In 2013, some 20 years later, the band dropped their first new music since the release of Loveless. And just like the albums before, Shields believes that people still haven’t fully grasped m b v yet. “People haven’t got what that [album] is yet. It hasn’t clicked yet. It will click, but it hasn’t clicked quite yet.”

Like the previous records, m b v wasn’t made with a concept in mind, but rather, a feeling. And that feeling is closely tied to Shields’ take on the current state of the world and his predictions for what will inevitably happen next in its cycle. “[m b v] was made with such an overwhelming feeling that it’s beyond a concept. It’s actually what’s happening in the world right now. I was very much in that place [of feeling] when I started the record in the mid 90’s, and now the world is catching up with that, everything is becoming apparent, the insects are disappearing, and people in a few years will literally be going to shit, you know what I mean?”

But there’s a silver lining to that, too. “The nice thing is that the bad guys, their time is coming really fast because survival will kick in and people will say, ‘Alright! Time to get out of the way guys, it’s time for people and life’, you know?” Hard to follow? Don’t worry. If Shields’ thoughts are as prophetic as his music, this will all make sense in a few years’ time.

There are truly few bands that have left a legacy quite like My Bloody Valentine. And while some of us may have gotten it from the get-go, for Shields, it doesn’t matter all that much—as long as it made you feel something. When asked what he wants people to take away from his music, his answer is pretty simple. “Nothing, really. Just that it makes people feel more connected to everything than less connected and less isolated. That’s what it’s about.”