Phosphorescent – Muchacho

Bought a new copy in a local record store in July 2021. Vinyl was quite warped but sounds good and quiet, perhaps a little lacking in dynamics but overall okay.

Recent copy, excellent pressing, no issues here. Speed is correct, pressing is clear and loud, and dead quiet. Fully recommended.

I was worried when I read all these reviews on here AFTER buying the record. I thought I'd give it a spin, to see if the speed issue was still a thing. I first cleaned the vinyl and threw it on an SL-1500. Result: I have absolutely no problem with this press. It's an album I know by heart and I have perfect pitch, so I would swear it is all perfectly fine. I did buy it in 2021 though, so perhaps the problem has been solved since its release. I do notice the grooves are very squeezed on this disc though, so I can see why it might potentially be problematic. In the end: good sound, good press, but give it a clean.

Unfortunately it looks like my issues aren't unique... I bought a copy of Muchacho (black) and C'est La Vie (clear) at a recent show, but my turntable was down until just now. Both have issues, including pops and crackles (even after thorough cleaning... although admittedly not a full-on washing). Muchacho has a scratch throughout "Sun Arise," and the entire record has multiple about 2mm wide dimples all over it (both sides). I also agree that the speed doesn't seem right, although in my case it sounds just a touch slow (i.e. everything sounds about a 1/4 - 1/2 note flat); never come across this before. C'est La Vie doesn't have the scratches or dimples, and it the mastering at least sounds pretty good, but it's also rather crackly (but not as bad Muchacho). But it's just sloppy; the center hole wasn't even cleanly punched and I had to clear it out with a sharp knife. Guess I need to avoid Dead Oceans (or Phosphorescent) vinyl...

I bought two copies trying to find one that sounded decent and wasn’t terribly noisy. No luck. Apparently Here’s Too Taking It Easy is the same. With this band I think you just need to stick to CDs.

I've just received mine from an ace discogs seller and, alas, I agree with the other comments- it sounds bloody awful. Sad times 😭

I bought it at one of their concerts. The vinyl version of that album sounds insanely bad. The volume is pretty low, there are glitches and noises all along as well as an annoying saturation, which comes from a pretty unprofessional vinyl mastering. Besides, on my copy, Side A has a problem. On 'Song for Zula', a scratch on the vinyl makes it flicker, it's impossible to listen to the whole song. It's not the first time that it happens to me with a Phosphorescent vinyl. Their previous album, Here's to Taking It Easy, had a very bad sound as well. It is a shame that Dead Oceans does not pay attention to mastering and quality control. They probably think that only collectors will buy the vinyl version but that they're going to listen to the digital version, which is what you have to do if you want to hear the sound of those beautiful songs the way they were meant to be heard.

Use Pitch ;)

I contacted the label, as the pressing is at the wrong speed! Seems to be a wide spread issue! Each song is about 30-40 seconds shorter than they should be....Everything is slightly speed up! Sadly a "true" recording doesnt exist on VINYL