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“9 songs from UK post rock quintet. Probably the most far reaching post record heard in a long time. Violins, horns, guitars and expanse… subtle till it’s not. LP is 192 gram white colored vinyl. hand stamped and numbered printed with soy ink on 100% recycled gatefold covers. Limited to 100 copies.” (http://futurerecordings.bigcartel.com/)

As stated in the above quote – this post rock quintet is full of different instruments. It is full of vast atmospheric atmospheres and is just about the exact quantity of everything to make a stellar indie post-rock release. If you’re wondering what post-rock is, then listen to sigur ros. Although in this release there is no made up language and a very much big lack of vocals. But there doesn’t need to be vocals when the music can just as easily do the talking. The album kicks in with a bit of an introduction then flows and ebbs along for its duration. It’s an incredible listen and is even cooler on vinyl (while supporting an incredible company ‘futurerecordings’).

The actual vinyl

This release is as above – “LP is 192 gram white colored vinyl. Hand Stamped and numbered printed with soy ink on 100% recycled gatefold covers. Limited to 100 copies”. Also included is a small card with thank yous and a design on the back. For the sake of names I have NOT included a photo of that side – however I did include a photo of the other side.

Tracklist

A

1 – Afterglow

2 – Amongst Your Earthiest Words The Angels Stray

3 – Portarlington

4 – Eskimo Kiss

5 – Carnival Prelude

B

1 – Nothing Of Cities

2 – Lola

3 – Carnival

You can Download and stream in audiophile quality all songs at http://futurerecordings.bandcamp.com

$

It’s available for $13 from the http://futurerecordings.bigcartel.com/ store as well as all their other records.

This is just an awesome release if post-rock is your sort of thing. Future Recordings are full of incredible acts, most of which all go quite nicely together meaning that if you like this – you’ll also like most of their other artists and releases. So definitely check that out.

Blurb

Enter Shikari have been labeled under “post-hardcore,   electronicore and metalcore” in the past. Not only do I have no idea what the last two mean, but I also think that they break through defining lines in general. After slightly narrowing their sound in their sophomore album Common Dreads, they have once again busted through mere “genre” and really transcended into a mixed sound of their own. I’ve found that through my first listen I was quite confused and didn’t quite “get it”. However the more I listened to it, the more I found just how much I loved each crazy transition. So if you’re not quite feeling the album the first few spins, then keep going and try a few more times. The amazing video for arguing with thermometers seen HERE may help you in your quest.

The Actual Vinyl

This single blue 12″ vinyl comes housed in a rather cool looking lyric sleeve with blue light inverted triangle on the opposite side of the sleeve. The sleeve and vinyl themselves go inside the packaging which has alternate album artwork specifically for vinyl. The vinyl itself is a really cool blue colour and you’ll see from the below photos what they exactly look like.

Tracklist

A

1 – System…

2 – … Meltdown

3 – Sssnakepit

4 – Search Party

5 – Arguing With Thermometers

6 – Stalemate

B

1 – Ghandi Mate, Ghandi.

2 – Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here

3 – Pack Of Thieves

4 – Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide

5 – Constellations

$$

Right now it’s easily available for about $27-$40. If you’re in australia head to JBHIFI online and you can pick it up for $34 including postage. Otherwise just head to the enter shikari website or your local record store.

Blurb

Why yes – Charlie Simpson WAS in that british boyband. However after the first few bars of Palahniuk’s Laughter, the first track from Fightstar’s first release you’ll realize his boy band days are long, long gone. The track is full of heavy riffs mashed together with big chorus’ which standard in the post-hardcore genre. If you’re lucky enough to have They Liked You Better When You Were Dead on cd, or if you’ve downloaded it then you’ll know just what an incredible start this band had. They have an amazing mix of tracks which is really audible in even just the two tracks gracing this 7″ release. Mono, the second track starts off with a really light guitar riff and somewhat dreamy backing vocals. But what really makes this easily one of my favorite 7″ vinyl is the huge eruption of sound closer to the end of the track and it’s preceding build up. This took me a while to get a hold of, but I was crazily lucky enough to get it for under $5 which is a complete steal – as it usually goes for $40+ because of its rarity.

The Actual Vinyl

This release is a pretty standard 7″ sleeve with the vinyl sitting inside the cardboard packaging. The artwork is quite cool and has 2 drawings, one is obviously a draw from fight club – the movie a la’ the book from Chuck Palahniuk from which the first title comes from. The same 2 drawings grace the center label on the black vinyl as well.

Tracklist

A -Palahniuk’s Laughter

B -Mono

$-$$$

The price of this vinyl is really dependent on how long you’re willing to wait. As of right now – there are no listings for it on ebay. However on discogs.com it goes for over $40. I waited about 3 months and managed to get it on ebay for about $5 which was incredible for the quality of this release. So if you’d like to get it I’d wait until you can find it for under $25 – however you should be able to find it for $30 if you look hard enough.

Blurb 

 

On the leaflet which comes housed in this amazing package it has a quote from “Joseph Kosinski” from 2010 talking about meeting Daft Punk and talking about them writing the score.

“… the discussion revealed a shared desire to create a score that blended classic orchestral themes with an electronic minimalism in a way that had never been done before… Now, three years later, we are in the final stages of mixing and the result has truly exceeded my high expectations.

Because the score was developed in parallel with the production of the film, I’ve had the opportunity to live with it for over a year now and it never fails to thrill and inspire me as we near teh finish line. I am excited for you to experience Daft Punk’s first contribution to the world of film scoring – I have a feeling it won’t be their last.”

This quote really just about wraps up all the things I want to say about this film score. I loved the film (screw the critics), and thought that the soundtrack was literally the perfect backline to such an atmospheric film. Originally I was a little bit iffy about daft punk taking on such a great leap. And after derezzed was released my fears weren’t exactly calmed. I feared that the soundtrack would be like another daft punk album and not really manage to hit that “score” note. After hearing this soundtrack in the film and when I got a hold of the soundtrack I was exponentially impressed by the brilliant mixture of “classic orchestral themes with an electronic minimalism”.

It’s an exciting time when such huge bands are starting to score films such as Trent Reznor, Atticus Ros and of course Daft Punk. It not only means a decent income for them – instead of downloading hurting them a little (I know that’s a rather questionable statement. However Disney would have payed Daft Punk a decent sum for this).

The Actual Vinyl

As you can probably tell from the continued barraging of glow in the dark images in this post – I discovered that the cover was not just raised but was also glow in the dark. After opening up the amazing gate-fold cover, a large image of Daft Punk tron style reveals itself. I really wish I could have that center image blown up rather large as a poster and put upon my wall.

Each vinyl rests in either side in very very nice paper, plastic lined sleeves. It’s a small thing having the plastic lining, but it’s so great putting the vinyl back in or taking it out with it. Also included in a page of liner notes which includes a digital download code. Thus the bad drawing out over mine.

Tracklist

A

1 – Overture

2 – The Grid

3 – The Son Of Flynn

4 – Recognizer

5 – Armory

6 – Arena

7 – Rinzler

8 – The Game has Changed

9 – Outlands

B

1 – Adagio for Tron

2 – Nocturne

3 – End Of Line

4 – Derezzed

5 – Fall

6 – Solar Sailer

7 – Rectifier

8 – Disc Wars

C

1 – C.L.U

2 – Arrival

3 – Flynn Lives

4 – Tron Legacy (End Titles)

5 – Finale

D – Bonus Vinyl Content

1 – Sea of Simulation

2 – Encom Part 2

3 – Encom Part 1

4 – Round One

5 – Castor

6 – Reflections

7 – Sunrise Prelude

$$1/2-$$$

This record is limited to 9072 and for that reason can be very expensive at times, but also can be snagged at a bargain price. On ebay right now it’s anywhere between $35 to $70 depending on where you get it and if you’re a lucky bidder or buying it now. I’d suggest (if you can) waiting until you can get it for around $30-45. However it IS an amazing record – so good hunting.

Firstly WELCOME TO BANGKOK the new address! We are now live at www.waxandneedles.com and hot diggity dog do I have a year for all of you vinyl/music lovers. New high res photos and plenty of new vinyl. It’s going to be a great year. And if you want more vinyl up on this site try to help me out maybe and spread the word! Anyway, moving right along…

BRAND NEW – THE DEVIL AND GOD ARE RAGING INSIDE ME

Blurb

Oh how this album always manages to blow me away. It goes through different moods, genres and even has a great instrumental (welcome to bangkok – thus the bad word pun). But as with all amazing albums or bands, trouble always has a way of sneaking in. Which in this case was what is now called “fight off your demons”, aka. the 9 ‘untitled’ demo’s which were leaked onto the internet. “Leaked? So what?” you may ask yourself while checking your download speed on utorrent. According to this, Garret Tierney (bass guitar) had no problems with the leak and even suggested it was good to see so many people curious. Jesse Lacey (lead singer, rhythm guitar) had a much different view, saying that it had him pretty down. He also stated that he “felt those songs were wasted or something - that we had to go and write new things because those had been heard”.

Regardless of Jesse’s thoughts during said interview a number of the songs went on to either appear on the album or was released in some form. “Untitled 8″ went on to become Sowing Season, “Untitled 6″ became Luca, “Untitled 3″ became Jesus‘ single B side Brothers or aloC-acoC which was the b-side to Sowing Season and finally ”Untitled 7″ became the single Fork and Knife. Also if you’re somewhat of a conspiracy theorist – you may be able to hear similarities between “Untitled 9″ and Archers Bows Have Broken.

The Actual Vinyl

The cover art is something of genius and you can thank photographer Nicholas Prior for such. This now expensive vinyl comes in a rather curious looking gate fold. After opening it up there is an old photo with some rather amazing hair as well as a black light image on the other side. The two vinyl slide out either side of the package and my set has either a white paper sleeve or full black card sleeve to choose from. Rather curious I thought when the name is “devil and god” (white and black choice?), only me? Ok… On my variant each vinyl has part of the title in the background followed by the track titles of the songs of the corresponding side. Also included is a booklet of curious nature. It’s full of photos, a tracklisting, odd text and credits. My variant as you may be able to see from the photos below is the solid white from academy fight song. There is literally a bazillion different variants for this particular record including black/white marble, orange/black swirl and solid purple just to name a very few. If you’d like the full list – google is your friend.

Tracklist

A

1 – Sowing Season

2 – Millstone

3 – Jesus

B

1 – Degausser

2 – Limousine (MS Rebridge)

C

1 – You Don’t Know

2 – Welcome To Bangkok

3 – Not The Sun

D

1 – Luca

2 – (Untitled)

3 – The Archers Bows Have Broken

4 – Handcuffs

 

 

$$$

For some reason I was chosen by the devil or god (not even a pun?) to win this on ebay for about $50-$60. It was amazing. Probably the second best moment of my life. Of course coming second to that one time I found the last packet of mi goreng behind the out of date  Betty Crocker cake mix.

Anyway – This album is usually found for about $100+ on ebay and such. It really comes down to which variant you want and how flexible you are on such. If you want this record I probably wouldn’t spend over $120 as if you play the waiting game you’ll be able to get lucky. However if you want it NOW then you might have to dish out about $120 – $170.

But don’t let the price keep you away. Being able to spin this record after failing yet another horrid day of compulsory Uni subjects is freaking phenomenal .