Tag: Music on Vinyl

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: New Model Army “The love of hopeless causes”

(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: New Model Army
Album Title: The Love of hopeless causes
Year released: 1993
Year reissued: 2025
Details: Music on Vinyl reissue, 180 gram, flaming orange and red vinyl, numbered 1686/2000

The skinny: I received this record in the post a couple of weeks ago, being my most recently procured disc, and I’ve given it quite a few spins already on the ole turntable. It’s an album I never thought would grace my collection so when I saw Music on Vinyl was doing a special edition pressing there was no hesitation. It was an instant purchase. New Model Army was the first band I ever saw in concert and it just so happened that they were touring for this, their sixth studio album. It was my friend Tim that got me into their folk infused post punk and when he mentioned to me that they had been scheduled to play Lee’s Palace in Toronto in the summer of 1993, I was all in. Spinning this beautiful 180 gram pressing on red and orange flaming vinyl brings back all those memories of listening to these songs, prepping for the show, and the day of the concert itself, driving to and then taking the subway in from Scarborough town centre and then rushing to catch the last subway out after the show. Yup, I still know all the words.

Standout track: “Bad old world”

 

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Slowdive “Souvlaki”

(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: Souvlaki
Year released: 1993
Year reissued: 2011
Details: Music on Vinyl, 180 gram

The skinny: Just over five months ago, another great 90s record turned 30 years old and this one an iconic shoegaze classic. But as I wrote when the song mentioned below appeared at number twenty-two on my list of favourite songs from 1993, Slowdive was a group from the original scene that I never properly appreciated until much later. I had “Souvlaki” dubbed to cassette but rarely listened to it. I had to track it down again much later when I felt compelled to give them another chance and of course, this time it stuck. So by the time the original members reunited again in 2014, I was getting to be quite the fan and I had already added this Music on Vinyl, 180 gram reissue to my record shelves. Of course, both of their post-reunion records are also on my shelves and I’ve seen them live now twice, including their amazing show in support of their newest record in Toronto back in September. And I can tell you, this record hit the platter a few times before and after that show for the mood-setting and memory shake-ups.

Standout track: “Alison”

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Engineers “Engineers”

(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: Engineers
Album Title: Engineers
Year released: 2005
Year reissued: 2022
Details: Gatefold sleeve, 2 x 180 gram, white, numbered 502/1500

The skinny: Of all the great albums released during the first shoegaze revival wave of the early 2000s, Engineers’ self-titled debut was one of my favourites. The group formed as a four-piece – Mark Peters, Simon Phipps, Dan MacBean, and Andrew Sweeney – in London back in 2003. I happened upon the debut shortly after its release and latched on to a great many of the songs, recognizing in Engineers’ aesthetic the bands of my youth. Though some of their later work was pretty great as well, I wasn’t as immediately enamoured with it, always holding it up to this fantastic debut. It had been on my wishlist from pretty much the beginning of my collecting days but given what I perceived as their cult-like status, I didn’t think my chances were great at finding a copy on vinyl. My hopes were raised earlier this year when I saw that Music on Vinyl was reissuing Engineers’ debut EP, “Folly”, for Record Store Day, especially given that label’s track record of reissuing other classic shoegaze works. Then, I caught wind of this reissue of the debut LP on 2 x 180 gram slabs of white vinyl and jumped headlong aboard the pre-order train. It’s a thing of beauty.

Standout track: “Come in out of the rain”