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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Piroshka “Brickbat”

(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: Piroshka
Album Title: Brickbat
Year released: 2019
Details: black vinyl, hand screen-printed sleeve, signed postcard

The skinny: Just this past Tuesday, I started counting down my favourite albums of the year with my traditional ‘honourable mentions’ post, focusing on albums ten through six on my list. At the top of that post, I did a bit of a cheat by sharing a photo of four records that didn’t quite make the top ten, but that bore mentioning nonetheless, and one of these was this very album: “Brickbat” by Piroshka. Fans of Lush, Moose, Modern English, and Elastica should take note, that is, if they already haven’t. This is a supergroup, though the members would have you believing otherwise, made up pieces of those very bands, and this resulting debut sounds a bit like each and like none of them at the same time. For me, the album was a grower and am now glad that I pulled the trigger early, ordering a vinyl copy direct from Bella Union, and doing so early enough to get the limited edition hand-printed sleeve and autographed postcard. Yeah, a sweet score all round.

Standout track: “Everlastingly yours”

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Adorable “Against perfection”

(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: Adorable
Album Title: Against perfection
Year released: 1993
Year reissued: 2018
Details: 180 gram, Limited edition, 25th anniversary reissue, Flaming orange vinyl, numbered 532/1500

The skinny: It’s the Thanksgiving long weekend here Canada and the leaves are in the midst of their annual change from boring green to the splendours of yellows, oranges, and reds. To celebrate the season, I thought I’d spin and share one of my favourite vinyl pieces that is coloured to match the leaves that are currently falling and filling up my yard. This reissue of Adorable’s debut album, “Against perfection”, was given the limited edition treatment by Music on Vinyl for the 25th anniversary of its original release. The album originally came out just as shoegaze was on the wane but because of the string of singles that preceded it (more of which appeared on the US release that I still have on CD), it still sold reasonably well. The singles even did quite well on Alternative radio here in Canada, especially the song below, which is where I first heard them and got hooked. And the album still sounds amazing.

Standout track: “Homeboy”

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Veils “The runaway found”

(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: The runaway found
Year released: 2003
Year issued: 2017
Details: First time on vinyl, black, 180 gram, limited to 1000, signed by Finn Andrews

The skinny: The Veils’ debut album, “The runaway found”, is one of those albums that burrows itself deep into your soul, lodges itself there, and periodically releases some sort of chemical that incites a strong need to listen to it again and again. This is thanks mostly to the brilliance of frontman and creative force, Finn Andrews. When I first got into this album, I was telling anyone who would listen that he has the voice of a Rufus Wainwright or a young Lou Reed (before his voice sent to seed) and the soul of a Tom Waits or a Nick Cave, or even an older Lou Reed. The band has changed lineups and sounds over the years and have gained some notoriety recently with an appearance on the “Twin Peaks” reboot but I’ve always been partial to this album. So when “The runaway found” was finally pressed by Music on Vinyl a few years ago, I didn’t hesitate to snap it up.

Standout track: “Lavinia”