melancholy descriptions of simple 3D environments
Recent Activity
submitted North And South - I'm A Man Not A Boy. 9 days ago
posted a comment on Erasure - Wonderland. 13 days ago
It's kind of a shame this is sourced from.the butchered US version - it bumps off the two darkest songs in favour of a rather inoffensive B side and the album is over almost before it began. Push Me Shove Me is the throbbing heart of this record and ... See full review
posted a comment on North And South - Breathing. 15 days ago
If anyone's got the cassettes I'm very interested in buying them! I had them back in the late 90s but at some point they were lost or given away. There's a couple of mixes on them that you can't get anywhere else and I'd really like to hear again...
posted a comment on Let Loose - Let Loose. 19 days ago
Sure, it's a picture disc, so it's got a fairly high noise floor, but this is a good sounding cut by Orlake in Dagenham, which specialised in picture discs and coloured vinyl. It's detailed and has a decent bottom end, despite the tracks being fairly top ... See full review
submitted Take That - Everything Changes. 29 days ago
posted a comment on David Bowie - Heathen. about 1 month ago
Agree the original sounds great, but the the MOV version is identical - it's pressed from the same plates as the 2002 cut. So they both sound equally good.
posted a comment on Rhianna - Get On. about 1 month ago
You're v welcome - love this album so I was delighted to find it too :)
posted a comment on Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. about 1 month ago
Funny - I've just spun it again after a few years, a house move, a couple of stylus changes, a clean, a check of the downward tracking force - and it sounds loads better than it did to my memory when I wrote the above. Maybe I just had the setup slightly ... See full review
posted a comment on The Fin. - There. about 1 month ago
Can anyone share a picture of the back cover? I'm curious about how it differs from the regular edition!
posted a comment on Rhianna - Get On. 2 months ago
Amazon is still selling the LP new for something like £6 as of 16/12/18. I bought one the other week and it sounds pretty good - guessing it's just excess stock they never managed to get rid of in 2002.
posted a comment on Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. 2 months ago
I don't usually like it when reviews on here get hopelessly carried away moaning about one specific, trivial observation as though it were the most significant thing that had ever happened in the history of recorded music. But hear me out. I'm a bit ... See full review
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Introspective. 2 months ago
I'm sure you've thought of this, but it hasn't simply faded over the years as spines tend to do?
posted a comment on Depeche Mode - Remixes 81····04. 3 months ago
Six LPs of remixes might sound like cynical overkill, right? Maybe for another band, but Depeche Mode have worked with so many remarkable musicians and DJs that this collection is nothing short of mouthwatering. It gets the balance right (sorry) between ... See full review
submitted Fröst - Matters. 3 months ago
posted a comment on M People - Northern Soul. 4 months ago
My copy is exactly as shown in the photos save that the inner sleeve is black and white - the coloured bars are missing, and the song titles are in black. Anyone know when the sleeve was changed, or whether one is a repress?
posted a comment on New Order - Singles. 5 months ago
But 1963 *was* released between Spooky and Crystal, in 1995. The new version puts the song in the right place!
posted a comment on New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies. 5 months ago
I seem to have a hybrid of the two pressings, with A2/B1 matrix numbers. That version, at least, comes with the original graphic inner sleeve rather than a plain black one.
posted a comment on OMD* - The Punishment Of Luxury. 5 months ago
Having now bought the yellow press out of curiosity, I can say it's definitely from the same stampers, but that the problem isn't so constant as I thought at first. It mainly affects the big instrumental melody at the start of What Have We Done?, where ... See full review
posted a comment on OMD* - The Punishment Of Luxury. 6 months ago
Does this sound any better than the somewhat lifeless, over-compressed black vinyl pressing? I'm guessing it's the same stampers and therefore not...?
posted a comment on Keane - Under The Iron Sea. 7 months ago
Hmm that is odd - faulty copy then I guess? Good luck - there are good ones out there!
posted a comment on Keane - Under The Iron Sea. 7 months ago
A1 and B1 are fine over here. Could be a worn stylus? Maybe check your tracking and anti-skating are set up with the right weight?
posted a comment on Björk - Post. 8 months ago
There are several versions of TPLP51H - this is a second or third run. You're referring to the first edition of TPLP51H, which has a separate entry. I compared that version with this one side by side before submitting the notes you're referring to. (I ... See full review
posted a comment on St. Vincent - Masseduction. 8 months ago
Near-silent background and a beautifully detailed, clear pressing with lots of body and bass. It's strange how varied people's experiences seem to be!
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Love Is A Bourgeois Construct. 9 months ago
Weirdly, the radio edit here sounds like it's been cut straight from the album master rather than the original track mixdown - the hiss from the start of Fluorescent begins at the end of the track before cutting off abruptly. And there's some surely ... See full review
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Electric. 9 months ago
It's not on Parlophone. Pet Shop Boys started their own label, x2, in 2013 through Kobalt Label Services.
posted a comment on Death Cab For Cutie - We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes. 9 months ago
This pressing sounds fantastic! It really has made me fall in love with the album again. So, so pleased these first four albums were repressed, and done properly. And with the original die cut sleeve too!
posted a comment on Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism. 9 months ago
I'm playing the 2013 (?) pressing on a brand new ortofon 2m bronze and reckon I've got the same issue, just a little, on Lightness, and again in the left channel of Tiny Vessels now and then during the verse vocals. It's not a bad cut overall, though, by ... See full review
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental / Further Listening 2005–2007. 9 months ago
The Further Listening album really is an unmitigated joy, isn't it, even with the ringtones and the single mix of Numb, which will never be a particularly good song however many verses you chop out. The unreleased songs, especially The Performance of My ... See full review
posted a comment on Annie Lennox - Medusa. 10 months ago
Not quite as good as this one for the simple reason side two is almost twice as long as side one and therefore I think a bit lower and possibly less dynamic. Otherwise, a nice sounding record. Why they based the side split, tracklist and cover scan on ... See full review
posted a comment on Keane - Under The Iron Sea. 10 months ago
I don't think there's ever been a folding booklet? I bought my 2LP on day of release in 2006 and it was a gatefold with two inners and a fan club postcard but no other inserts...
posted a comment on Keane - Under The Iron Sea. 10 months ago
Can't say I agree with this - no, it's not a loud pressing, but turn it up and it sounds clear, full and dynamic, with (to my ears) a touch more detail than the original 2LP. The background is pretty silent, so it can easily withstand being played at a ... See full review
submitted Björk - Post. 12 months ago
posted a comment on Blur - The Great Escape. about 1 year ago
Little bit quiet owing to the length of the sides, but crank it up and it sounds fantastic - so much punch and range with sparkling detail and a thumping bottom end. In short, a brilliant pressing (and you don't have to keep changing the sides over like ... See full review
posted a comment on Annie Lennox - Medusa. about 1 year ago
Excellent pressing with loads of richness and clarity. Vocals, separation of instruments and stereo field sound fantastic right up to the end of each side. To my ears this is easily the better of the two vinyl pressings, the other being the Brazil ... See full review
posted a comment on Spice Girls - Spice. about 1 year ago
Thank you! Don't think the songs would sound right without it after all this time anyway. :)
posted a comment on Saint Etienne - The Misadventures Of Saint Etienne. about 1 year ago
A stone-cold piece of buried treasure in the St Et catalogue. This is up there with Built on Sand and More Words and Music as one of their very best "other" albums, but unique among those as having such a consistent sound. It's a strong hint at what was ... See full review
posted a comment on OMD* - The Punishment Of Luxury. about 1 year ago
Anyone else think the top end is a little lacking on this pressing? It doesn't quite sparkle out of the speakers like I was expecting. I can't tell if it's strange EQ or extra compression but then I can't believe the LP would be more compressed than the ... See full review
posted a comment on Elliott Smith - XO. about 1 year ago
Seriously, if you've got a duff copy of this pressing, exchange it. This is the one and it's breathtaking. The noise problems don't affect every disc and the mastering is exemplary. It's hard to imagine how this version could sound any better - it's just ... See full review
posted a comment on Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Universal. about 1 year ago
Paid £3.99 for this from a Virgin Megastore bargain bin in 1996 or 1997. There were two - evidently they were desperate to get shot of them despite how recent the album was. Think they might have left them at full price if they'd had a crystal ball! ... See full review
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Elysium / Further Listening 2011–2012. about 1 year ago
Well I mean, Winner wasn't that good to start with. But yeah the bonus disc is really enjoyable, the unreleased songs are a treat and the original album is a corker. Still think the missing strings are the most intriguing aspect though if only because ... See full review
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Super. about 1 year ago
Wondering if maybe it's been repressed - can I ask what matrix numbers you have?
posted a comment that has since been deleted. about 1 year ago
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Leaving. about 1 year ago
Actually I found DYSMC very well pressed, but agree this and the Leaving 7" sound dreadful. The artwork is really beautiful, though, so not entirely worthless!
submitted Cut Copy - Haiku From Zero. about 1 year ago
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Elysium / Further Listening 2011–2012. about 1 year ago
The orchestral strings have been - I presume accidentally - deleted from Winner altogether. I'll say this again. In remixing and remastering the lead single from this album, someone has managed to mute an entire string section without realising.
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Yes. about 1 year ago
A decent improvement over the 2009 pressing. The top end that was weirdly rounded off there, possibly because the master recording was so hot and compressed, has been reinstated, meaning details like the clicky hihat that drives Did You See Me Coming? ... See full review
posted a comment on The National - Sleep Well Beast. about 1 year ago
Great pressing with plenty of depth and delicacy. Sorry to hear others have suffered with dirt and surface noise - no such problems here. If it's faulty, return it - still no shortage of these in stock around the country.
posted a comment on LCD Soundsystem - American Dream. about 1 year ago
Yeah, quiet is good - it's a dynamic and very clean cut with no distortion. It sounds fantastic. Just turn it up!
posted a comment on Pet Shop Boys - Nightlife. about 1 year ago
How would you say it compares with the original 1999 LP?
posted a comment on a-ha - Hunting High And Low. about 1 year ago
Yeah, I guess I meant the orchestra was newly recorded. I've not heard the ToT single mix - perhaps I ought to keep it that way...