Kelela – Raven

Great performance, great recording (clear, not overly compressed or overproduced), great pressing (or at least my example is - silent, no surface noise, good bass, etc)

this pressing is phenomenal, the quality’s very high and makes the already production and vocal quality soar through my speakers. very quiet, no crackles heard.

A beautiful album, pressed on black vinyl, featuring a flat and quiet pair of discs. Highly recommended for fans of the genres.

For those of you who, just like me, had bad luck with their clear pressing : I finally replaced my first copy with this standard black version and I'm happy to say that it sounds way better ! My major issue with the clear pressing was a constant hissing sound all through disc 2, which was super disappointing given how many quieter sections the second half of the album has. My black pressing sounds perfect. The mastering and depth of sound are still phenomenal.

This is a VMP pressing that's permanently on the listening rack. It's an album I reach for over and over again. Just keeps getting better. Maybe it's the wonderful sound, or just a grower.

Absolutely incredible sound on this one, bass is insane and Kelela's vocals become more distant or prominent exactly when they need to be, it's clearly been mastered with vinyl in mind with the sheer dynamic range made use of here. Glad I waited for an unexpected restock from VMP, the orange suits the single artworks even if it juxtaposes the main album cover

Great modern r&b album but the pressing is shit. My disc 2 was dirty, and had surface noise throughout on both sides. The production is quality though.

This thing sounds incredible! Mastered PERFECTLY. They managed to get deep rumbling bass, without the vocals sounding muddy. I was worried there would be a ton of crackling because there are lots of quiet and spacious sections of songs on the album, but I was wrong. The quiet parts are QUIET. I can’t imagine how good this will sound after a wet clean. Also love the embossed album logo and the foil numbered stamp. VMP is always great with packaging.

Incredible album and easily one of the best releases of 2023. Pressing is flawless and sounds fantastic. Massive, deep soundstage, dead black backgrounds, great detail and smooth vocals. 10/10

Would anyone who owns this be able to confirm the quality of the pressing? I have another variant which has lots of surface noise and distortion.
I know Japanese pressings have the highest QC standards so I would like to know how it sounds.