You Made Me Realise (stylized in lowercase) is the third extended play (EP) by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine, released in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1988. After the troubled production of Ecstasy (1987), the band were invited by record executive Alan McGee to release music under Creation Records. The EP was then recorded within a week in January 1988, during which vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields wrote most of its songs. The band recorded in a small Walthamstow studio provided by McGee and handled production by themselves. The EP blends the shoegaze, noise rock and dream pop genres, which were inspired by musicians Thurston Moore and J Mascis, while Shields was influenced by his smoking cannabis.
You Made Me Realise entered the UK Indie Chart at number two and was praised by the independent music press for My Bloody Valentine developing their sound. Only one single from the EP was released, "You Made Me Realise", which reached number 107 on the UK singles chart. The success of the record allowed the band to release six more records under Creation throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Recording
My Bloody Valentine were signed to four independent record labels between 1983 and 1986, during which the band received little attention and underwent several membership changes.[1][2] In early 1987, the band signed with Lazy Records, after which lead vocalist David Conway became disillusioned with music and departed the band.[3] He was replaced by musician Bilinda Butcher, who learnt to play the guitar and began sharing lead vocals with guitarist Kevin Shields.[1][4] The band quickly faced pressure from Lazy Records to produce new records, which led to "Strawberry Wine", a standalone single, and Ecstasy, a mini album. Both works were released in 1987 to some positive reviews, though Ecstacy was plagued by technical problems and financial limitations.[5]
My Bloody Valentine left Lazy Records in late 1987.[6] In January 1988, the band was noticed in Canterbury by record executive Alan McGee, who invited them to record and release music for Creation Records. You Made Me Realise was then conceived and recorded at a studio in Walthamstow, East London in less than a week.[7] The model on the cover is a mutual friend of My Bloody Valentine and Lush, who is commonly mistaken as Butcher.[8][9]
Composition
You Made Me Realise is a shoegaze record that blends elements of noise rock and dream pop, marking a change in direction from the band's previous releases. Inspirations for the record include Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, who influenced Shields's guitar playing. He also evolved his use of reverse reverb, which he experimented with on "Strawberry Wine" and Ecstasy but "to no great consequence, because I was using it the way it was meant to be used." He also credited starting to smoke cannabis, which he had done for six months prior to the EP's conception, as an influence.[10]
Shields performs lead vocals on the first three songs of You Made Me Realise, and Butcher sings lead on the final two tracks. Shields wrote most of its lyrics with the exception of "Drive It All Over Me", which were penned by Butcher and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig.[11] The EP includes references to romance, sadomasochism, sexual intercourse and suicide.[12] Its title track "You Made Me Realise" became infamous for its noise section, often referred to as the "holocaust" section.[13]
Release
You Made Me Realise was released by Creation on 8 August 1988. The title track was released as a single that same day, and limited to 1,000 copies. It aided in the success of the EP, reaching 107 on the UK singles chart and five on the UK indie chart.[14] Two promotional music videos were directed by ex-Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart. Without My Bloody Valentine's consent, Mercury reissued You Made Me Realise and the band's following EP Feed Me with Your Kiss as a bundle in 1989. You Made Me Realise was remastered for the compilation album EP's 1988–1991, which was released in 2012.[15][16]
You Made Me Realise received positive reviews from critics. Nitsuh Abebe of AllMusic wrote that the EP "made critics stand up and take notice of the brilliant things My Bloody Valentine were up to [...] it developed some of the stunning guitar sounds that would become the band's trademark."[17]Spin's Simon Reynolds called the record "astonishing".[18] Daniel Harrison of Slate said it demonstrated "a massive step-up" for the band.[19]Pitchfork's Mark Richardson opined that You Made Me Realise "is a perennial on any list of the greatest EPs of all time and it vastly improves upon their earlier work. [...] They were finally a real rock band, with pulsing bass and brisk tempos and guitars that sound like guitars."[20]Alexis Petridis included all of the tracks from You Made Me Realise in The Guardian's list of the band's 20 greatest songs, with "You Made Me Realise" ranking highest at number two.[21]
The EP's title track became a staple of My Bloody Valentine's live repertoire. During the band's performances, they repeat a single chord from the holocaust section for as long as they felt bearable, as the song descending into cacophony.[22] It usually lasts around 15 minutes, although there are reports of shows where it went on for well over half an hour.[22][23][24]Peter Kember, then of Spacemen 3, recalled seeing the band play "You Made Me Realise" at a live performance at the Roadmender in Northampton in 1988, after My Bloody Valentine had supported the Pixies on the latter's first European tour: "They’d transformed. I don’t know quite what had happened, but sometimes bands hit a certain quantum shift. The noise was overwhelming".
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kevin Shields, except where noted.
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