Cardiacs: Classic or Dud?

That's not clipping, it's the sound of your brain shorting out

get stevey wilson on the case, make it all smooth and biteless ;)

which remasters are you referring to here? all the ones I've gotten sound great

I hadn't noticed clipping on StG or Guns - kind of afraid to relisten now. what I'm referring to on HB&EB is the noisier bits where the bass becomes inaudible and the quick double-bass drumming sounds like someone flicking you in the ear

Someone involved with the vinyl issues of STG and Guns said that's pretty much how the mixdown sounds, there's little if any additional compression on the masters. They were recorded on analogue 2" apparently, so it won't be digital clipping unless something went wrong somewhere.

― Noel Emits, Saturday, October 17, 2015 11:14 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

IOW, the source tapes are already compressed and a better sounding version of those two is impossible? Is there a link for that?

I reckoned the hypercompression was deliberate but done at the mastering stage (like the 1995 reissues which were all louder than the originals, though not excessively so). At least this means there's hope for this Seaside edition to sound like the original CD.

Seaside reissue available, there's a vinyl special edition with lot's of ephemera but no extra music (unless you count the 4 missing tracks from the orig CD)

http://abc-mary.myshopify.com/products/the-seaside-original-edition-double-lp-pre-order

XP - STG & Guns may have been recorded on analog 2" but there's plenty of potential for digital clipping if they were mastered onto DAT instead of analog tape, plus all sorts of horrible mastering devices were used in the mid/late nineties to get the max impact out of every squeak of level on a recording, at one point it seemed like everybody (ab)used this piece of shit box:

http://www.tcelectronic.com/finalizer-96k/

there's plenty of potential for digital clipping if they were mastered onto DAT

Yeah, for sure. Maybe the convertors were driven hard on a DAT, but I don't hear actual digital clipping, not over the mix anyway. Tbh my first impression of Sing To God was that it had to have been put together on ProTools or something. There are some excessive frequencies but I wonder if one of those super nice mastering EQs couldn't go some way to taming that; not to mess with how it was intended but just so it could be played louder! Maybe if it was even better it just wouldn't be fair to other music.

Seaside reissue available,

Good lord, look at that box-set. I'll be fine with CD but it's 'citing.

What's this about there being different versions of some songs on the '95 Seaside? I had the 1990 CD.

got mine

now I need a vinyl player

'vinyl player'

o hey you into Cardiacs now then

$60 shipped to the U.S. (2LP), don't suppose they'll have a distributor for this to bring the price down a bit? Beyond my budget (as is most of their catalog).

Wayside Music seem to carry all the other stuff so I expect they will have these.

http://www.waysidemusic.com/

Hmmm...but the vinyl is expensive...$45 for Guns, $90 for Sing To God.

Class

https://youtu.be/nDYviME6Qi0

omg

Holy shit, it looks like the second Sea Nymphs album is actually on the way now, after years of vague promises and mutterings of "It'll be out next year...maybe..."

I mean I won't really believe it until I see an official announcement, but the omens are pretty good. Namely that one of the ABC's associates has just dropped a couple of cryptic images of underwater fauna Facebook, and there's also the fact that Wayside Music have it listed as forthcoming in one of their mailouts.

http://www.cardiacs.net/news/

aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Today is a good day.

Does anybody know what it actually is yet?

These kinds of rollouts always make me crabby.

Sea Nymphs 2: The Nymphening

might even have Dream Dress on it :o

officially: The Sea Nymphs - On Dry Land

obviously I'm anticipating this, but do we know why it's gone unreleased for so long? often albums like this tend to be underwhelming.

maybe it's been unreleased coz the guy sitting on it had a massive stroke 8 years ago. he's been known to sit on gold before. extra special oceanlandworld was released long after its recording. this is just a bit longer. coz, you know.

anyway, when (if) LSD drops, we'll all throw a year-long internet party, agreed

I think it was just that by the time there was interest in a second Sea Nymphs album(98-99, around the time of the Peel Session), Tim was all "not arsed, mate" because he didn't want to go back to material from five/six years ago, even though there were enough songs in the can for another couple of records.

All the unreleased stuff that's done the rounds in the last decade or so has been shockingly good, so I have absolutely no worries about the quality of this new album.

and who knows, maybe william's put trap beats on it

yeah. it'll probably be great. just trying to temper my expectations a bit.

Listening to new Sea Nymphs now, and guys, this is really beautiful. Sounds *exactly* like a proper follow up to the s/t, and if anything, is more gentle, angelic sounding.

I didn't order long enough in advance, so the wait will go on ;_;

Mine didn't get here today either so I'm listening to the 2nd Stars in Battledress album, which I neglected when it came out for some reason. Scratches a similar itch anyway.

The Women From The Ministry is their masterpiece imho.

Photos of a Sea Nymphs gig on FB yesterday, no Tim, looked like Craig Fortnam sitting in. Mental.

This just gone up on YT too..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbSG1YGTBcA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T84I8uzFojM

wow awesome

So Spratley's Japs are playing a live gig this month?

and we're going :)

Oh the album's very dear

Cut Yourself Kidding is the greatest thing ever

So how about them Japs, eh?

They did a great job, kind of weird that those songs are things that can actually be played by five people, somehow.

That's at least two near miracles in the pondiverse coming to fruition in the same month.

Uh yeah it was totally incredible

Oh -> extended Flap Off You Beak -> singalong Don't You Ail was pretty much the zenith of all live music ever. And they pulled off Vine! And how!

Attempting the call and response in Fanny was fun too

Also, tt and I came to Tim at the end and thanked him. It was legit heartbreaking/heartwarming/everything. Gave his carer a massive hug as well, which I think scared him a bit

Attempting to sing along to "Don't You Ail" I discovered it's definitely not my register :)

Actually is the lead vocal Tim's voice sped up Camille style on the original?

http://dfan.org/blog/2010/11/06/cardiacs-odd-even/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDOhvIdinbc

Been a little afraid to start with this band, but with so many comparisons to XTC, I figured I had to eventually. Sing to God is a LOT to take in. I liked a couple of the songs the first go round ("Dog-Like Sparky" and "Flap Off You Beak") and others sounded pretty random or not that enjoyable. To be fair, random and unenjoyable is how XTC sounded to me at age 16 or whatever, and they eventually clicked, but this is a bridge further. I listened again and I'm starting to understand more of it, but I don't know how much it will translate into liking it. Still, I admire the hell out of this album - it doesn't sound like much else I've heard. I'll give it another listen, but maybe in smaller chunks next time. Or I may check out another Cardiacs album since STG is apparently the super amped up one, right?

StG might be a bit full-on to a newcomer, yes.

I think Heaven Born and Ever Bright, while not being one of their best, is a lot more approachable and relatively straightforward, also On Land and in the Sea is my favourite out of their "classic" lineup and is definitely worth a try.

You'll probably get everyone recommending different places to start.

I'd suggest trying The Seaside. It's surely impossible to not enjoy songs like A Wooden Fish On Wheels, Gena Lolla Brigida (sic) or To Go Off And Things, along with the rest. Also at that point the songs still often had recognisable punk, ska and new wave elements which might help with a way in. The slightly rough recording quality is also very pleasing, especially in its recently restored "Original Edition". Classic all the way through. Then take it from there. It's where I started and it's a wonderful journey.

you'll want to hear the crappy cassette rip version of the seaside just for 'dinner time' tbf

I started with Sing To God and that should do fine.