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She's pretty talented and somehow manages to create her whole unique universe. You can find traces of influences but she always stands out as the main force over her music. I'll be enjoying this preview until my order from Sargent House arrives. The first half of the album is very strong but the latter will probably demand a bit more of attention.

It's about time Pendu reissues her first album. I imagine it would sell pretty well due to the growing interest on her.

The Whitebox was meant to be rare and expensive. I don't think they'll ever reissue it but I can see FotB and both Whites living again in vinyl format. Those records deserve the same sonic and visual treatment that version of Void got last year.

Thanks for the advice, man! Listening to Monoliths right now. I'm really enjoying it, especially Hunting & Gathering! But I kinda miss Malefic's voice.

H&G is my favorite song from that record. And the live version which can (or can't actually) be found on that Agharhi LP is outstanding. Raw and heavy. For some reason, Monoliths is kinda of a contradiction: its full of great and adventurous ideas but some of them came out too overproduced, sometimes it sounds like they were losing their focus. I definitely prefer the way that album was played live instead of the studio.

Also, kind of funny to see people complain about "noise" on a Sunn O))) record but I guess noise, pops and clicks can especially ruin the first half of Bathory. 

Well, you can blame MP3s and the CD 'cause I've listened to this album so many times in those formats that the overall (lack) of sound quality of the vinyl version was clearly noticed when I first spinned it. It's one of those albums that it's somehow carved in my ears so I can easily get disturbed by that version . You can clean it as much as you feel like but there's no way it will surpass those issues.

Packaging, on the other hand, is top notch.

According to O'Malleys Twitter:

NOW PLAYING: SUNN O))) "BLACK ONE" VINYL REISSUE TEST PRESSING. SOUNDS MASSIVE, EVIL. AVAIL NOV 2013 ON SOUTHERN LORD

Mine is the grey wax version but it always sounded weak, it's got pops all around it. Hopefully this one will sound better and do this great album some justice.

I collect vinyl because my girlfriend hates it.

The part on Keep which starts from 04:30 on is fcking briliant. It's owns the whole EP and is one of my favorite musical moments from 2013.

Hope preorders are up soon. Looking forward to this one.

 doubt that anything they will put out can top Distressor for me.

Yeah, I also came to this same conclusion. While "Distressor" clicked immediately and put the band above the general shoegaze act, their further releases turned out the opposite. Not bad, but I don't come back as I do with "Distressor".

Isn't the bottom of your cartridge touching the surface of these records? It tends to happen if your cartridge is designed to be close to it, or when the record presents considerable warpage.

I know the recording industry is in general not doing well and I don't want to cause problems for Matador but this is just crazy to me.

Well, got my regular version yesterday and Captured Tracks outdone their capability of pressing a bad vinyl. Center label was probably cut and stamped by a 2 year old kid. Off-centre record, thin vinyl, dirty as an old couch. Even after a rigorous cleaning session, music sounded muffled and distorted. Its probably the worst pressing I ever bought, I don't believe there's any QC at their office.

I guess I'll have to sitck to CDs instead to keep supporting their bands. They sign awesome bands and release great music but ignore the basics to make justice to their music.

Several months ago I e-mailed Pendu about it and the answer was no.

Yep.

The deluxe edition of the latest Interpol album needed the adaptor:

http://ripyourvinyl.com/vinylrips/interpol-interpol-2010-matador-45rpm-2xlp-set-24-bit96khz-cd/

If I'm not mistaken, Matador included custom adaptors for those who preordered from them.

Does the deluxe record have the regular inner hole or the bigger one, that require a 45RPM adapter to fit over the spindle? I ask this because I've bought 45RPM records from Matador that needed an adaptor to fit.

Capture Tracks vinyl quality is usually more miss than hit. Smaller center holes, scratches, off-centre pressings... Looks like they don't care too much about picking up a decent factory. They tend to focus more on aestetics.

This one's straight from Kevin Shiled's mouth on that 2012 Pitchfork interview:

Pitchfork: Is the idea of ownership over this material important to you?

KS: Ownership and control is important, because if you don't own what you do, all sorts of stupid stuff happens to it, and people spend good money on garbage. For example, in America, Warner Bros. licensed Loveless and Isn't Anything to Plain Records, and they basically just ripped [the audio] off the CD and put it on vinyl [in 2003]. They did an awful, terrible job. It was done without my permission, and the sound quality was 100% wrong. It was a rip off to anyone who bought it. But I didn't know anything about it until they were in the shops. We actually got an injunction against it being imported into the UK at the time because it was technically a bootleg but, in America, Warners operate under their own law, so it might have been slightly legal in the United States.

Now not to mention the bad reputation they get from such an influential quote, I guess people don't dig them 'cause they make it feel like you're getting an official release of an album when you're more like getting a bootleg of it. The major label, of course, is the first to be blamed and somehow share the responsability. I own Plain's Loveless and it sounds exactly like my Sony CD. The artwork isn't necessarily bad, it's not, but when you know the whole deal behind it you come to terms that the artist would have done a whole different treatment out of it.

MBV's recent CD reissues are top notch, Kevin did a great job. You can see his participation saved the project from being a regular "major label reissue with two additional tracks". I'll hold for UK vinyl reissues, they'll probably be under his control.

According to Southern Lord, it's up to the band authorizing the reissue of the other albums through them. Judging by the massive success Dopesmoker had, I can see this happening in the following years but guess they're are still extracting every last drop Dopesmoker has to provide in the meantime.

"Oshin" is one of the best releases from last year.

Got my LP in the mail yesterday. I was expecting a bigger box but yeah, the LP was loose inside of it but it arrived in pristine condition.

The combo LP + CD + lossless files ended up at a fair price, I mean, if I had to order it from US we'd be talking about a $26 shipping to begin with.

And they could have designed a sturdier gatefold, I agree. Only downside of the whole deal.

Beautiful music, great artwork.

It's ironic that one of the best records from 2013 is packed in a cheap card while several new releases comes out in fancy heavy glossy covers but don't get even close of m b v[i/] in terms of musical quality.

I still couldn't get enough from the high quality files. Great 'cause I plan to play the hell out of my vinyl once it arrives.

I love the fact that it kinda came out of nowhere. Such a highly anticipated album just popped up for people to listen to and buy it. You can even preview it on YouTube before pulling the cash.

Just look at today's marketing moves, Soundgarden's huge websites, album "trailer", video directed by Dave Grohl for instance. And Shields just go there and release music that his fans were waiting for. No big fuss, just music.

I'm listening to it now, trying to keep Loveless aside and avoid a direct comparison. I can say it's good enough to honour MBV's signature. And that's enough for me.

I never quite understood what made me buy their records except for the Altar collaboration. Fact is that I bought a few and that put me on the game of supporting every new release. Now when I get back to their records and put them on rotation, it's not that I really needed them in my collection. 

If it's coming out on Daymare, expect something really expensive, since it will be manufactured and shipped form Japan. And yes, if we're talking about Solomon and Vein reissued/compiled, it's superior music than their latest releases.

Yeah, it's been some weeks since mine arrived directly from CT.

Ordered a few times but the latest ones turned me down. In one occasion an item was out of stock but I got almost automatically refunded. The last time the order simply got on hold forever, they ignored (or never got) any of my e-mails which ended up in a PayPal dispute and a hard earned refund. I won't order from them anymore.