VNYL is a monthly subscription for discovery and curation of your vinyl record collection. When you sign up for this service, you'll fill out a lengthy profile that includes your likes and dislikes. From there, you can also link your profiles on digital audio services like Spotify and Sound Cloud - this will help with curating your record selection each month.
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: $39 a month
The Products: Three BRAND NEW records chosen by a curator specifically for you, based on your profile, other digital audio service profiles, and selected vibe for that month
Ships to: U.S. (free), and UK, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Australia, France, Canada at an additional cost
Check out all our VNYL reviews and the Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
Once a month, you'll get an email that new "vibes' have been added to select from. Your records will be based on the vibe you choose.
This is my first time reviewing VNYL and the whole "vibes" idea was confusing for me - so let me try to give you some type of explanation of what to expect.
Each month, you'll have to select a vibe. There are two types of vibes, curated vibes and non-curated vibes. With a non-curated vibe, you'll see the 3 records you'll receive in your shipment, with the curated vibe, it's a total mystery - the VNYL crew will choose the 3 records based on the vibe in conjunction with your musical taste.
There are Spotify playlists attached to each vibe - so you can get a good idea of what bands "Flower Power" might correlate to - I love this aspect of it!
For my first month, I've gone with the curated vibe - #flowerpower!
You'll receive a handwritten note from the VNYL team member that picked your selections. They add a little bit of color to each band as well - since the 3 bands were relatively new to me, reading the descriptions did add a little excitement and explanation as to why the band was selected according to my musical preferences.
You'll get a VNYL and vibe sticker as well.
Sunflower Bean - Human Ceremony - Value $17 on Amazon
My first selection is from the Brooklyn band - Sunflower Bean.
I had heard the song 'Easier Said' from Sunflower Bean and hadn't even known it. I tend to throw on SiriusXMU every once in a while to see what's new.
While the vinyl itself wasn't a special exclusive color vinyl or anything - it did have the benefits of the typical modern vinyl - which is really just that it comes with a digital download card for the album. I'm a big fan of that aspect so you can have a copy for on-the-go.
It came as a surprise to me that this was my favorite album of the month. Teal's description from the handwritten note was pretty accurate - sepia-filter, poppy + grungy. I specifically enjoyed the more grungy moments of this album.
Bass Drum Of Death - GB City - Value $16 on Amazon
My second album is from the Mississippi duo, Bass Drum Of Death.
If you're looking for a bit of a lo-fi, garage rock - this is it.
This looks to be their debut album from 2011 - with 2 more releases to follow. The album is 30 minutes of non-stop, driving, stripped down rock - think Death From Above 1979 or Reigning Sound - but more lo-fi.
Again, this album also includes a digital download card.
Communions - Blue - Value $17 on Amazon
The last selection of the month is the Danish band, Communions.
Communions are a new band hailing from Copenhagen. You'll hear a couple of different stylistic influences here - 80's pop mixed with some 90's indie rock mixed with some Strokes-esqe guitar riffs. Can you hear it in your head now?
While this isn't my favorite album of the month - I did appreciate trying something new that I probably wouldn't put on. I will say that I did send me down a pretty joyous Spotify rabbit hole, though, so there's that!
Verdict: I got $50 of vinyl for $39 - I thought that was a good value for a service that I see as more of a discovery service. VNYL reminds me of comic book subscriptions - you may not like everything that is sent, but you're in it for the discovery, and that's the part I find the most fun - they even provide options each month that completely take the risk out of it and shows you the 3 albums you'll receive. Overall, I'm loving my first delivery of VNYL. At the risk of sounding old, I used to be really good at finding new artists to enjoy - nowadays, I'm relying on certain Sirius channels and friend recommendations - so it's nice to add one more discovery layer - and build out my vinyl collection while doing so!
What do you think of VNYL? What albums did you get this month?
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