My Bloody Valentine 'finished' with first album in 21 years

The Associated Press, Wednesday, December 26, 2012, 12:53pm (PST)

In an announcement 21 years in the making, My Bloody Valentine say they're finished with a new album.

On Dec. 21, the group members posted on the My Bloody Valentine Facebook page that they're "finished mastering the new album!"

The ear-rattling shoegaze band has been legendarily quiet on the release front since the landmark 1991 album "Loveless," though recent years have seen the group become increasingly productive. After a series of 2008 reunion gigs, the group continued to play shows, reissuing remastered versions of albums "Loveless," "Isn't Anything" and a collection of EPs in the U.K. earlier this year.

Bing: Watch My Bloody Valentine videos

With a few days left, the new set may yet see release in 2012. As far back as 2007, manager Vinita Joshi told Billboard the group would digitally self-release the next album, along with a probable vinyl release. Frontman Kevin Shields appeared to be on course with that strategy in a more recent NME interview, telling the mag it would be released online by year-end, with an additional EP to follow.

"I think with this record, people who like us will immediately connect with something. Based on the very, very few people who've heard stuff -- some engineers, the band, and that's about it -- some people think it's stranger than 'Loveless,'" Shields told the magazine. "I don't. I feel like it really frees us up, and in the bigger picture it's 100 percent necessary."

My Bloody Valentine have lined up a number of dates for next year, with three U.K. shows coming in March and a headlining performance set for Tokyo Rocks in May.