Though they released an album and a handful of EPs during the mid-1980s, it was only on their last two albums Isn't Anything (November 1988) and Loveless (November 1991), considered to be their best, that they found their sound: a distinct blend of noise rock, ambient music, and off-kilter pop, which would come to be termed "shoegazing" by the British press. Also called "miasma rock" in Rachel Felder's book, Manic Pop Thrill (1993), in reference to their thick, swirling, massively multi-tracked guitar sound.
After leaving Creation Records in 1992 and signing with Island Records, the band fell into a creative black hole; rumours spread among their fans of new albums being recorded and then shelved. Debbie Googe left the band to form Snowpony; she had not played bass on their recordings since You Made Me Realise. Colm O'Ciosoig eventually left and recorded an album with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. Kevin Shields sporadically collaborated with other artists, most notably Experimental Audio Research, Curve, and Primal Scream. He revealed in a fall 2003 National Public Radio interview that Island Records quit financing his My Bloody Valentine endeavours after he spent a half-million pounds of their money.
My Bloody Valentine are presently rumored to be re-recording 5 additional tracks for the re-release of 1989's Glider EP, minus Debbie Googe. In 2003, Kevin Shields contributed some music to the score of the Sofia Coppola film Lost In Translation.
Other similar bands: The Boo Radleys (Everything's Alright Forever from March 1992 and July 1993's masterpiece Giant Steps), Lush, Slowdive, Curve, and Ride. Influential progenitors include: the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, late-1970s Wire, the Jesus & Mary Chain, and paisley underground artists such as the Pastels. Kevin Shields has also named The Beach Boys as a personal influence.