Japancakes: Loveless

It's probably fairly clear, if you have read some of my previous reviews, that I have great affection for My Bloody Valentine and, in particular, their masterpiece Loveless. Ordinarily, I would say that it's best not to tamper with perfection. However, Japancakes' lovingly constructed song-for-song reconstruction of MBV's album is an exception. Japancakes' have assembled their tribute with as much care and attention to detail as Kevin Shields did with the original. This album manages to capture many of the best qualities of MBV while still asserting Japancakes' identity. Stripped of the oceans of reverb and feedback, the new Loveless preserves only the melodies and rhythms, reiterating the subtle but vital role these had on MBV's album. Replacing the vocals with strings is a bold decision that has paid off well, since actually understanding the original album's lyrics would probably take away some of the magic. Both as a tribute and as a work in itself, Loveless is astonishingly gorgeous.