According to Pitchfork, legendary shoegaze band, My Bloody Valentine are apparently working on a new album. My Bloody Valentine bandleader Kevin Shields has been announced as a featured artist at Sigur Ros’ upcoming festival, Norður og Niður. In his bio on the festival website, he is apparently “working on material for a new My Bloody Valentine album to be released in 2018.” This would mark the first release from the band since 2013’s comeback record mbv.

The bio also stated that Shields is currently busy on reissuing My Bloody Valentine’s first two records on vinyl, something fans have been clamoring for since Warner Bros. Record’s ill-advised vinyl reissue in 2003, which was nothing more than a sloppy transfer from the CD, instead of using analogue techniques to restore the high fidelity and warm undertones many associated with vinyl records.

Since rising to fame in the early 90’s with their unique and studio-intensive sound that drew heavily on Shield’s echo-drenched guitar lines, My Bloody Valentine has become one of the most influential bands in the indie rock underground. A known perfectionist in the studio, Shields developed his distinctive guitar sound by overdubbing countless guitar tracks drenched in echo, feedback, and distortion, a technique which had a massive impact over the past 26 years since the release of the timeless classic Loveless.

Since the release of mbv, the members of My Bloody Valentine have kept busy with a series of side projects. Colm Ó Cíosóig teamed up with Mazzy Star vocalist Hope Sandoval for a highly successful series of recordings as Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions while Kevin Shields guested on Le Volume Courbe’s single “The House.”

Photo credit Owen Ela