Tag: Limited edition

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Robert Ascroft “Echo still remains”

(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: Robert Ascroft
Album Title: Echo still remains
Year released: 2025
Details: Special edition, custard vinyl

The skinny: Do you have a favourite record label? One that you swear by, trust, and pretty much love everything it releases? For a while in the 2000s, Arts & Crafts* was that for me. Into the 2010s, it was Paper Bag Records**. And now, it seems to be Hand Drawn Dracula***. Incidentally, all of these have been Toronto-based but not coincidentally, all have been locked into one scene or another, what was hot and new and seemed to be making music just for me. Early last year, Hand Drawn Dracula announced they were releasing the debut solo album of photographer/producer Robert Ascroft. I gave it a go, like I seem to do for all their releases of late, and quickly fell for its dark and cinematic sound and wonderful cast of guest vocalists (just check out that hype sticker). I purchased this special edition, custard yellow pressing off of the label’s Bandcamp site, and further spins drove me to place “Echo still remains” at number eight on my Best albums of the year list for 2025.

Standout track: “Empty pages (feat. Zumi Rosow)”

*Home to Broken Social Scene, Stars, Dan Mangan, etc.

**Home to Austra, Young Galaxy, The Rural Alberta Advantage, etc.

***Home to No Joy, Breeze, Tallies, etc.

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Clientele “I am not there anymore”

(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 Clientele
Album Title: I am not there anymore
Year released: 2023
Details: Double LP, limited edition, black-in-red

The skinny: This will be the final installment (for now*) in my series highlighting The Clientele’s LPs on my record shelves. The dream pop trio released their 8th studio album, “I am not there anymore”, in the summer of 2023 and it landed on a number of end of year lists, including that of yours truly. For me, it was quite a shift from their previous output, the last of which came six years earlier, tinkering with their tried and true formula, but ultimately, it was still a Clientele record. It is much longer than their normal work, requiring two discs, which allows their sound to breathe and to brood. I didn’t buy the album right away, but added it when I saw it on the shelves for the taking, when I ventured out for some post-Boxing day shopping. I lucked out with this limited edition pressing in red with a black splotch in the middle of both discs. It looks and sounds pretty sweet spinning on the turntable.

Standout track: “Blue over blue”

*Pretty sure I read somewhere that Mr MacLean plans to spend some time in the studio this year so perhaps a new one to add to my collection in the near future.

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Oasis “Time flies… 1994-2009”

(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: Oasis
Album Title: Time flies… 1994-2009
Year released: 2010
Year reissued: 2025
Details: 4 x LP, orange, green, pink, blue, 15th anniversary, RSD limited edition, 5363/15000

The skinny: In a parallel universe, I would be attending the first of two Oasis gigs at the newly constructed Rogers Stadium in Toronto with a handful of old friends tonight. The risk in procuring tickets over a year in advance of a gig is that there’s always a possibility that your circumstances could change. In this case, they did change and I needed to give up my ticket. But no fear, I take small comfort in two things. First, that I have seen them already once before*. And second, that I managed to procure this special Record Store Day, coloured vinyl, 4 disc box set reissue of their 2006 ‘best of’ compilation “Stop the clocks” from an online indie shop earlier this year. I’m not always convinced that compilations are the way to go, especially when I already have the best of the artist in question’s albums in my record collection. However, I made the exception for this one given how pretty it looked and that it included a couple of great tracks that I was still missing on vinyl, most importantly, the amazing non-album single featured below. And I’ve listened to set this a few times since it arrived and with all these great tracks, back to back, there’s been no regrets. For those attending tonight, I bet it’s going to be a great show, no matter their setlist, so please enjoy for me.

Standout track: “Whatever”

*That infamous gig at Virgin festival 2008 where a ‘fan’ ridiculously hid under the stage the whole day only to leap out while Oasis were playing and push Noel Gallagher from behind.