Downward Years to Come

One of those classic moments where you're so late to a band it's almost embarrassing. It wasn't until the release of Guilty of Everything earlier this year that I even had a clue about this band. I took a chance and bought the newest effort on CD (Vinyl now on it's way courtesy of Alan at Different Kitchen, cheers fella!) and fell in love, hard. That album is solid, serious album of the year type stuff. So I set out to grab whatever I could really; and now i'm seeking the Poshlost CD/Cassette (I believe that's the demo/ first release, if anyone is up for selling a copy please let me know as i'd be happy with either/both). Anyway, Downward Years to Come : 

By the time I came to looking for this, the A389 store had long sold out, which is about right. All three colours were done, dusted and at the time there was no word of a possible second press. In my relentless moaning to Alan about it; he pointed out that good dude Rich at Ignite Records Store/ Speedowax Records got a fair bit of A389 stuff in and it may be worth dropping him a message. A few words and a Paypal payment later, it was all sorted. One of the best record buying experiences ever. 

So a few days later, this found it's way through the letterbox (well, not through the letterbox, that would have really pissed me off) and the first thing that got me was the art. Kind of weird and dark, even the title of this thing is a little sad and unsettling. 

Flipping it over and looking at the back cover and you start to see a bit of a theme here. Everything is in Black, White and Grey. That actually goes for all the releases, up until the most recent presses of new LP, Guilty of Everything with a new Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness variant - http://www.insound.com/Guilty-of-Everything-Pink-Vinyl-Vinyl-LP-Nothing/P/INS134075/) and red 3rd press with matching artwork (http://www.relapse.com/guilty-of-everything-lp-red.html). Up until this point, all vinyl releases have Black/ White/ Grey artwork and Black/ Grey/ Clear vinyl variants (as far as i'm aware). 

I ended up with a clear copy, and more than that I have no clue what the pressing information here is; not a trace of it on Discogs/ Deadformat/ the A389 store. However, from what copies I have seen there are small amounts of black in the clear copies. Some people have an issue with it, and I get that, but for me it's not a problem either way.  

Another thing to note, the speed indicates 45rpm, but this is incorrect and plays at 33rpm. More important though is the Nothing logo. This has been around since the first Nothing release, and it's a really cool piece of imagery, I dig it. 

The insert kind of carries on with this start black and white bleak, unsettling imagery. Really simplistic in nature, but really sets it up for something important. I guess that lyrical themes and presentation are a real thing for this band, as everything seems quite meticulously put together. 

The 2nd side of the insert carries on, with lyrics and other liner notes. And another sneaky logo in the bottom right corner. 

Musically, I really like this release a lot. All the reverb you'll ever need, really essential weekend afternoon listening. The 5 tracks clock in at around 25 minutes, and can be streamed from the A389 bandcamp here: http://a389recordings.bandcamp.com/album/a389-112-nothing-downward-years-to-come-12. 

Also, recent-ish rumour has it that there is a 2nd press of this on it's way, with the possibility of some extra tracks or something fancy. I know i'll end up buying it again. 

So to summarise, great band, great presentation. Guilty of Everything is worth all the time in the world, and if you're selling some Nothing stuff, get at me. I want that Poshlost tape real bad, and the Guilty of Everything tape. Tell your folks. 

Thanks for reading. I'm away for a few days on holiday as of tomorrow, but if I grab a spare half hour i'll try and squeeze something in.

Kane