Animal Collective – Sung Tongs

The original press of this is what you want by a landslide. It can be had for reasonable money so check it out. There are multiple reviews explaining why.

The original press of this is what you want by a landslide. It can be had for reasonable money so check it out. There are multiple reviews explaining why.

The original press of this is what you want by a landslide. It can be had for reasonable money so check it out. There are multiple reviews explaining why.

I have the pressings from 2017, 2011 which is dmm using the plates from the previous 180 gram re/rm, and this pressing comes out on top. Like someone else commented, the grooves run almost right up to the label, with the same tracks on the same sides as the other releases that use a fraction of the space. The cover material also stands out. Not sure what it is, I haven’t encountered it before, but it almost feels leathery. It’s smoother and tougher than the other releases. The 2011 has a flat sheen to it, which is also nice, and the 2017 a generic shiny cover. Anyways, sounds great, coming in first, the 2011 comes in second as a quality clean pressing, regardless of it not being 180g, and the 2017 sucks, noise throughout so I never even touch it. If you can get this pressing, go for it.

In comparison to my OG UK Fat Cat pressing, it's all a bit over-compressed and controlled sounding. No surface noise, though, and disc is flat and well centred.
Just a bit narrow and lifeless overall... but the HF distortion/sibilance on side D is absolutely awful. Nobody else in the same boat?

no surface noise, sounds great. bought at their show in bellvue, CO.

i'm not discounting the complaints about surface noise that some are reporting from this pressing but i have a fairly unforgiving signal chain and my copy is dead silent in the run-in grooves. i am very happy with this pressing but perhaps it is a bit of a risk. just fyi.

Every time this 'band' releases something it's Pitchfork's best new music, or worse, best album of the year, decade, century, or whatever, so instead of ignoring the poorly spent money over the years I will just say it. This band is awful. The unmusic they create is tedious, ultra indulgent, and entirely artificial.

First Pressing Sung Tongs at median $38 is a steal and a half. Definitive first pressing of a 21st century classic.

I had bought the 2021 reissue of sung tongs and thought it sounded pretty good until I got this. The original pressing DESTROYS the new pressings, in terms of sound quality and in its beautiful, vibrant, textured sleeve. The sound is practically bubbling out of this thing, it sounds so alive and playful which is exactly what you want from an album like this.

One important thing to notice is that on this release the grooves run all the way in, almost touching the labels, giving the songs much more room to breath. On the reissue however, each side may only take up about 3/4 of the slab of vinyl, leaving a great deal of runout room before the label. This obviously helps limit distortion but it means the songs are crammed on a shorter amount of rings, which compromises the amazing sound found on these original pressings. Overall this press is a 10/10 for one of the greatest albums ever made.