The idea of a great album is so subjective. The only way in which we're able to compare such vastly unrelated albums is through criteria that focuses on how well they satisfy their intentions. My Bloody Valentine has on an endless number of occasions been said to be the epitomisers of shoegazing, paving the way for a plethora of artists who have built their stylistic interpretations on the genre's foundation, a foundation that was profoundly reinvented when the then understated Irish four-piece bore their sophomore effort, a longplayer by the name of Loveless, in 1991. Even though it was the band's last effort (to date*), and only one of two albums, it no doubt left an undying legacy which has resurfaced in 2007 by Athens, Georgia six-piece Japancakes.

So what changes have been made between the original highly regarded classic and the instrumental revision from one of the most unique and underrated post-rock bands of this era? The instrument line-up, for starters, is completely revamped. While the original consisted of nothing but two guitars, a bass and a drum kit (washed over by a shitload of effects and distortion stomp boxes), Japancakes hang tightly on nothing more than the original melodies and reconstruct everything else the way they see it. Their unique instrument line-up includes rhythm guitar, cello and the trademark pedal steel guitar which has, on numerous occasions, forced me to use the term 'post-country-and-western'. The consistent mono dynamics of the original are also offered greater variety, and the fact that in the studio, the Japancakes crew record individually and layer each sound in post-production means the defining sea of noise we fell in love with in 1991 is traded in for neater, dissociable sounds.

"Only Shallow" opens in similar dynamics to the original, but the noisy, largely tremolo-strummed guitar of Kevin Shields is replaced by the highly distinct pedal steel guitar of John Neff. A piano rhythm staccatos in the background while the drowned vocals are usurped by the gentle strokes of Heather McIntosh's cello. Considering the wall of murky noise status quo in the shoegazing genre defined by Loveless, it was inevitable that Japancakes would offer this much cleaner, separable sound. "Loomer" sees Neff's signature pedal steel take over Bilinda Butcher's vocals from the original. The line dividing My Bloody Valentine and Japancakes is made even clearer. Whereas the original "Loomer" felt very much like the dreamy anticlimactic interlude to "Only Shallow", Japancakes transforms its role beyond a mere segue and into its own realm, providing promise for the rest of the record. "Touched", the lazy minute-long ditty that bridged the Loveless opening with the main body is expanded into lengthier affair, equally subtle and moody but the original lo-fi mono sound enhanced by pedal steel, cello and piano.

As on the original record the songs progressively gets noisier, it seems as though Japancakes feel a duty to counter this by gradually getting softer and cleaner. "To Here Knows When", the dreamy, droney, noisy masterpiece again has McIntosh's cello driving the vocals. The drums are brought well out of their subtle execution on the original, and Nick Belli's melodic bass grooves reminiscent of If I Could See Dallas remind us that this is still Japancakes at the wheel driving us nostalgics down memory lane. In keeping with the cleaner, quieter pattern of progression, Japancakes take the dynamics down another notch on "When You Sleep", turning it into a prolonged moment of peaceful introspection. Whereas the original was driven by the squeals of the distinct opening melody fervently strummed by Shields, dressed in layers of noise and aggressively drummed, the Georgia six-piece xylophonically soften the melody, accentuate the Butcher-Shields dual vocals in the form of cello and disperse echoes of Neff's dreamy pedal steel. It's almost the tribute album's crowning touch.

"I Only Said" more or less continues the instrumentation pattern from "Sleep", adding into it a steady but somewhat monotonous drum rhythm that's different to the original. The pedal steel takes the front seat for the song's entirety in all its melodic aspects, including the elusive vocals from the hazy original, inevitably country-fying it to the point where it could slip away unnoticed on an instrumental Dwight Yoakam record. "Come in Alone" doesn't massively depart from the makeovers of the preceding tracks, "Said" and "Sleep"; the blasting distortion transformed into a slower, cleaner rhythm worked by a steady drum beat, again melodised by pedal steel and vocalised by keyboard and cello. "Sometimes", the quiet(ish) track from the original Loveless, is restructured to be far less monotonous than the original. The soft rattle of a tambourine and serene bass echoes lay the foundation for the pedal steel to take over Shields' vocals, which are brought out of hiding amongst the drones of the original and into the forefront, ornamented with evenly timed strikes of reverberating piano chords.

"Blown a Wish", opening in poignant fashion, sees McIntosh's cello returning as the primary vocal substitute, melodically faithful to the original until Neff's pedal steel re-enters offering a whole new interpretation of the melody and synergistically, with the pleasant jingle of a tambourine-piano duo, transforming it into a Christmas song. The penultimate "What You Want" lives up to the word 'penultimate' in every sense—not just in the literal sense that it is the second last song, but the fact that it provides a masterful precursor to what is the ultimate ending to this amazing record. Taking the "loud-becomes-soft" motif flirted with throughout the record to the extreme, Japancakes transforms the idyllic tender passion of the original noise-bathed "What You Want", arguably the loudest song on Loveless, into the softest; a tranquil piece of romance-inducing solace that could melt hearts like butter in a microwave.

While the changes created by Japancakes between this and the subsequent finale, "Soon", comes at the expense of the memorable segue between the two on the original record, the way it's captured is breathtaking. Opening with the steady rhythm of acoustic guitar accompanied nicely by maracas, both of which make a first (and only) appearance, the piece gains its nostalgic momentum when the distinctive beatsy melody is given a groovy effects makeover. Japancakes, in dynamic finale fashion, offer a faithful yet highly seductive instrumental interpretation of the original, all of the instruments—keyboards, cello and of course, the gorgeous warps of the pedal steel—combine in well-crafted layers and seamless intervals to see us out of this spectacular tribute.

Japancakes have established that somewhere amongst this homage lies a distinct authenticity, and credit is due not just to the legendary Irish four-piece but also to them for reawakening and rekindling our love for this masterpiece. Whether or not you believe in covers or tributes, or whether you're one of those cynics who thinks it risks the original being marred, I say fuck off; that instead it's an honour. This is the best tribute album since The Tallywood String Quartet's tribute to OK Computer.

-Mac Nguyen

* There are rumours circulating.