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).
Before we jump into the albums, I wanted to share a customer care experience I had with them. This is the May shipment, and I'm posting at the end of June because, well, the first package arrived looking like the entire thing had soaked in water for hours.
Naturally, I contacted customer care right away - they were super responsive and asked for photos of each album. Within a few days, it had been resolved and my new package was being prepared to be shipped out!
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!
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 a specific hashtag might correlate to - I love this aspect of it!
The other thing to mention about vinyl albums these days - you typically get a digital download card with each album - so you're getting the best of both worlds, and I love that about modern vinyl.
This month, I've gone with the curated vibe - #festivalfever!
The Shins Live at Third Man Records - Value $15
Upon opening the box - this was my highlight because I like The Shins and it's awesome that it's a "live to acetate" Third Man Records recording - double win!
This is actually the first-ever 'direct-to-acetate' recording from Third Man Records - something that has now become a staple of their live LPs.
It's no surprise, really, that this sounds perfect and is also a fantastic performance from The Shins! It's only 8 songs, but they put together a nice setlist with songs from Chutes Too Narrow up to Post Of Morrow - their latest album at the time. I can neve get enough of 'So Says I' - so I was excited to see it as the chosen song from Chutes Too Narrow!
Sharkmuffin Tsuki - Value $17.99
Sharkmuffin is a band I'd never heard of before - but I had high hopes because that name is just great.
When Space Glow hits it feels like a poppier reincarnation of Sonic Youth with less dissonant chords and such. Sharkmuffin is a Brooklyn-based duo - definitely a nice gritty and direct rock that duos are known to produce - love it!
Not to mention that transparent vinyl with gray spatters - definitely a beautiful piece of art in its own right.
Bronze Float Meridian - Value $12
The last album is from Bronze Float - another Brooklyn-based outfit, but I believe they originally hailed from Indiana.
Meridian is a slow and soft journey. The folksy music pairs in a little bit of a unique way with the singer's voice - his voice reminds me a bit of Nico/Nick Drake - fantastic company! Overall - another win and a new discovery for me this month!
Verdict: The #festivalfever selection was really strong for me - they did a great job of bringing me something new and something known, all curated to my musical tastes. So far, I'm having a blast with this subscription - my records add up to $45, which is good for the $39 cost (you never really get incredible value for a vinyl subscription) - but it's not all about getting more than what you paid for these subscriptions - it's more about discovery for me.
What did you think of the May 2017 VNYL delivery? What vibes have you selected?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.