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Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Veils “…And out of the void came love”

(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: The Veils
Album Title: …And out of the void came love
Year released: 2023
Details: double LP, gatefold sleeve

The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ll be 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 number four and five and here’s my third favourite album from last year. The Veils were one of my favourite bands throughout the 2000s. I have their first four albums in my vinyl collection, the first three being Music on Vinyl reissues, but I never did get around to picking up their fifth, 2016’s “Total depravity”, so when I heard some promising samples from the new album, I didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger and pick up, “…And out of the void came love”. For their first album in seven years, The Veils have resurfaced with a magnificent album of two parts, meant to be listened to as such, and though it still has that recognizable gothic and romantic take on folk and rock, here there is more hope, a hint of a sunrise after a long dark night.

Standout track: “No limit of stars”

 

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Reds, Pinks And Purples “The town that cursed your name”

(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: The Reds, Pinks And Purples
Album Title: The town that cursed your name
Year released: 2023
Details: seaglass blue

The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ll be 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 posted album number five last weekend and today I’ve got album number four: the latest album by Glenn Donaldson’s The Reds, Pinks and Purples, “The town that cursed your name”. I first discovered the project with their third album in 2021 and it topped my best albums chart that year. Since then, I’ve been struggling to keep up with their releases and yet, at least one of their albums have made into my top ten in each of the last two years. I pre-ordered this one from their record label, Slumberland Records’ bandcamp page back in February but with pressing plant issues, I didn’t receive it until June. With the lovely seaglass blue colour (and bonus 7”), though, it was well worth the wait. “The town that cursed your name” is peppy and reverb-drenched and throughout, Donaldson plaintively and romantically sings about the lives and loves of being a struggling musician in San Francisco and in the process, draws us all into his world with his melodic hooks and wistful turn of phrase.

Standout track: “Mistakes (too many to name)”

 

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Pale Blue Eyes “This house”

(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: Pale Blue Eyes
Album Title: This house
Year released: 2023
Details: clear

The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ll be replaying my top five albums from 2023, albeit in a ‘vinyl love’ format, over the next few 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. My number five album of 2023 came courtesy of a band I hadn’t even heard of at the beginning of last year. Pale Blue Eyes is a trio that until recently hailed from South Devon, England, and formed just before the start of this pandemic madness. “This house” is the group’s sophomore record and as I wrote about it before: “It is 44 minutes of transporting music, songs that stick to your bones and seep into your skin, and make you want to live in the music and let it delay what comes next just a little while longer.” It also happens to be the last of this top five that I purchased for my shelves, ordered from the online shop of one of my trusted UK record vendors just back in November. It’s the standard clear pressing but you’ll hear no complaints from me on that count.

Standout track: “Simmering”