Florence + The Machine* – Lungs

My pressing sounds amazing so not sure what is happening after reading other people’s comments.

Can’t really explain why this album sounds so flat. Quiet enough pressing and volume is adequate but it just sounds off. I don’t think it’s compression but it could be something wrong with the mastering.

Just got the EU 2009 press, cleaned it since it arrived with scuffs and dirt inside it's sleeve, factory sealed in shrink wrap. Holy hell what a bad presentation. Well, clean vinyl and cleaned needle - Florence' voice often distorts when she goes high, the instruments feels too divided. The record has a compressed sound and the cut itself is extremely low volume. This album deserved so much better than this.

I would listen to the digital instead of buying this specific version. Maybe one of the deluxe or 10th anniv. versions are better. This isn't it chief.

I'm happy to own it, but I will most likely play this album by other means.

Not sure if I was unlucky or if this pressing is actually bad. It doesn't sound good at all, lots of clicks and pops even after cleaning and the voice is distorted especially in the central tracks

My EU version plays very nice, without pops or cracks. It's not perfectly flat though. The sound is dynamic and well balanced for my ears.

Reports seem quite mixed on this album's vinyl sound, I have both the US & European pressing and thought i'd share my thoughts to hopefully guide someone down the right path..
1st off, your not going to be guaranteed a great pressing quality with which ever pressing you go with, The European release is pressed by GZ Media & the US release is pressed by United, Both have a horrible reputation for quality,
for what its worth my EU pressing is flat, on centre, no surface marks and very little crackling on playback, but I know from experience this is pure luck..
My US pressing is also flat, on centre and has no surface marks but does has some background noise on playback,
Both covers on each pressings look great, the EU Pressing is a little tight to get the vinyl in (A GZ issue with all there packaging)
The EU pressing has a nice thick card printed inner sleeve, The US pressing has a thinner printed sleeve, which one is better?? down to personal preference, I carefully remove on 1st opening and after washing the vinyl use a separate MOFI inner to prevent and scuffs & ticks from the sleeve..
Playback, neither are audiophile quality but the EU pressing is streets ahead of the US pressing, almost night and day to me, The US pressing feels detached, flat, has an unpleasant tinny sound and Florence's vocals give a nasally sound whilst buried in amongst the instruments, the bass seems weirdly balanced too, to sum it up best its as though your listening to it via your 90s Hi-Fi and someone as screwed around with your graphic equalizer settings.
The EU pressing has nice clarity, punchy vocals and a good amount of bass, maybe too much for some but to me its about right, the vocals rises nicely above the backing tracks and are crisp and clear, quite loud! could give a bit of inner groove distortion on some systems if not using a good & well set up cartridge, Plus make sure its free from dust! you'd be surprised the level of IGD the smallest amount of dust on the needle can cause..
To sum up.. go with the European pressing, it wont guarantee you a well pressed vinyl but will give you a more pleasurable sounding vinyl.
Final thought. The US pressing was cut by Sterling Sound, same as the US pressing of Adele 21 which also suffers from exactly the same sound issues.

I am not happy, something's not right with this album. Can't tell if the pressing or the production.

The content is amazing but the press is ok, it's not perfect.