Circa Survive jumped on the live stream band wagon in 2021, and also jumped on another one simultaneously as it was done to celebrate Blue Sky Noise’s 10th Anniversary. Live Sky Noise is a live performance of Blue Sky Noise front to back, performed in a studio. It’s not exactly a live live stream, as it was apparently a pre-recorded performance that aired to ticket holders on the day of the live stream. The band pressed it on vinyl, which was inevitably delayed without much updates as to a new ship date. Needless to say I was surprised when I received a shipping notice in mid April 2022, and then shockingly received it less than a week later.
Pre-orders for Live Sky Noise launched in June 2021, with an estimated ship date in December 2021. Not a terrible timeline given the circumstance the world finds itself in currently. Even getting this record shipping out in April is a decent timeframe. Even more impressive the band self-released this record.
I mentioned bandwagons in the opening paragraph. Circa jumped on a third one (though only semi-directly related to this release); creating a Patreon during the pandemic, which they dubbed the Creature Club. The Creature Club had an exclusive variant, which if I was a variant collector I would be annoyed with. But in the grand scheme of things having an exclusive variant is much better than having an exclusive fan club type release like many bands have done over the years.
In total there are four variants, and it’s arguable there are two separate pressings of this. Typically I would wait to post something until I gather as much info as possible. But this is the first new release I’ve actually had the time to not only write up, but post in a timely manner. If you haven’t noticed this blog has fallen on the backburner a bit, with some things taking literal years for me to write and/or post.
Back on track now; initially there were only three variants, which sold out at a reasonable pace given how ravenous Circa fans are. It took about four days to sell through the aforementioned first three variants. These three variants are red/yellow color in color limited to 1,000 copies, blue/yellow color in color limited to 500 copies and red/yellow/black splatter limited to 500 copies. The red/yellow color in color was a livestream store exclusive, the blue/yellow color in color was a Creature Club exclusive and the splatter was a day of event exclusive.
The fourth variant, which may be a possible second pressing depending on when it ships. If it ships with all the other variants, then odds are it’s not a second pressing. But I find it odd that the band would sit on an additional variant till January 2022. The fourth variant was pressed on blue/light blue/yellow splatter limited to 500 copies, and was dubbed the rebroadcast exclusive. Apparently the band sold more tickets to another shower of the “livestream.”
The rebroadcast exclusive did “sell out” via the rebroadcast store, but leftover copies were randomly put up for sale in a new exclusive store, which sold merch intended for a Blue Sky Noise tour that was eventually cancelled. This store was hidden behind a password (don’t ask me for the password), because the items were meant to be exclusive to VIP ticket holders for the aforementioned cancelled tour. It has since sold out.
I’m not sure of what the price structure for this record was. I paid $30 before shipping for the red/yellow color in color. But when the band put up leftover copies of the blue/light blue/yellow splatter variant in the tour VIP store, they cost $35. I’m not sure what the Creature Club exclusive cost because it was behind a paywall, and I haven’t seen anyone discuss what it cost. But even if it cost $30, you’d have to tack on whatever the subscription fee you paid was to the price of the record.
Some more finer points to this record; it was pressed as a double LP and comes housed in a gatefold jacket. One of the great things about Circa releases is the artwork, which is always done by artist Esao Andrews. He does the cover art, but anyone hoping for additional artwork from him will be disappointed as inside the gatefold is a picture of a stage setup. My copy came sealed (not sure about other variants) and came with a download card/code that yields no results because there have not been any files uploaded for it yet (as of posting this).
***Edit*** As of June 1, 2022 there are files to download when using the download code/card, but there is a catch. Apparently only seven of the 12 songs are available, so up to “Frozen Creek.” The download is for WAV files. Not sure when the band added the files to the site, but June 1 was the first time I checked since posting this.
Sometimes with Record Store Day (RSD) you can wind up being screwed years down the road when you discover a band you weren’t a fan of at the time of one of their RSD releases. Thankfully Basement was not one of those instances, as their 2019 RSD release, a 7” promoting their most recent album, Beside Myself, is not only easy to find, but it’s also still going for retail price.
This 7”, entitled Be Here Now, features the lead single and title track off the album along with an exclusive b-side; “Are You The One.” Many times RSD releases are unnecessary cash grabs, so at least this 7” (which in typical RSD fashion is overpriced) has something worth buying it for other than rounding at a collection.
There were 1200 copies pressed on “colored vinyl.” At least that is what the official RSD list said. There was no color announced until people bought copies on RSD and opened them. The 7” is pressed on half blue/half white. Though my copy is technically half white/half blue as the first/top color is white instead of blue. There are two hype stickers on every copy; the typical silver RSD sticker and another black rectangle one that promotes the exclusive b-side track. No download card/code is included with this 7”, which is a ripoff considering the retail price.
Depending on the store, most charged over $10 for this 7”. Some as high as $15. It’s one of the caveats of RSD. Now with that said some stores charged closer to $8. It all depends on the particular store, their locale and clientele. But even then there is no set rhyme or reason as to why certain stores charge what they do. Basically; the logic don’t apply to everyone.
So for example, a small store could charge more because they don’t have the foot traffic of a larger, more well known and frequented store, so they need to charge more to make ends meet. But on the other hand, that larger, more frequented store could charge more simply because they know due to the foot traffic someone will wind up buying it. Is that morally corrupt? You can easily make the case for that. But it’s how a capitalistic economy functions. MSRP is suggested, not mandated. And with all that said, the aforementioned small store in a hole in the wall location could choose to charge less in order to undercut the competition, or so they’re not stuck with RSD inventory for years and years. And the same goes for the larger store in or near a major city as well.
Basement is a band I admittedly discovered late in their career. By discovered I mean became a fan of. I was aware of their existence, but as musical tastes tend to change and evolve over time, I recently started enjoy their music. In a way I’m glad I got into them at this point, because I don’t think I’d enjoy their entire catalog (to this point in their career) had I been a fan of theirs from the beginning.
Their latest album, Beside Myself, released in 2018, keeps in line with their new sound. I say new sound because it’s the best way I can describe it. I’m sure there is a better word, mahybe evolved. But whatever word you want to use; their sound has changed since their earlier albums to the ones they’ve released post break up/hiatus.
Beside Myself is the band’s debut on Fueled By Ramen (FBR). Yes, that Fueled By Ramen. They are still around and are trying to reinvent themselves somewhat after losing their biggest acts and as the scene they were synonymous with both slowly fades and evolves. It’s still a joint release with Run For Cover Records (RFC) though. As FBR is now part of a major label umbrella, pressing info is next to impossible to pry out of them. So it’s no surprise one of the only two variants with pressing info announced is the RFC exclusive.
In total there are four variants; 1,000 copies on white and yellow mix (RFC exclusive, hype stickers only says yellow RFC exclusive), and 2500 copies on solid silver as part of the deluxe edition. The only thing that makes the deluxe edition “deluxe” is an exclusive gatefold jacket that has a mylar finish. I have not seen a copy of this variant, nor ever heard of this type of finish being used on a record jacket or sleeve, so I am not sure what a mylar finish looks like. It comes with the same insert that comes with the other variants.
The remaining two variants are red and clear silver. The red is more of a pale translucent pink than red. I have not seen a picture (only a mock up) of the clear silver, so I am not sure how it’s different than the silver deluxe edition variant. The mock up makes it look like it’s a translucent or cloudy/milky silver. It’s a stupid move on the labels’ part, as they could have easily picked another color to easily avoid any confusion. Gee, I don’t know, maybe go with black to match the night sky, or green to match the tree, or brown to match the tree trunk, or blue to match the guy’s shirt. All of which are part of the cover art.
There are not only hype stickers on all variants that denote color, they are also color coded. All copies come with a download card/code, but it expires at the end of 2020. It’s bad enough to many labels are doing away with download cards/codes, but major labels have been putting expiration dates on them for years now. It sucks when you buy a record that’s been in print several years after its release, only to discover the download card/code is expired. Retail price on this is around $20 for the standard variants. If you shop around you can buy this for closer to $15 (before shipping should it apply). The deluxe edition cost $28 before shipping, and is exclusuive to FBR. As of posting this none of the variants are sold out.
Basement’s “debut” album on Fueled By Ramen (FBR) happens to be a deluxe edition re-issue of their final album on Run For Cover Records (RFC), Promise Everything. Admittedly I discovered Basement very late, and thankfully I did because I didn’t have to buy this album twice. Yes, I don’t have an earlier pressing, but I have a pressing I’m happy with.
Because this album underwent two iterations, one could make the case that what is featured here is technically a first pressing. I won’t make that distinction. The title of the album didn’t really change, the album art didn’t change, all pressings are a single LP, and not much else changed other than a slightly different fold out poster insert and tacking on four bonus tracks. And ultimately those bonus tracks don’t impact the album/record greatly It’s two acoustic versions of album tracks, a cover song, and an alternate version of song that was released earlier on the Further Sky 7”. But If I had my choice, I’d rather have a copy of the deluxe edition than one of the earlier pressing of the standard, original release of the album. Considering you can still buy copies from the first pressing direct from RFC (granted they are unsold retail returns or holdovers), I’m all the more confident in my purchase.
I just mentioned that you can buy leftover copies from the first pressing of Promise Everything, but other than that this album is actually pretty hard to find. Especially if you’re looking for a good deal, which I always am. Retail price on the earlier pressings is around $18, which is what ultimately turned me off from buying a copy, and it’s slightly more for the deluxe edition, around $23. I would venture to guess the price increase between to the versions of the albums is due to the four bonus tracks, but inflation and other contractual obligations could also play a role.
The pressing info has only been released for the first two pressings, which were solely released by RFC. The first pressing, released in 2016, has 500 copies on sea blue in coke bottle green color-in-color, 1000 copies on solid orange A-side / transparent orange B-side (Basement Exclusive), 1000 copies on baby pink A-side / hot pink B-side w/ white splatter (Banquet Exclusive), 1300 copies on “doublemint” A-side / bone B-side (Hot Topic Exclusive), 1500 copies on yellow in “Halloween orange” color-in-color, 2200 half baby blue / half royal blue. The second pressing, released in 2017, thankfully, was pressed on only one color; gold & yellow swirl limited to 1,000 copies.
That brings us to the deluxe edition pressing, which is the third overall pressing of the album and was released in 2018. As stated above pressing info has not been released, and that is most likely because of FBR considering every pressing solely done by RFC has pressing info released. It was done on two colors; blue marble and pink w/ white marble. I’m not sure if one color is exclusive to anywhere. It comes with a different insert, which is a fold out poster, which is similar to the one included with the first and second pressings. In actuality, the inserts are literally 50% different. Only one side is different. Save for a background color difference on the identical side. The insert with the first two pressings has a yellow background instead of the white done for the deluxe edition.
As far as I can tell the only pressing/edition to come with a hype sticker is the third pressing/deluxe edition. It has a red rectangle sticker that says it’s the deluxe edition, mentions the four bonus tracks and that it is apparently newly “remixed” and “remastered” (both of which are grammatically incorrect because they’re missing a hyphen, hence the quotations). Without having an earlier pressing to do a comparison, nor a copy of the digital albums, I can’t speak to how exactly they’re re-mastered or re-mixed. Odds are the it’s because of the four added bonus tracks, which forces a reworking of the LP layout, as more tracks are forced onto the A-side as opposed to spacing them out onto the B-side. Any imperfections picked up on the earlier pressings may have also been worked out due to better technology.
The deluxe edition, which came out in 2017, does include a download card/code, but it unfortunately has an expiration date (December 31, 2018). Which pretty much defeats the point of including one. I was able to buy this record in 2021, over almost three years after it was released, yet I can’t access the digital files because A: the download code is expired, and B: the website is not even in service anymore. What I have noticed with download cards/codes that have an expiration date is that they take you to a dedicated server. Had labels just opted to use one of the handfuls of download service providers, expirations may not be an issue. The cost of designing and operating a dedicated website for the download of a specific album, along with designing and printed unique download cards, has to be close to whatever the fee the aforementioned download service providers charge. If it’s a break even scenario, or close to, it’s yet another middle finger to music fans who support record labels.
To coincide with the release of their third album, Promise Everything, Basement released a 7” with the same title, which featured two exclusive b-sides; “Cloud” and a demo version of album track “Halo.” You could actually make the case that the version of “Cloud” found on this 7” is a demo as well, as the version that wound up appearing on the deluxe edition of Promise Everything was re-recorded and is tweaked slightly.
Initially this 7” was a pre-order exclusive only available from Run For Cover Records (RFC) and Banquet Records. Eventually it was made available for purchase by RFC, with it still being available as of posting this. There are actually two variants for this 7”; gold and black. Pressing info has not been officially released for either variant as far as I can tell. So I’m not sure if one color was only available from RFC or Banquet, if either was exclusive to a certain pre-order package/bundle, if you got to choose the color you wanted or if they were randomly given out to pre-orders.
There is no download card/code included with the 7”. No copies come sealed, but do come in a protective poly sleeve. One of my pet peeves is records that don’t come sealed and do not come with a protective poly sleeve. A single-sided insert is included, which a nice touch, but the nicer touch would have been including a download card.
Basement is an oddball when it comes to vinyl. It’s tough to tell what will sell well and what won’t, what will wind up fetching crazy amounts and what won’t. One thing that appears to be the obvious is that their earlier material is far more popular. But even with that said, there are anomalies.
One of which is this 7”, which is entitled Further Sky. One reason for this 7” taking about six years to sell out, at least via the label, Run For Cover Records (RFC) is that many people don’t like buying 7”s. Despite this being an actual EP and not a single, Further Sky was lingering in RFC’s web store forever basically. But of course, when I finally go to buy it they are sold out.
Just because this 7” is sold out via the most direct route, it’s still easy to find. Many indie record store still have copies, many of which the secondary market is flooded with. You can actually find it cheaper, brand new, from many indie record stores on Discogs than it cost straight from the label. The variant, color, or rarity doesn’t seem to affect prices much either. They all tend to sell for well under $10.
Here is the pressing info. Unlike many of Basement’s other releases on RFC, they only did one pressing of this 7”. There are 500 copies on clear, 1500 on purple and 5,000 on blood red a-side/orange b-side. I own the blood red/orange variant, and there is not much, if any difference between the appearance of either side. It’s pretty much the same shade of deep red.
All copies comes housed in a gatefold jacket, which is an interesting touch for a 7” as not many of them get this extravagant of a jacket. A download code is included as well, which takes you to Bandcamp, where you can choose the quality of MP3s you want; from 320 kbps on down. To be honest I’m not sure if any variant, or every copy for that matter, is supposed to come sealed. The copy I bought was advertised on Discogs as “new store stock still sealed” and wound up coming in a what appears to be a oversized, cheap poly bag (not a legit poly bog from the likes of Bagsunlimited or Sleeve City) that was folded over and taped shut with scotch tape. Not a big deal as it arrived in perfect shape; it just raised several questions about false advertising and mis-grading. And for the sake of clarity I wanted readers of this blog to be aware that copies of this 7” may or may not come sealed from the label.
This EP features three songs, despite there being four tracks on the 7”. There is a blank, second groove on the b-side. It’s not a run out groove; it’s a legit track that is intentionally blank for whatever reason. There are two brand new songs, which at the time (2014) were the last Basement material ever released, along with a cover of Suede’s “Animal Nitrate.” The two new songs, “Summers Colour” and “Jet” are both on the a-side, “Animal Nitrate” on the b-side.
Basement is a band I admittedly discovered late in their career. By discovered I mean became a fan of. I was aware of their existence, but as musical tastes tend to change and evolve over time, I recently started enjoy their music. In a way I’m glad I got into them at this point, because I don’t think I’d enjoy their entire catalog (to this point in their career) had I been a fan of theirs from the beginning.
Their sophomore album, Colourmeinkindess, has undergone six pressings since its release in 2012. It will take a long time to run through this record’s entire pressing info, so bear with me. Best way to do it to make a list rather than try to do it paragraph style.
1st press (2012): 400 on royal blue/baby blue w/ record release cover (UK exclusive) 300 on dark red (Banquet Records exclusive) 700 on electric blue 500 on royal blue/baby blue ($hit Topic exclusive) 500 on mustard 300 on kelly green transparent haze 100 on electric blue w/ deluxe bundle cover
Between 50-70 sleeves from U.S. variants had been drawn on by band member Alex Henery
2nd press (2013): 700 on orange w/ yellow splatter 500 on aqua blue w/ green splatter ($hit Topic exclusive) 300 on oxblood w/ beer
Third Press (2013): 300 on transparent orange (originally purple w/ beer haze) 1200 on blue/hot pink split w/ baby pink/blue Splatter
Fourth Press (2014): 4100 on doublemint / coke bottle green 900 on doublemint / electric blue w/ olive splatter
Fifth Press (2015): 1000 on baby blue in clear color-in-color 3000 on bone in clear color-in-color
Sixth Press (2018): 2000 on yellow in orange
For the record release cover, the label and/or band might have learned their lesson from how little copies they made for their debut album. So it’s ice this variant may be more accessible to fans. It’s a bit misleading though, as it’s not exactly true record release variant, as it was available at two different shows in England in two different cities (London & Leeds). Which is likely the reason for pressing so many copies. It’s a quarter fold sleeve with alternate artwork that goes over top of the jacket with the original album art. Not sure what kind of material it’s printed on though though. Prices on this variant are between $50-$140.
The deluxe bundle exclusive cover appears to also be a slip cover with alternate artwork that goes over top of the jacket with the original album art, but I have not seen detailed enough photos of it to say with certainty. Despite this being the rarer of the two variants with alternate artwork/covers, the going rate on it is about half that of the record release variant.
What is featured in the gallery below is a copy for the most recent sixth pressing. It’s tough to tell, but when you hold the record up to the light you can see slight effects of the yellow mixed in with the orange. At first glance it does look like a solid orange record.
I touched on prices for this record. They vary widely depending on which variant or pressing you want. The earlier pressings obviously demand a bit more, along with some of the rarer variants. Retail price on this (the most recent, sixth pressing) is around $20. But you can find this for under $15 if you shop around and/or take advantage of sales, which is what I did.
To celebrate the album’s 10th anniversary, RFC did a deluxe re-pressing as a double LP that included four additional bonus tracks and an etching. It’s definitely not necessary and a cash grab making this a double LP with such slim bonus content. The four bonus tracks aren’t even true b-sides, they are alternate versions of album tracks “Covet,” “Pine,” “Bad Apple” and “Breathe.” Because the four bonus tracks easily fit on one side (side C) the d-side is void of musical content. So RFC decided to do an etching, which I guess is better than just leaving it blank, but it obviously drives up the price of this re-press.
Further driving up the cost of this re-press/re-issue is the fact that is comes even an even more unnecessary slip cover. If you thought the inclusion of four pointless bonus tracks was bland, wait until you see or read (hopefully both here) what this slip cover consists of! It’s literally mostly blank, so 99.9% orange (some color/hue as the original cover art) but has the band’s name and album title embossed in ridiculously tiny letters. The slip cover is to the point where you would have zero clue what this record is if you were flipping through stacks at a record store. The hype sticker is the only thing that lends offers up some sign of what the record is. And even then, at least on my copy, the hype sticker was affixed sideways on the shrink wrap.
To further demonstrate how much of a cash grab this 10th anniversary edition of Colourmeinkindness is; RFC did seven variants. You know, because this album hasn’t already been pressed to death (seven times total with the most recent coming literally the year before this 10th anniversary edition), and let’s face it, the extra musical content included with this 10th anniversary edition is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
The pressing info for the 10th anniversary edition is as follows; 220 copies on black, yellow and red tri-color that was a RFC exclusive, 200 copies on half orange / half yellow that was a Zia Records [Southwest USA (Arizona and Nevada) indie record store chain] exclusive, 300 copies on purple & black “galaxy” that was a “Brooklyn Vegan exclusive” but in reality was a Project M (media conglomerate that incudes Brooklyn Vegan, Revolver, The Hard Times – all of which have identical inventories in the web stores, even so called exclusive vinyl variants) exclusive, 300 copies on olive green that was a Banquet Records (UK indie record store), 350 copies on orange and red marble that was a Newbury Comics exclusive, 500 copies on yellow with red splatter and 1,000 copies on red. I don’t know where or if the yellow w/ red splatter or red variants are exclusive to.
Because of the nonsensical names/descriptions labels are giving variants these days, of course the finished product can turn out any way imaginable. Who would’ve thought the black, yellow and red tri-color would actually turn out being a messy swirl of those three colors, with yellow turning out to be beige. And who would’ve guess that such similar colors like those found in the orange and red marble had those tow colors blend together to make almost a rusty color? The “galaxy” variant, whatever that is supposed to be, simply turned out dark purple that may or may not be opaque and/or translucent; I can’t tell based on the photos I’ve seen. The half orange/half yellow is split horizontally across the record, and the splatter and red variants may be the only other ones to turn out exactly how you’d expect. Though I have not seen photos of the olive green variant as of posting this. Hype stickers are big with this edition/pressing. The Zia and Newbury exclusives have their typical hype stickers in addition to the silver square that comes on all copies.
Also included with the 10th anniversary edition of Colourmeinkindness is an insert (something that was not included with single LP pressings) that has pointless photos (literally tiny head shots of each band member and an over the top in terms of size promo group shot that takes up one side of the insert) and notes from each of the band members about the making of the album, the latter of which many people would find a nice addition. But when you consider the fact that two band members (James and Duncan – the rhythm section, shocking, I know) gave very little in the form of material, literally 13 lines of text (with that text being a ridiculously small font size) each, it’s a further slap to the face of fans on something that if it wasn’t already blatantly enough a cash grab, this puts it over the top. Just look at the photo of the insert in the photo gallery below and you’ll see the drastic difference in how much space the liner notes from each band member takes up, and you can tell who truly cared and who didn’t. It’s embarrassing for everyone involved with this re-press/edition, and really makes you wonder why the label went ahead with printing these inserts up.
Because there are so many variants that are exclusive to various places, especially notoriously greedy retailers, retail price on the 10th anniversary edition is all over the board. RFC charged $40 for all the variants they sold (splatter, half and half, red), Brooklyn Vegan/Project M charged $41 before shipping and taxes (should they apply), Banquet charged 35 GBP (I’m not even venturing into shipping charges or exchange rates), Zia charged a whopping $45 before shipping and taxes (should either apply) and not to be outdone, Newbury charged the most, coming in at $46 (though they have slashed the price down to $35 since it was released) before shipping and taxes (should either apply).
And if I didn’t stress the fact that this 10th anniversary edition/pressing is a cash grab, RFC re-pressed it, so they did a second pressing of an anniversary release (which came out the year after the album’s 10th anniversary). This second pressing is limited to 2,000 copies on coke bottle clear. Again, if I haven’t demonstrated that this is a cash grab release, as of posting this the first pressing of it has not sold out yet. The Newbury Comics exclusive variant from the first press is still available, and has had the price lowered by $10 to boot. Also still available from the first pressing are the Zia, Banquet and Brooklyn Vegan/Project M exclusive (all without lowered prices). Banquet is even selling copies of the red variant from the first pressing, albeit for more than (40 GBP) their exclusive on olive green.
So, for those keeping track at home, just because RFC sold out of the variants they were able to sell [which they did via multiple outlets (their web store, Bandcamp)], it meant they needed to re-press this “anniversary” edition of Colourmeinkindness. Despite the first pressing still being readily available from almost all the other retailers they fleeced into getting an exclusive variant. Say what you will about Newbury Comics (I’m a strong critic of their price structure) but they are now taking a loss on this release if they’re selling it for $35. It would be hilarious if all the unsold copies of the first pressing were returned to RFC. I doubt that would happen though because I’m sure RFC drew up the contracts so dead stock could not be returned. But what is a shitty move is the label re-pressing it on a new color just so they have something to sell, which undercuts the market for the first pressing and screws over independent businesses like Zia and Banquet. It’s nothing new from RFC though, and I’ll go further to point out that it’s not unusual for other labels to do the same. It’s just I’ve noticed it frequently with RFC.
If you’ve read this far you may say to yourself, “well you didn’t have to buy this” or “nobody forced you to buy this.” Well, you’re right. But that doesn’t take anything away from how lacking this supposedly special celebratory anniversary edition is.
Basement is a band I admittedly discovered late in their career. By discovered I mean became a fan of. I was aware of their existence, but as musical tastes tend to change and evolve over time, I recently started enjoying their music. In a way I’m glad I got into them at this point, because I don’t think I’d enjoy their entire catalog (to this point in their career) had I been a fan of theirs from the beginning.
Their debut album, I Wish I Could Stay Here, has undergone seven pressings since its release in 2011. It will take a long time to run through this record’s entire pressing info, so bear with me. Best way to do it to make a list rather than try to do it paragraph style.
1st press (2011): 25 on black (record release cover) 80 on black (tour edition cover) 200 on grey 300 on green 500 on black
2nd Press (2012): 200 on pink 300 on cream 500 on black
3rd Press (2013): 500 on red 500 on coke bottle green
4th press (2013): 2000 on blue w/ white “starburst”
5th Press (2014): 2100 on translucent gold 900 on red/white/blue “starburst” ($hit Topic exclusive)
6th Press (2015): 500 on blue/white/green “starburst” 3000 on red/white marble
7th Press (2019): 500 on silver/ clear pinwheel (Newbury Comics exclusive) 1000 on silver & clear “galaxy” swirl
For the record release cover, it was exclusive to the band’s show in their hometown of Ipswich, England. Why only 25, who knows? But they’re all hand numbered on the back of the jacket/cover. I’m still not sure if the alternate artwork is a slip cover/o-card, or if it’s an entirely new jacket with the alternate artwork printed on it. This artwork is in the style of an old school Hollywood movie poster. The center labels are basically blank white ones, with the exception of a few scribbling printed/written (not sure which) on them. As far as I can tell a copy of this variant has never sold on the secondary market. The tour edition from the same pressing (first), again I’m not sure if it’s a slip cover or an entirely new jacket with alternate the alternate artwork printed on it. The artwork for this variant differs from the record release variant and the standard variants. It’s a various flowers on a beige/off white background. Unlike the record release variant, one copy has sold on the secondary market; selling for a little over $63.
For those curious about what certain variants from certain pressing look like, everything from the first through third pressings look as you’d imagine them based on the description. The blue w/ white “starburst” from the fourth pressing is more of a whit base with blue “starburst,” which is a mix between splatter and marble. The red/white/blue “starburst” from the fifth pressing and the blue/white/green “starburst” from the sixth pressing are a complete mash up of those respective colors. In other words’ you’ll know which variant you have when you open it or see it should you be after either of those variants on the secondary market. The silver & clear “galaxy” swirl from the seventh pressing is actually aptly named. It’s a silver marble, but the marbling is due to the clear mixed in. Basically it’s not solid silver. It looks like a liquid silver.
What is featured in the gallery below is a copy on red/white marble from the sixth pressing. I was surprised to receive a copy from this pressing considering I ordered it in 2020 and there was a more recent pressing released. That is part of fun in buying from indie record stores; you don’t also know what you’ll find when you’re digging. But in the pandemic era, ordering online. I wasn’t after a specific variant. Mainly because of pricing on it. I wasn’t going to shell out more money for a copy from an earlier pressing. Quite honestly, the only reasons I decided to add Basement’s catalog to my ever growing collection is because A, I dig their music now, and B, because I could pick them up on the cheap through good sales. The latter of which I stumbled upon about one week into the pandemic, where I saw a store wide sale for 30%.
I touched on prices for this record. They vary widely depending on which variant or pressing you want. The earlier pressings obviously demand a bit more, along with some of the rarer variants. Retail price on this is around $20.
Stitches and Grooves 