic possibilities, transforming the relationship between noise and melody.
People can undermine the artistic merit of Loveless all they want, and it's inevitable that there will be a backlash against something that has generated such reverence, but for me, it is one of the finest albums ever released - and there's nothing hyperbolic about that statement.