Friday, September 25, 2009

Sunny Day Real Estate: the reissues.


MP3: Sunny Day Real Estate - Pheurton Skeurto
MP3: Sunny Day Real Estate - J'Nuh

Check this: Sunny Day Real Estate, aka one of the best bands of the 90's and suddenly underrated to boot, reissued their seminal "Diary" and under looked "LP2" last week with bonus tracks to boot! It didn't really sound like "Diary" or "LP2" needed remastering, but now that I've heard it I am pleased with the result.

Sub Pop was kind enough to release these on vinyl as well as cd, the first time in years they've been in print on the format (and in Diary's case, the first time the complete album made it to wax). Diary is on beautiful red vinyl and of course, LP2 is sweet pink, complimenting the overall artwork of the record like never before.

Also, you get an oral history on each album from the band and their peers and each comes with 2 bonus tracks, from out of print singles and the like. Those songs are great too, and find no troubles fitting with what came before it.

Today's mp3s, which I leave you to enjoy over the weekend and hopefully you'll buy these suckers if you haven't already, are my personal standouts on each. "Pheurton Skeurto" may not be the best song on Diary, but it always stood out to me. Being a teenager in middle class Connecticut during the late 90's and early 00's, there wasn't much "weird" sounding music going around and this was maybe my first exposure to it. It offended me and always stood out and over the years I've come to love it, it stops me in my tracks anytime it makes an appearance and demands listening. Yes, check out "Seven", "In Circles", "Song About An Angel" or "Sometimes" if you haven't heard Diary before because that is really what you're getting into, but don't forget to dig on this too.

"J'Nuh" though is a perfect representation of LP2 and what's great about it. In the liners, the band seems to enjoy listening to this album more and I can see why, while Diary had the power, LP2 had the substance and growth. Jam this, "J'Nuh" fucking rules.

Thanks Sub Pop. Maybe soon we can see a "How It Feels To Be Something On" vinyl reissue? Fingers crossed.

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