Snarky as it may sound to say that "they were so good they killed their own genre", Loveless did undoubtedly cause reviewers to shift to formenting a Hype Backlash against the previously-championed Scene That Celebrates Itself (poor Slowdive even lampshaded the critical pasting they knew they were about to receive by naming an EP Holding Our Breath), and promote Grunge and Britpop instead. There is no denying that Loveless was (and is) a hard act to follow however, both for the band and the scene alike.
A very visible trend among music reviewers, both amateur and professional, is to instantly give any new shoegaze album a low grade simply for "trying to be My Bloody Valentine". Make of that what you will.
Epic Riff: Everything they recorded starting in 1988.