To Here Knows When
| "To Here Knows When" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by My Bloody Valentine | ||||
| from the album Loveless and the EP Tremolo | ||||
| B-side | "Swallow" | |||
| Released | February 4, 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:44 (Single Edit) 5:49 (EP Version) 5:31 (Album Version) | |||
| Label | Creation (UK)
| |||
| Composer | Kevin Shields | |||
| Lyricists |
| |||
| Producers | My Bloody Valentine (EP) Kevin Shields (Album) | |||
| My Bloody Valentine singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"To Here Knows When" is a song by the Irish rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released by Creation as the lead single from their sixth EP, Tremolo, in February 1991. A different mix appears on their second studio album, Loveless, which features an alternate ending. It was written by Bilinda Butcher and Kevin Shields, and produced by the band.
Background
[edit]My Bloody Valentine broke into the mainstream with their 1988 debut studio album, Isn't Anything, released under the Creation Records label.[1][2] Early in 1989, they began work on their second album, Loveless (1991), which resulted in unproductive months during which the band relocated to 19 different studios.[3][4] Due to its extensive production time, Kevin Shields and Creation executive Alan McGee agreed to release two extended plays: Glider (1990) and Tremolo (1991).[5] The latter spawned "To Here Knows When", recorded also in 1991.[6]
Composition
[edit]Written by Shields and Bilinda Butcher, "To Here Knows When" is a shoegaze song characterized by heavy effects usage and Shields's distinct glide guitar playing.[7] In place of a usual bass track, a BBC Radiophonic Workshop record featuring sounds of "a disaster in the distance" and "a nuclear bomb going off" was looped.[8] As Colm Ó Cíosóig was physically ill and could not perform, a drum machine with delay was used for both versions, which utilized samples from his kit.[8][9] Two versions of the song appear on Tremolo and Loveless, with its coda being the differentiating factor.[10]
Release and reception
[edit]"To Here Knows When" was released on February 4, 1991 with "Swallow" on its B-side.[11] A music video for the song was filmed by Angus Cameron.[12] Upon release, it peaked at number 29 on the UK singles chart, which is their highest entry to date and their only top 40 single.[13] In 1991, NME's Dave Fedele called "To Here Knows When" the "strangest single" to ever appear on the UK singles chart.[14]
In a 2008 article on the "weirdest" UK chart hits, Paul Lester of The Guardian describes the song as a notable "how did that get there?!" moment of the 1990s, writing that both it and Underworld's "Born Slippy .NUXX" (1996) "saw strange dance sounds high in the charts".[15] In 2023, The Guardian's Alexis Petridis ranked it as the band's best song, calling it "strange and strangely beautiful, the rule-breaking musical equivalent of a waking dream. Thirty-two years on, it’s still baffling, magical and unique."[16]
Personnel
[edit]All personnel credits adapted from Loveless's liner notes.[17]
My Bloody Valentine
- Colm Ó Cíosóig – drums, sampler
- Bilinda Butcher – vocals; guitar (credited, does not perform)
- Debbie Googe – bass (credited, does not perform)
- Kevin Shields – guitar, vocals, sampler; bass (uncredited)
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1991) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[18] | 29 |
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ↑ Barron, Jack (19 November 1988). "Valentine daze". NME. p. 38.
- ↑ "Shoegaze music style overview". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 January 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
Most shoegaze groups worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with their early EPs and their first full-length album, Isn't Anything...
- ↑ McGonigal 2007, p. 41.
- ↑ McGonigal 2007, p. 43.
- ↑ McGonigal 2007, p. 44.
- ↑ McGonigal 2007, p. 78
- ↑ DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 488. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5.
- 1 2 Tischler, Eric (15 November 2001). "My Bloody Valentine: What are those sounds?". Tape Op. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ McGonigal 2007, p. 72
- ↑ "World war skreeeee!". To Here Knows Web. 9 November 1991. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ To Here Knows When (Vinyl). My Bloody Valentine. Creation Records. 1991. CRE 085.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ↑ My Bloody Valentine; Primal Scream; Ride (1992). The Story of Creation (VHS). Warner Reprise Video. 38278-3.
- ↑ "To Here Knows When". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ↑ Fadele, Dele (9 November 1991). "My Bloody Valentine: Loveless". NME. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ Lester, Paul (11 July 2008). "What's the weirdest chart hit of all time?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 January 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ Petridis, Alexis (2 February 2023). "My Bloody Valentine's 20 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 August 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ Loveless (CD). My Bloody Valentine. Sony Music Entertainment. 1988. LC 12723.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ↑ "My Bloody Valentine". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
Bibliography
[edit]- McGonigal, Mike (2007). Loveless. 33⅓. New York: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-1548-6.