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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Eyelids “A colossal waste of light”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Eyelids
Album Title: A colossal waste of light
Year released: 2023
Details: ‘purple lightning’ coloured vinyl

The skinny: Two weeks in a row and two vinyl love posts and both were amongst my favourite albums of last year. Where last week’s was just on the outside of my top ten faves, this week’s was just outside the top five. As I wrote in my end of year posts, Eyelids are a band I had not heard of at the beginning of last year, despite having been around a good while. I actually heard about the release of “A colossal waste of light”, the group’s fourth album, from a posting on The Decemberists’ Instagram account, whose drummer, John Moen, is one of the Portland based band’s principal members. Co-produced by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, I fell hard for the hook-laden jangle pop and an album that lacks any real skippable tracks. After two listens, I was on the internet to track down a copy for my record shelves and found this rather pretty pressing on clear vinyl with purple splatter, aka purple lighting. It looks and sounds great on the platter.

Standout track: “Colossal waste of light”

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Slowdive “Everything is alive”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Slowdive
Album Title: Everything is alive
Year released: 2023
Details: pale pink

The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ve replayed my top five albums from 2023, albeit in a ‘vinyl love’ post format, over the last five weeks; partially because I love these albums and partially because I have them all on vinyl and want to show off their physical beauty as well. If you’ve missed them again, you can go back and admire records five, four, three, and two, but if not, you can read on for my favourite album of the year. Slowdive announced their second album since their 2014 reunion, earlier last year, and I was onboard immediately because of my love for previous one. I preordered a copy of the indie exclusive pale pink pressing that came in a gatefold sleeve from one of my favourite online indie record stores and received it well in advance of seeing them perform songs from it on their North American tour. Spinning it regularly, I quickly fell in love. As I’ve said before: “Everything is alive is hopeful and joyful and full of life. It is eight songs that don’t want to be anywhere near darkness and solitude. It is five musicians and friends that have known each other a long time performing as one, familiar and familial, a large sound that can envelope and absorb and has room for everyone and everything. It is the album we needed, whether we knew it or not.”

Standout track: “Kisses”

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Blur “The ballad of Darren”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Blur
Album Title: The ballad of Darren
Year released: 2023
Details: 180 gram, blue

The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ve been replaying my top five albums from 2023, albeit in a ‘vinyl love’ post format, every weekend in January and just into February; partially because I love these albums and partially because I have them all on vinyl and want to show off their physical beauty as well. I’ve already shared albums five, four, and three, and today is my second favourite album of 2023. It is an album by one of my all-time favourite bands, reunited once again, producing something beyond expectations. “The ballad of Darren” feels like the culmination of everything Blur has done over the years. It is the sound of a band playing music together and for themselves. This 9th album doesn’t feel like a climax, or like a swansong, and yet, if this does turn out to be the last Blur record, I don’t think we’d have any cause at all to complain. I knew I would purchase it for my vinyl shelves, even before I’d heard the excellent song below, but hearing it cemented things. I was actually away from home on vacation the week it was released but I made sure to stop in at an indie record store in the city I was staying and wouldn’t you know, they just happened to have a copy for me to rescue. And on blue vinyl too!

Standout track: “The narcissist”