VYNL is a new-ish and pretty interesting subscription service for record collectors. When you are invited to sign up for this service, you fill out a lengthy profile that includes not only your likes and dislikes but also links to all of your profiles on digital audio services such as Spotify and Sound Cloud. They then ask you to choose a "#VIBE," which is an activity that you would like them to select the music for, such as studying or pool party. They then select 3 new albums and send to you based on all these criteria. My mind was kind of blown by this concept, and I decided to give it a try!
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: VNYL
The Cost: $36 per month
The Products: Three BRAND NEW records chosen by a curator specifically for you, based on your profile, other digital audio services profiles, and selected "#VIBE" for that month
Ships to: US (free), and UK, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Australia, France, Canada at an additional cost
I chose #FESTIVUS as my "#VIBE" for this month. My curator for this month was Sam (a new one!). He writes:
"Hey Anna, If I had to pick my own genre name for this Grooms record, it'd be ADD rock. It's noisy when it wants to be noisy, it's catchy when it wants to be catchy; it doesn't care if you're expecting a verse / chorus / bridge, it just pushes on at its own pace. I kept your note re: wanting heavy psychedelic rock in mind this time around, and I think you're really gonna like this one. Let us know what ya think, and enjoy! -Sam"
VNYL also sent a flyer with the new releases in their member store this month. I think I might have to grab the Spoon re-release this month.
This month VNYL also sent this poster of the new BORNS album as a bonus. #BORNS was one of the #VIBEs that members could choose this month, which would entitle them to this release in their monthly package. I'm not so into BORNS, but wow, he has gorgeous hair!
Notalgia by Oberhofer ($13.46 on Amazon)
This is a really fun 10" EP. Their music includes one of those painfully out of tune baby pianos from olden times, which gets the 'notalgia' going right off the bat!
Plus, I love the packaging for this record, and I love that the record is clear! I don't have too many clear records yet.
Rejoicer by Grooms ($12.99 from the label)
Sam really nailed this album with his description. I think more than heavy psych, though, it falls squarely into indie rock. But it has its moments. I can also see this album being spun successfully at a Festivus celebration!
The record is regular black vinyl, but the album cover reverse is pretty cool.
New Comes and Goes by Oranger ($11.49 on Discogs)
I had never heard of Oranger, but it's pretty straightforward indie rock, which I like a lot. I hear a bit of Frank Black in it, mixed with maybe Weezer? It also has a serious west coast feel to it.
Hooray for Limited Edition pink vinyl!
The Verdict: I love VNYL! It's one of my favorite mail days of the month! This month I liked all three albums, although none were instant favorites. They were all also great Festivus jams! What I liked more than even the selections themselves, however, is that two of them are not available on Amazon. Collectors love the rarities! The total value adds up to $37, which clears the cost of the package, so I'm happy. I'm finding with record subscriptions that most packages are at or just below retail value, so I really appreciate that VNYL is still managing to send out good value.
What do you think of VYNL?
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