Isn't Anything

Isn’t Anything is the debut studio album by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 21 November 1988 by Creation Records. The album is celebrated for its innovative guitar and production techniques, establishing it as a pioneering work in the shoegaze genre.

Following the departure of original vocalist Dave Conway in 1987, Bilinda Butcher joined the band. The band initially continued with their earlier indie-pop style before Kevin Shields guided them towards a more avant-garde approach. This experimentation culminated in the single/EP You Made Me Realise, released in August 1988, and the subsequent album.

The majority of Isn’t Anything was recorded in a studio in Wales over a two-week period, during which the band members worked intensely with minimal rest. The recording sessions contributed to the album’s distinctive sound, characterised by gossamer vocals and dense, layered noise.

The album’s release was accompanied by a limited edition of the first 5,000 vinyl copies, which included a bonus seven-inch single featuring two instrumental tracks. The lead single, “Feed Me with Your Kiss,” was released in October 1988 and was followed by “Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)” as a promotional single in the United States in December 1988.

Isn’t Anything was reissued on CD by Warner Bros. Records in 1993 and 2001, and by Creation in 1996. It was also released on 180-gram LP by Plain Records in 2008, with a remastered version following in June 2008 and an additional remaster by Kevin Shields in May 2012.

The album has been widely recognised as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s. It is included in The Guardian’s list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die, ranked at #16 in their Alternative Top 100 Albums list, and placed at #24 in The Irish Times’ list of Top 40 Irish Albums of All Time. Additionally, Pitchfork selected it as #22 on their Top 100 Albums of the 1980s list and Slant Magazine listed it at #92 on their Best Albums of the 1980s. Uncut has described it as one of the most important and influential British rock albums of the eighties, and in 2013, NME ranked it at #187 in their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.