Anberlin – Silverline

If you wanted more than just a couple sporadic shows and live streamed records from Anberlin, you were in luck as the band released their first new material eight years in 2022. I didn’t know what to expect with new Anberlin songs after such a long time, but I was pleasantly surprised. The five song EP, Silverline, didn’t see the light of day on vinyl till almost a year later however, as for whatever reason(s) this was a poorly executed release in terms of timing.

I say that because there were quite a few records that were announced long after Silverline was put up for pre-order (July 2022) and shipped before this EP did. Vinyl has been plagued with delays for a multitude of reasons, especially within the last handful of years, with many beyond the control of even the best prepared and financed labels as the pandemic wrecked havoc. But Anberlin/Equal Vision Records (who the band sneakily signed to for this EP) did say up front that the record would not ship for at least 10 months. When all was said and done the record did actually ship on time. I’m not pointing fingers with this, but I feel the reason for this long pre-order was one of two reasons; either the label took the lowest price they could get quoted from whatever pressing plant and be damned about how long it would take customers/fans to get the product that paid for, or they have a plant they know and trust that they always work with, and just chose to stick out the long waiting period.

For a band that is no stranger to cash grabs, this release is one step above barebones. If it wasn’t for the etching on the b-side, this would literally be a record stuffed into a jacket. That etching may have been the biggest hold up in terms of getting this record pressed in a timely manner. Personally, I’m torn about etchings and silk screens of otherwise blank sides of records. Typically they drive up the price of records, and I will always prioritize affordability over everything. Considering the etching on Silverline is just the lyrics, I could definitely leave this etching. If there is an etching or silk screen, I’d much rather it be something of substance like artwork, a logo, etc. Not tiny words printed around the entire side of a record.

Which brings me back to something I already touched on; affordability. This record, a 12” EP, cost $22 before shipping. I chose the cheapest shipping option, which tacked on an additional $7. And then there was sales tax (which varies by state). So in the end I paid just under $31 for this record. Way too much if you ask me. But seeing variant after variant sell out, I pretty much had no choice but to pre-order at this price point. But I at least held out long enough to take advantage of extra cash back on Paypal purchases that my credit card was offering.

Regarding the pressing info, the band/label chose to gradually release variants after some sold out. Initially there were only four variants announced when the record was first put up for pre-order. Over two weeks later four more variants were announced. So who knows what happened here. It’s the optimist point of view of the band/label recognized the demand and decided to press more variants so more fans could get a copy, or is it the pessimistic side where it was a calculated move trying to sell as many copies of the first batch of variants announced before announcing more. Considering I was able to easily buy a copy of a variant (granted a far less limited one) from the second batch announced practically three months after pre-orders first went up, my money is on the later.

Here is the pressing info. The first batch of variants announced were “eclipse” yellow in black limited to 100 copies, tri-color white/black/yellow limited to 100 copies, yellow w/ splatter limited to 100 copies and violet limited to 700 copies. The second batch had half clear/half black w/ splatter limited to 100 copies, half clear/half violet limited to 100 copies, *clear pink limited to 100 copies* and *clear limited to 700 copies*.  The splatter for both variants that contain splatter appears to be black, but the half/half variant may have yellow splatter based on the mock up. I have not seen photos of the actual half/half w/ splatter variant to confirm one way or the other.

There was at least one mix up regarding some of the variants, which resulted in the clear and clear pink variants being swapped with one another in terms of their rareness.  Only reason I know this is because I ordered a copy on clear, which was originally limited to 700 copies, and received an e-mail a few weeks before the record actually shipped saying the clear and clear pink variants were inexplicably swapped with one another. I didn’t press the issue because I didn’t care what variant/color I got. But it is ridiculous that after almost a year long pre-order, the band/label still had a glaring issue with their order at whatever pressing plant they went with.

So there is the actual, correct pressing info; clear is limited to 100 copies and clear pink is limited to 700 copies. Thankfully, nobody views the two separately announced batches of variants as separate pressings, which lends further credence to the pessimistic side discussed earlier. It was almost certainly a calculated move by the band/label to release the variants systematically. There wasn’t even a “due to popular or high demand” remark on social media regarding the additional variants up for sale.

All copies come with a yellow rectangle hype sticker affixed to the top right corner that indicates not only the variant, but what it’s limited to. There is not a download card/code included with physical copies, but you are supplied a digital download after ordering. But it’s for awful 192 kbps MP3s, which I guess is better than 128 kbps…

Manchester Orchestra – The Valley Of Vision

Manchester Orchestra released a new EP in 2023, which was tied to a film of the same name; The Valley Of Vision. It’s the band’s first EP in 14 years. Since the EP is tied to a film, and it’s not technically a score (something Andy Hull has actually done before), it’s somewhat of a concept EP, but still not technically either. The Valley Of Vision is not bad, but not great. It’s in the same vein as some of their past releases, combining elements of The Million Masks Of God and A Black Mile To The Surface. There is very little straight up, traditional instrumentation; it’s mostly digitized, which is something I’m personally not the biggest fan of.

The Valley Of Vision was released by Loma Vista, who the band have been signed to since 2017 (A Black Mile To The Surface to date). The EP was pressed as a single LP that comes in a single pocket jacket, with the record itself housed in a full color, printed dust sleeve on card stock. An insert is included, but it is not a full size insert. It’s inexplicable that the label and/or band would opt to go with a full color printed dust sleeve, but skimp on the insert by not making it full size. It’s only slightly off, and without measuring it Id’ say it’s 10”x10”. Also, there is not a download card/code with physical copies, though I’m not sure if you’re supplied one if you order from the band or label’s web store.

Loma Vista, as well as Manchester Orchestra, have done some extravagant variants/versions of their releases. Thankfully there is (as least for now) only one standard version of The Valley Of Vision, and only five variants. While pressing info has only been released for only two of the variants, that didn’t stop many of them from selling out. The Brooklyn Vegan/Alternative Press exclusive on sea blue is limited to 500 copies and the Barnes & Noble exclusive is limited to 500 coipes on baby pink . There is also an indie record store exclusive on iridescent blue (featured in the gallery below), a Euro exclusive on clear, and a band/label exclusive on “sangria” vinyl. Of course, some of these are being sold as “limited edition.” But at what point is that a legitimate claim? It’s obviously, and always has been, a marketing ploy/sales tactic, but on a serious note, where is a logical line drawn. It would make for an interesting long term case study, but there are so many variables to consider it’s not worth the time. It’s why things are just slapped with “limited edition” even if there are tens of thousands made.

There are some tidbits about some of the variants that are intriguing. I’ve mentioned this in lots of blog posts of late, but this EP may be somewhat of an exception. A more and more and more retailers dive into the deep end of the exclusive variant game, there can be hidden agendas the masses may not be aware of. Brooklyn Vegan is undoubtedly the heavily advertised retailer of having their “exclusive” variant, but in reality they are owned by a larger conglomerate that bought them out in 2021; Project M Group. As a result, in many cases, a so-called “Brooklyn Vegan” exclusive may actually be sold by multiple retailers/web stores/web sites/ stores/sources etc. Without beating a dead horse here, simply research Project M’s (Project M Group LLC) acquisition history to see just how many entities fall under their umbrella. It’s an astonishing amount, which now includes Alternative Press, which was quietly sold/bought out in December 2021 and may have changed hands a few times before landing in Project M Group’s clutches.

Sometimes releases may be labeled somewhere on physical copies (in this case the barcode sticker) as being “Brooklyn Vegan” but that is not entirely accurate/truthful. In this instance, The Valley Of Vision, was apparently only being sold by Brooklyn Vegan and Alternative Press in their respective web stores. Instead of spread across all or most of Project M’s subsidiaries.

Circling back around to more details on the variants, surprisingly the “sangria” variant looks awfully close to sangria. But in reality it’s a peach/orange base with red, orange, white marble. The sea blue, which will always be a subjective term based on what body of water you happen to be looking at on a certain day at a certain time, is translucent. It’s somewhere between a traditional/royal blue and teal blue. The clear is self explanatory and while mock ups of the B&N baby pink make it appear to be translucent for some reason, I have yet to see actual photos of the variant.

I have thousands of record in my collection. And to be honest, the iridescent blue variant of this EP is one of the coolest I’ve ever seen let alone own. Just look at the photos in the gallery below. When laid flat it looks to be a tinge of blue with marbling effects. When held up to the light it looks like clear with black smoke. It matches the artwork very well, which is something I consider when buying/pre-ordering anything.

Prices on this are odd given the current retail climate. Vinyl has continued to sky rocket, not just climb, in terms of sales and popularity. This 12” single LP cost a little over $22 regardless of variant. Which, while on the slightly high side, is still refreshing to see particular variants not cost $5 more than others literally just because. I was able to buy a copy of the indie store variant for under $18 shipped. Is that a price I’d over the moon with? No. But rather than have this sell out on me, because there is not a standard mass retail variant for whatever reason(s), I felt like biting the bullet on this EP as part of a much larger order that saw me cross out lots of other wants off my list.

USERx – s/t

I literally stumbled across this record after searching for some Manchester Orchestra live recordings/bootlegs. I saw this pop up in the search results and checked it out. When it comes to records like this, my rule of thumb is a vocalist from a band I’m a fan of and collect has to sing lead on at least a verse in order for me to add it to my buy list. And this EP met those requirements.

It’s billed as a Manchester Orchestra feature, but Andy Hull does sing lead vocals on one verse. I have no reason to suspect the rest of the band does play on the song, “Headsick,” but that is neither here nor there as I didn’t buy it just because Manchester Orchestra is the backing band. Andy Hull lends his vocals to a song, so it gets added to my collection. Yup; that is the extent of my completionist record nerd psyche. Call me a savant, but if you pull out any record from my collection I can tell you where I bought it and how much I paid for it. Maybe even a story about how it was in a stack of records I bought from my now closed local record store and how great of a day I had.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. USERx is a duo/collaboration comprised of singer/songwriter Matt Maeson and producer/designer Rozwell. Their debut self-titled EP, released in 2022 on Atlantic Records and featured here, features seven tracks with guest spots from various artists from a wide range of genres.

USERx was pressed as a 10” on orange vinyl, limited to an unknown amount. Pressing info has not been released, but this is a distributed title (as pretty much all major label releases are) so odds are there are thousands of copies floating around out there. All copies have the record housed in a single sided printed dust sleeve on card stock.

Retail price is around $18. But if you shop around you can likely find a good deal on it at some point. I paid $14 shipped for this record. Because this is a 10” record and a seven track EP to boot, production costs will be higher than you’d expect, so prices will reflect that and may take a while to be slashed to good deal levels. I just happened to discover this record when a distro was running a good sale, and basically threw it in my order to qualify for free shipping.

Tom Morello – The Atlas Underground Flood

Tom Morello continued his series of Atlas Underground release in 2021, releasing not one, but two albums. Just like the first album in the series, The Atlas Underground, The Atlas Underground Flood is not a traditional solo album. It’s the sister album to The Atlas Underground Fire. It has Morello joined by a laundry list of musicians and bands. Manchester Orchestra is featured on a song, which is why I bought this album, and thankfully Morello does not ruin it with his signature guitar sound. Andy Hull wrote and sings “The Lost Cause,” with himself along with a portion of other Manchester Orchestra members performing the instrumentation. So Morello’s touch only extends to a few guitar licks/solos here and there. As a result the song is essentially a brand new, never before released Manchester Orchestra song that happens to appear on an album that is essentially a compilation.

The Atlas Underground Flood was pressed on two variants; sky blue and sky blue grape. Pressing info has not been released for either variant. Both variants are opaque. The sky blue grape is an interesting variant to describe. Whoever submitted it to Discogs decided to call it a
“merge” variant, but I have never seen that term used for any record before. So I don’t agree with that description. The problem with the sky blue grape variant is that you don’t know what color is truly the base color. It could be a sky blue w/ grape swirl/marble/starburst or even a color in color. This variant could also be an a-side/b-side / c-side/d-side variant to some extent, because each side of the records look drastically different. The a-side and c-side of my copy has far more blue, whereas the b-side and d-side have so much grape that it’s pretty much only that color. In this instance, grape is more of a maroon color for whatever reason. It could be because the blue bled into the purple a bit more than intended.

To be perfectly honest, I was aware of this album’s existence, but did not pay close attention to pre-orders, variants, exclusives, etc. The sky blue variant is exclusive to Morello’s web store. There may also be some mix up or confusion as well, because apparently some people who bought a copy of the sky blue grape from Morello’s web store received a copy on sky blue. At this point it’s tough to track down any pertinent information about The Atlas Underground Flood. All copies, regardless of variant, come housed in a gatefold jacket

The main reason why I did not pay attention to this record was the price tag; $36. Yes, this is a double LP. But that price is ridiculous. The label (Mom + Pop Records) may have to pay all the artists that appear on the album, but let’s be honest here; the price would likely be the same if the label did not have to dole out so many pieces of the pie. After picking up the first The Atlas Underground record on clearance at Barnes & Noble (which goes to show how poorly these albums have sold), I intentionally held off buying The Atlas Underground Flood until I found a similar deal. It wasn’t 50% off, but I did snag this for 33.3% off during Target’s latest buy two get one free sale on media items.

Right Away, Great Captain! – The Church Of The Good Thief

It’s always a catch 22 when a collection of albums gets released together for the first time instead of separately. It’s one thing for a box set to feature the first time a particular album was pressed on vinyl, or even released at all. It’s a different beast when a trilogy gets released all together in one set, which is the case with Right Away, Great Captain!

All three albums were released separately over time as Andy Hull completed them. But the intention was always there for all three albums to essentially be one giant trilogy. The trilogy was the first vinyl release of any of the albums, and it was first pressed in 2012, with unique artwork. Fast forward 10 years and all the albums were released individually, with their original cover art.

When it was first discovered that the albums in the trilogy would be pressed separately it was before Andy made an official announcement. Someone stumbled upon it on Tower Records of all places. Fast forward a bit after that discovery and Andy made an official announcement, and put them up for sale in a dedicated web store for Right Away, Great Captain! merch. This led to some confusion amongst idiots, as the description of each record read “limited to 750 units on the RAGC webstore.” Many people took that to mean each album was limited to 750 copies, or that certain color was limited to 750 total copies. Reading that statement I don’t see how there could be any confusion, misinterpretation or be misleading. That description never changed; it always read the same and included the crucial “on the RAGC webstore.’ That portion was not added after the fact. Copies were also available on Manchester Orchestra’s Patreon, which apparently had the disclaimer that there would only be 750 copies available.

The Church Of The Good Thief was pressed on one color variant; green and red marble. Pressing info has not been released. All that we know is that there at least 750 copies. This was a distributed title, meaning it was available for purchase from many different retail outlets. Retail price on it was around $25 before shipping and taxes (should they apply).

Right Away, Great Captain! – The Eventually Home

It’s always a catch 22 when a collection of albums gets released together for the first time instead of separately. It’s one thing for a box set to feature the first time a particular album was pressed on vinyl, or even released at all. It’s a different beast when a trilogy gets released all together in one set, which is the case with Right Away, Great Captain!

All three albums were released separately over time as Andy Hull completed them. But the intention was always there for all three albums to essentially be one giant trilogy. The trilogy was the first vinyl release of any of the albums, and it was first pressed in 2012, with unique artwork. Fast forward 10 years and all the albums were released individually, with their original cover art.

When it was first discovered that the albums in the trilogy would be pressed separately it was before Andy made an official announcement. Someone stumbled upon it on Tower Records of all places. Fast forward a bit after that discovery and Andy made an official announcement, and put them up for sale in a dedicated web store for Right Away, Great Captain! merch. This led to some confusion amongst idiots, as the description of each record read “limited to 750 units on the RAGC webstore.” Many people took that to mean each album was limited to 750 copies, or that certain color was limited to 750 total copies. Reading that statement I don’t see how there could be any confusion, misinterpretation or be misleading. That description never changed; it always read the same and included the crucial “on the RAGC webstore.’ That portion was not added after the fact. Copies were also available on Manchester Orchestra’s Patreon, which apparently had the disclaimer that there would only be 750 copies available.

The Eventually Home was pressed on one color variant; aqua and white marble. Pressing info has not been released. All that we know is that there at least 750 copies. This was a distributed title, meaning it was available for purchase from many different retail outlets. Retail price on it was around $25 before shipping and taxes (should they apply).

Right Away, Great Captain! – The Bitter End

It’s always a catch 22 when a collection of albums gets released together for the first time instead of separately. It’s one thing for a box set to feature the first time a particular album was pressed on vinyl, or even released at all. It’s a different beast when a trilogy gets released all together in one set, which is the case with Right Away, Great Captain!

All three albums were released separately over time as Andy Hull completed them. But the intention was always there for all three albums to essentially be one giant trilogy. The trilogy was the first vinyl release of any of the albums, and it was first pressed in 2012, with unique artwork. Fast forward 10 years and all the albums were released individually, with their original cover art.

When it was first discovered that the albums in the trilogy would be pressed separately it was before Andy made an official announcement. Someone stumbled upon it on Tower Records of all places. Fast forward a bit after that discovery and Andy made an official announcement, and put them up for sale in a dedicated web store for Right Away, Great Captain! merch. This led to some confusion amongst idiots, as the description of each record read “limited to 750 units on the RAGC webstore.” Many people took that to mean each album was limited to 750 copies, or that certain color was limited to 750 total copies. Reading that statement I don’t see how there could be any confusion, misinterpretation or be misleading. That description never changed; it always read the same and included the crucial “on the RAGC webstore.’ That portion was not added after the fact. Copies were also available on Manchester Orchestra’s Patreon, which apparently had the disclaimer that there would only be 750 copies available.

The Bitter End was the only album in the trilogy pressed as a double LP (in the trilogy set and as a stand alone release), and likely because of that is also the only one to come in a gatefold jacket. It was only pressed on one color variant; with disc one (sides A/B) on bone and green marble, with disc 2 (sides C/D) on green. Pressing info has not been released. All that we know is that there at least 750 copies. This was a distributed title, meaning it was available for purchase from many different retail outlets. Retail price on it was around $35 before shipping and taxes (should they apply).