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Guitars in September, bass in April: The My Bloody Valentine album that took over three years to record
My Bloody Valentine’s second album, *Loveless*, took years to record as frontman Kevin Shields pursued a particular sound through repeated studio and engineering changes. The drawn-out process slowed the band’s momentum and strained its relationship with Creation Records, but the finished album became a defining work of shoegaze.
The article says the band recorded parts of “When You Sleep” across 1989 and 1991: drums in September 1989, guitar in December, bass in April 1990, and melody and vocals in 1991, with long pauses between sessions. Shields reportedly used 19 studios and more than a dozen engineers. Creation said the recording cost nearly £250,000 contributed to its later bankruptcy; Shields disputed that account, describing the work as focused and blaming a poor support network.
In short
- *Loveless* took years to record.
- Kevin Shields used 19 studios and over a dozen engineers.
- The album became a landmark of shoegaze.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The extended process can be defended as a deliberate pursuit of an unusually specific sound: repeated studio and engineering changes allowed Kevin Shields to refine the album on its own terms. The finished work became a defining shoegaze record, suggesting that the time and expense produced lasting artistic value. From this view, the delays reflected creative ambition and inadequate support rather than simple mismanagement.
The case against
The process can be criticised as an unsustainable use of time and money: long gaps between recording sessions and many studio and engineer changes slowed the band’s momentum and strained its relationship with Creation Records. If the label’s account of the costs is broadly right, the expenditure also put serious pressure on a small company. From this view, artistic ambition did not remove the need for workable planning and financial accountability.
Explained simply
My Bloody Valentine are an Irish-English rock band led by singer and guitarist Kevin Shields. Their music became associated with shoegaze, a style known for layered, distorted guitars and vocals that can be hard to make out.
The band made Loveless after its 1988 debut, Isn’t Anything. Shields pursued a carefully shaped guitar sound, and the recording involved many studios and engineers over several years, slowing the band’s progress and putting pressure on its relationship with Creation Records, its record label.
The album’s cost later became part of a dispute: Creation said it contributed to the label’s financial collapse, while Shields challenged that account. Loveless went on to be regarded as a defining shoegaze record, making its long and costly production part of the story of how the album was made.