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melancholy descriptions of simple 3D environments

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Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess
posted a review of Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess. 17 days ago
Out of curiosity, does this have the same mastering errors as the orange version, where A5, B1 and B4 all have half a second cut off at the very beginning? I can see the runouts are different so I'm wondering if there are two different sets of plates around! See full review
New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call
posted a review of New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call. about 1 month ago
Something that's never really made sense to me is why they split the discs where they did, rather than after I Told You So. Morning Night and Day would be a great opener for the second half, and the LPs would have been more equal in length. As it is,... See full review
New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call
posted a review of New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call. about 1 month ago
This one was pressed at Optimal in Germany, according to the runout format; the copy I bought in April 2005 was pressed in the UK at the old EMI plant (which was by then in the hands of Portal Space, but used the same presses and thus had the same... See full review
Keane - Hopes And Fears
posted a review of Keane - Hopes And Fears. about 1 month ago
The brown cover CD was the international edition, released at the same time as the green UK one - not sure why they did it like this but I guess it was so Universal could put those ubiquitous "special edition" stickers on the British CDs.
The Other Two - The Other Two & You
posted a review of The Other Two - The Other Two & You. about 1 month ago
Millennials were born from about 1980 onwards so you did well to pick this up 13 years before it was released
The Black Dog - Parallel
posted a review of The Black Dog - Parallel. about 1 month ago
Still happening, and I've changed stylus and even rearranged my room. Am I really the only one?!
William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops
posted a review of William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops. about 1 month ago
Most of them had 0-star ratings and a handful of comments about being scams - some hack seems to be trying their luck listing this over and over again at a fraction of its usual price under different accounts in the hope of making a few quid before... See full review
Death Cab For Cutie - The Photo Album
posted a review of Death Cab For Cutie - The Photo Album. about 1 month ago
I can't see a second version in the listing here (so maybe this has already been resolved), but can confirm my copy has the JN-H etched next to STERLING on all four sides.
a-ha - Headlines And Deadlines - The Hits Of A-Ha
posted a review of a-ha - Headlines And Deadlines - The Hits Of A-Ha. about 1 month ago
Yeah, the one you've linked to sounds good. It's a little quiet, but it's no problem to turn up the volume as there's very little surface noise and the master is detailed and punchy in the right places.
Air France - No Way Down
posted a review of Air France - No Way Down. about 1 month ago
Woah, I've been listening to this CD for 14 years and assumed it was...meant to sound like this?? I've gotta hear the EPs now!
Pet Shop Boys - Discovery Live In Rio 1994
posted a review of Pet Shop Boys - Discovery Live In Rio 1994. about 1 month ago
Honestly, I'm so jealous! I think if there's any show in history I wish I'd seen, it's this. I know Performance is the more impressive of the two theatrically, but this looks and sounds like the arcadia for which the tragic subjects of Go West were... See full review
Gorillaz - Demon Days
posted a review of Gorillaz - Demon Days. about 1 month ago
Had this since it came out, and sold my original because this sounds so much better. The people losing their minds over a one-second break between tracks 13 and 14 (which is the only place it's really even noticeable) need to touch grass, it still... See full review
Spiritualized®* - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
posted a review of Spiritualized®* - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. 2 months ago
Sounds like you've got a defective copy - I got through two before I found a more or less perfect one. Take it back to the shop for an exchange!
Pet Shop Boys - Elysium
posted a review of Pet Shop Boys - Elysium. 2 months ago
Ah that's a shame. The 2012 one is pretty good to my ears and certainly doesn't have any distortion so try picking that one up instead - it's still pretty easy to get hold of.
Pet Shop Boys - Elysium
posted a review of Pet Shop Boys - Elysium. 2 months ago
That's wild - how on earth does that even happen?! Can you confirm that your runouts match the ones here or is there a rogue different pressing out there? Did you check the entire disc or could the fault just be on part of it?
Pet Shop Boys - PopArt (The Hits)
posted a review of Pet Shop Boys - PopArt (The Hits). 2 months ago
Nah, it's not that - the running time per side is comparable to most of their later studio albums, which all sound fantastic and clock in at around 25 minutes per side (Very, Bilingual, Elysium etc). A good master is a good master no matter how loud... See full review
Björk - Fossora
posted a review of Björk - Fossora. 2 months ago
Anyone got a bit of noise in the right channel on side three?

Edit: One Little Independent exchanged my disc two and the replacement is fault-free :)
Boards Of Canada - Twoism
posted a review of Boards Of Canada - Twoism. 2 months ago
I have the corrected version so I'm curious - what was the defect?
Depeche Mode - Memento Mori
posted a review of Depeche Mode - Memento Mori. 2 months ago
Thanks Hot_Snake - didn't know that! I can think of a few examples where they've been done without a label (and without warping) but fair enough if it's best practice - just think it interferes with the design somewhat :)
Depeche Mode - Memento Mori
posted a review of Depeche Mode - Memento Mori. 2 months ago
Great album, great pressing, beautiful package, but what's with pressing plants putting blank labels onto etched sides? They've even gone to the trouble of colour matching them to the three different pressings but...why?
Pulp - Different Class
posted a review of Pulp - Different Class. 2 months ago
Just swinging by 12 years late to say that no, they have different deadwax.
posted a review that has since been deleted. 3 months ago
posted a comment on Electric And Musical Industries. 3 months ago
Surely this is just an ANV for EMI? Two more words.
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
posted a review of Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool. 3 months ago
The big variation in reviews here suggests a lot of bad copies got out, but listening to mine again after a good clean it honestly is one of the best sounding Radiohead pressings I've got. The vocals are eerily present with absolutely no sibilance but... See full review
Radiohead - Amnesiac
posted a review of Radiohead - Amnesiac. 3 months ago
If there's an EMI-pressed UK version of this, it's not on Discogs, so I'm sceptical that it actually exists. I wonder if the "made in England" stickers were sloppily being applied to releases to signify they had been imported from the UK, by... See full review
Radiohead - My Iron Lung E.P.
posted a review of Radiohead - My Iron Lung E.P.. 3 months ago
The numbering has space for four digits (I have a zero in front of my #477) so yeah I'd guess 10,000 (or rather 9,999). Seems like a lot for a single that barely dented the charts (one week in the top 40) on what was then a pretty obscure format?
Radiohead - The Bends
posted a review of Radiohead - The Bends. 3 months ago
I don't think these are white outlines as such, but rather tiny variations in the positioning of the offset plates that were used to print the sleeves (in other words, in what you're describing, the black plate is a fraction of a mm too high or low... See full review
Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood
posted a review of Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood. 3 months ago
Why do we think this was pressed at Record Industry? I ask because I'm trying to pinpoint when they started producing discs with the single pressing ring instead of the double ring, and this is the earliest example I can find in my collection by a... See full review
Radiohead - OK Computer
posted a review of Radiohead - OK Computer. 3 months ago
If this is any help, I have the exact same version (single ring on disc 1, double ring on disc 2, no cutouts on the inner sleeves). The difference between the discs may help date it to the time that Record Industry (where this was pressed based on the... See full review
Pulp - This Is Hardcore
posted a review of Pulp - This Is Hardcore. 3 months ago
OK I'll bite. What *does* 'OG' stand for aside from Original Gangster? Don't think I'd seen anyone in record collecting communities use it until a few years ago but it seems quite common now, especially in the US. Is it like a Reddit thing?
posted a review that has since been deleted. 3 months ago
Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
posted a review of Phoenix - Alpha Zulu. 3 months ago
Thanks OptimusPrimate - I've found in the past this problem isn't usually confined to one copy. I don't have the noise or skips you describe, though, so in your case it should be worth trying to get a replacement :)
Pulp - Different Class
posted a review of Pulp - Different Class. 3 months ago
What makes you think this was cut from a CD, Dave-oDam17? There's no remastering credit and the album was only nine years old by this point - surely they'd have just cut it from whatever master they used for the first round of vinyl pressings, which... See full review
Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
posted a review of Phoenix - Alpha Zulu. 3 months ago
They look similar in the images, but IRL the coke bottle is very close to clear with just a faint blue/grey tint. I've not seen the sea glass physically but looking at the pics it seems to have a lot more colour. They could almost have got away with... See full review
Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
posted a review of Phoenix - Alpha Zulu. 3 months ago
That's interesting, no skips on my copy but as I said below it's quite off centre - can you confirm whether yours is too? If they're not all like this I might try to get it replaced.
Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
posted a review of Phoenix - Alpha Zulu. 3 months ago
Doesn't say on the packaging, but this looks like it was pressed in north America, based on the cut of the inner sleeve (we don't have that one-sided lip at the top in Europe). Were any of the other versions made in the EU?

The record itself sounds... See full review
The Knife - Silent Shout
posted a review of The Knife - Silent Shout. 3 months ago
My copy of this sounds great, though the side A label isn't properly attached to the disc. But I wonder if anyone can explain the runouts? The text "BRILLP 103 A - 1" is stamped in the unmistakable font/layout of the old EMI presses that were... See full review
New Order - Singles
posted a review of New Order - Singles. 4 months ago
Punchy is exactly the word! The detail and stereo separation on these tracks is immense - remastering done right, without any of the conspicuous compression or noise reduction you sometimes hear on compilations.
Keane - Perfect Symmetry
posted a review of Keane - Perfect Symmetry. 4 months ago
I used to have the original pressing of this and the sibilance/distortion was way worse on that one - right from the start of the first side, literally starting with the percussion in the first bar of Spiralling and going all through the first side... See full review
Kraftwerk - Computer World
posted a review of Kraftwerk - Computer World. 4 months ago
Seconding this. The stereo field/separation and definition are fantastic - immersive is exactly the word. Play this on a good system and you'll be turning your head to work out where the sounds are coming from! You can't beat some of these early 80s... See full review
New Order - Low-life
posted a review of New Order - Low-life. 4 months ago
Yeah, mine has this on side A. I wonder if they all do? It's easily missed, the etching isn't that deep. Though this copy did replace one that was markedly more muddy sounding - but could they really have cut a different mix without realising?
Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess
posted a review of Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess. 4 months ago
Thanks Victor1989, I'd spotted that. But what I was asking is whether the 2003 remaster has the same error with three tracks missing the opening half a second or so? The digital version seems to be clean by comparison.
ABBA - Voyage
posted a review of ABBA - Voyage. 4 months ago
Can anyone confirm if this is pressed from the same (half-speed) plates as the rather lacklustre original EU pressing, or if it's been recut?
Dusty Springfield - Greatest Hits
posted a review of Dusty Springfield - Greatest Hits. 5 months ago
The mix of I Only Want To Be With You on here doesn't sound like it's entirely in mono, but nor is it marked as 'enhanced for stereo' on the back like some of the other early tracks. Was a stereo version ever produced? And what is this one?
Pet Shop Boys - I'm With Stupid
posted a review of Pet Shop Boys - I'm With Stupid. 5 months ago
Not hearing any distortion or clipping on mine - I wonder if there are two pressings? Mine has the usual picture disc rumble and the treble has been slightly over-attenuated, but the general sound is decent. I also remember it sounded ok - better than... See full review
Erasure - Heavenly Action (Yellow Brick Mix)
posted a review of Erasure - Heavenly Action (Yellow Brick Mix). 5 months ago
Quite unusual pressing rings on this - can anyone tell where it was made? I'd guess Lyntone from the runouts but the rings don't match the description of that plant from Discogs, so maybe they were plated at Lyntone and then pressed elsewhere?
The Killers - Hot Fuss
posted a review of The Killers - Hot Fuss. 5 months ago
Seems odd that after so many repressings they've never (I think?) done another one with both Change Your Mind and Glamorous indie Rock & Roll - especially since it'd mean they could keep one edition in print instead of two! This version was really... See full review
Death Cab For Cutie - The Photo Album
posted a review of Death Cab For Cutie - The Photo Album. 5 months ago
Sounds flawless (after a clean and a couple of plays) and looks beautiful too. The discs and sleeve are sturdy and flat and the print quality is great. Pretty pricey but if you can get it in a sale and don't have it on vinyl already it's well worth... See full review
Death Cab For Cutie - Plans
posted a review of Death Cab For Cutie - Plans. 6 months ago
Is there loads of variation between the colour grading of the sleeves? Mine is way way darker than what's pictured here - the red is much deeper, almost the colour of dried blood (sorry! can't think what else to compare it to) and the PLANS text is... See full review
Death Cab For Cutie - Plans
posted a review of Death Cab For Cutie - Plans. 6 months ago
If you mean the bit before the beat kicks in, that's how the song is meant to sound. The vinyl looks darker because that part of the track is quieter. (Apologies if you'd already considered this and you meant it was distorted *beyond* the distortion... See full review