My Bloody Valentine are an alternative rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1983. Named after the 1981 horror film of the same name, the band's most successful lineup has consisted since 1987 of founding members Kevin Shields (guitar and vocals) and Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums) with the addition of singer-guitarist Bilinda Butcher and bassist Debbie Googe. As My Bloody Valentine's music evolved, their use of distortion, pitch bending, and digital reverb resulted in a sound that came to be known as shoegazing. The group's seminal 1991 album Loveless, which took nearly two years to make and nearly bankrupted their record label, Creation Records, received extensive critical acclaim. Following Loveless, My Bloody Valentine became inactive, with Shields recording and shelving several albums' worth of follow-up material.

In mid-2007, Shields announced that the band had reunited and were working on new material. My Bloody Valentine subsequently embarked on a world tour.