A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Songs For Our Mothers LP by Fat White Family. It doesn’t happen often in the post-CD, post-digital music marketplace but, with Songs For Our Mothers, Fat White Family has proven that creating a satisfying and balanced long-playing vinyl album – with the peaks, valleys and thematic movements which propel the music along smoothly from A-side to B- without being “a formless collection of songs†– is not a lost art...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the NØ FUTUR(E) 7” by Garbageface. For the release of his new album, Karol “Garbageface†Orzechowski has decided to challenge the usual methodology and manner in music is released. His way flies in the face of how music has been marketed ever since Napster turned the music business back into a singles-driven enterprise again; while everyone else is digitally distributing singles into the world and hoping they’ll entice those who find them...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into a vinyl copy of Distortland by The Dandy Warhols. It might seem silly to entertain the idea that The Dandy Warhols could be suffering from a mid-life crisis but, listening to Distortland, that appears to be the case. The emotional state of the band is particularly evident in listening to the vinyl pressing of the album as the five-per-side running of it gently divides the running into two separate movements which lead...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Means LP by Fews. Even at first sight – before a note of music is heard from the Means LP – those who happen upon Fews’ debut full-length will get the sense that they’re about to bear witness to an important musical event. The front cover poses a bunch of very tantalizing questions; on it, a camera captures a stolen frame of the bandmembers with a brick wall as a backdrop....
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the diecut “Carry On” single by Booze & Glory The catch about the genre that’s affectionately known as “street punk†is that those who make the music often do not make it for very long. The reason for that is simple: street punk is impoverished by nature – the best of the genre is made by penniless players who are making music either to entertain themselves or their friends – and loses...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Manufactured Recordings/Omnian Music Group reissue of Million Dollar Ecstacy’s self-titled album. Ever watched one of the interviews that Narduar the Human Serviette has done with Snoop Dogg, reader? They often prove to be very revealing – although not in the way that one would typically expect. See, Snoop is an audiophile and loves/collects old, rare hip hop and rap records and, years ago Narduar took him some in the spirit...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Trying To Become A Millionaire reissue LP by California Playboys, released by Manufactured Recordings/Omnian I know I’ve said this before, but it’s a statement which requires regular reiteration: one of the best parts about records after they’re made and have come out is that they’re there – available to be found when potential listeners are ready to find them. It’s even easier now that the music industry is hurriedly reissuing so...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Vinyl Me, Please reissue of Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Ever since I “got into†metal through the likes of Motorhead and Mastodon, I’ve been trying to fill in the holes in my musical brain with all the awesome metal I’ve missed out on over the years. Unfortunately, I’ve been getting more and more disappointed with what I’ve been finding. Albums from Metallica, Kylesa and Baroness are fine, but I’d much rather...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Battletoads soundtrack LP, released by I Am 8-Bit. I’m going to give you a second so you can process the craziness that you’re seeing here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Battletoads soundtrack on vinyl. That’s Battletoads – as in the Nintendo game from the Nineties, regarded as one of the hardest games of all time. Is this the 8-bit soundtrack in all its 8-bit glory? Yes it is. Is...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Batman vs. Superman soundtrack LP by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. One of the strange and cool new side-effects of vinyl’s resurgence (except for the wonderful new 6 month wait for new albums) is the role soundtracks have played in it. Lord knows if vinyl is a legitimate format for soundtracks or if they’re popular just because they make that little nostalgic neuron in our brain fire when we look at...