Unlike snappy, consumer friendly titles like "Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements'? "Gane Over", the curse of the NME! Serious answer: Back then "Cobra" seemed like the first Lab album not to break any new ground. The evolution from "Peng!" to "Dots & Loops" was just so amazing. Especially when witnessed in real time. And then... after all these colorful albums suddenly this brown sleeve. Housing nothing new. And lots of it too. And somewhat arrogant - at least that's what it seemed like at the time - interviews, talking about creative risks and consumer criticism. It put me off buying new Stereolab records for good. That this absolutely perfect Stereolab album is now the one experiencing problems with things that cause surface noise - something that had been advertised as "inbuild on purpose" on "TRNBWA" - seems somewhat ironic. It never stops.
I'll need to go back and have a listen to LP 1 of Cobra....given that it was never a favourite, it may have drifted past my ears a little too easily.
You could even make it into an album: "Bleep & Cobra Crisis: The goop plays crackle on the milky vinyl"
I do find “Cobra” a far more indulgent title than “Transient”. The former suggests meandering while the latter sounds like a plan of attack. I was also lucky at the time to not read the NME article. The few reviews I read were largely positive, if not overwhelmingly glowing. Not as if I really cared anyway; it was the new Stereolab album, I bought it and loved it. It felt like the next proper step to me after D&L. To me it’s the farthest they went out; I thought they started falling back to earth after this album. It is too bad that a lot of people have had issues with the new pressing. Hopefully it gets sorted out.
I have the same pressing faults on side B of Cobra that are being reported. Pops between tracks 2 & 3, and what sounds like non-fill on track 4. At the end of the side there is a lot of wooshing. No other issues noticed, and I'm not too bothered because there's always a bit of character to vinyl. Mine is a clear obi version #1686. How relevant the number is to the record batch I don't know - only the PVC sleeves are numbered (aside from the obis) and those batch numbers might be totally unrelated to the pressing order of the vinyl. I was a lucky boy with Emperor Tomato Ketchup - I got a winning scratchcard! That's my first and I bought all the reissues so far.
I was lucky enough to find a clear 'Cobra' available at a local dealer yesterday. Having read the comments here I've played side 2 first and found the same issues. Like gomen ne it's not a huge issue for me. The joy of finding a copy when I thought I'd missed out is bigger than the disappointment with the sound defect, and hopefully the rest will play well.
No. Non-fill is more a copy by copy affair. One batch can have it, another can be fine. It's annoying as hell because before joining here I had no idea that these rough noises actually had a name. So I've kept many albums from the 00's believing that they were simply not perfect pressings. Guess what? They all have the "pearl necklace" tell tale signs.
it's truly the only thing that makes me not want to purchase new vinyl, although anecdotally QC has seemed to get better in the last couple years. i'm quite saddened by this one being defective as the release do feel like great care was put into them.
I would have to think non-fill would be hard to see on a clear record. I checked my side two of Cobra quite a bit and couldn’t see anything, but I think I also got lucky and have a nice copy.
Maybe this is a good argument for black vinyl. I can't see it on the clear either, however, if you can't inspect before buying it makes no difference.
I have the black vinyl version, have listened to 5 out of 6 sides and haven't detected any issues at all yet.
Thanks, it's nice to know there are good copies out there so getting replacments may be worthwhile. My ETK is really good, thankfully. Hopefully Dots and Loops will be the same.
Since your average non-fill traces are sparkly they're probably super tough to spot on clear vinyl. On black vinyl on the other hand they are leaving a nice, shiny trace The biggest bummer is finding an album you wanted for a long time, price is right, pull it out and.... those marks. I even bought an album like that this April. Hard to find. 10€. Still non-fill doesn't sound good.
My copy of Dots and Loops ( clear version) has a tiny bit of what sounds like non fill on side B track 1. . As soon as it starts it's over. Other then that It sounds damn good. Very happy with it.
I've only had a chance to play Dots and Loops so far from the new batch. My (black vinyl) copy was flawless, and I loved the extra bass presence. As others have said, while the mastering has a similar sound to that of Transient and Mars (with an emphasis on both bass and an extremely vivid upper midrange), there is no trace of the sibilance that so many folks reported on certain tracks of those LPs. It was a really enjoyable listen from beginning to end.
Is it operator error? (It seems that is the prevalent problem these days whether its rough handling, soft vinyl warping etc, the manufacturer should bear the cost instead of the retailer or wholesaler, and that would force them to look at the performance of their operators, a whole batch of ruined pressings causes no end of mischief further down the chain, return shipping costs, refunds and reluctance from consumers to get "stung" again).
I found this definition: "Non-fill" refers to a pressing defect that occurs when the molten vinyl does not flow fully to produce a well-formed groove. It occurs most often on a 180g record's outer edge and is caused by the vinyl's beginning to harden prematurely. The sound produced is noise.
Which kind suggests that the defects on track 4 side b of Cobra might not be n-f, since it's two thirds in from the edge. Maybe someone with an affected black vinyl copy can have a look. It is rather coincidental that side B also has the wooshing audible at the end and the pops between track 2 and 3. Perhaps someone sneezed, or a moth got splattered onto the stamper!
The quoted definition notwithstanding, I don't think non-fill is exclusively restricted to the outer edge. Our host once wrote that it was most common on passages with big dynamic swings, though I've never tested the hypothesis. But the most defining thing about it, beyond the "string-of-pearls" look it usually has, is the sound--it's an unmistakable (and loud) zipping/tearing sound that pretty much no other physical flaw (scratches, scuffs, embedded particle, etc.) sounds like. If that is what you hear, you have non-fill!
I listened to the A side of Cobra and Phases earlier tonight, and though my surfaces were flawless, the sonics didn't seem quite as impressive as those of Dots and Loops. I felt like the midrange was a bit more recessed, especially in the vocals, giving them a less full-bodied, more ethereal sound. The drums/percussion also felt less fully present to me. I'm not sure if it has more to do with mastering or with the original recording choices. The sound wasn't bad by any means--those trippy sound effects on "Italian Shoes" were amazingly holographic-- but not quite as immediately enjoyable as that of its predecessor.
All I can say is thank god they moved on from their earlier sound because the Peng and Switched On type stuff is shoeshine.