The Vinyl Issue: Modern Classics

Features
By ( Classic Rock ) published

Proof that vinyl is alive and kicking for 21st century bands.

Vinyl isn’t the exclusive preserve of your favourite old bands - these ten current artists are flying the flag for it today.

**THEM CROOKED VULTURES **

Them Crooked Vultures (INTERSCOPE, 2009)

Where the old world (John Paul Jones) crashes into the new (Dave Grohl and Josh Homme). It’s a proper supergroup, with the looseness of old tied to a tight, modern production. Rumours of a sequel persist.

**THE BLACK KEYS **

Brothers (V2, 2010)

With a sound driven by artists whose original work was issued in the pre-digital era, The Black Keys are the perfect modern vinyl band. The minimalist artwork is a sly nod to 1969’s The Howlin’ Wolf Album.

RADIOHEAD

King Of Limbs (Ticker Tape, 2011)

Double ten-inch clear vinyl, a newspaper, several large illustrations and 625 pieces of miniature art, all made of recyclable material and presented in an oxo-biodegradable plastic film? It can only be Radiohead, pretending to be Jethro Tull.

**GOAT **

World Music (ROCKET RECORDINGS, 2012)

Since releasing first single Goatman as a limited-edition vinyl seven-inch, Korpilombolo’s finest have gone on to toy gleefully with consumers, releasing their genre-defying debut album World Music in at least 11 different shades of vinyl. All come with cryptic die-cut sleeves.

THE WHITE STRIPES

_Elephant _ (THIRD MAN, 2013)

The golden rule of modern record buying is: if it’s on Third Man, get it. Tip-on sleeves, heavyweight wax beautifully mastered from analogue sources… the company don’t so much release records as curate artefacts. Elephant is the White Stripes album.

BLUES PILLS

_Blues Pills _ (NUCLEAR BLAST, 2014)

The Blues Pills’ debut is tied to the vinyl giants of yesteryear not only by its vintage sound, but also its cover art. This is the work of Dutch artist Marijke Koger-Dunham, designer of Sgt. Pepper’s inner sleeve.

ROYAL BLOOD

Royal Blood (BLACK MAMMOTH, 2014)

2014’s breakthrough act introduced the old-fashioned art of the thumping, singalong riff to a whole new audience, and we should thank them for that. Ownership of one of the 800 white-vinyl editions is proud evidence of early adoption.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Wayfaring Strangers – The Darkscorch Canticles (NUMERO GROUP, 2014)

A compilation showcasing the forgotten American bands inspired to form by Sabbath and Zeppelin’s early US tours, Wayfaring Strangers is part history lesson, part love letter to a lost era. Hand-drawn band logos and fantasy game paraphernalia complete the package.

KILL IT KID

Kill It Kid (SIRE, 2014)

A young, exciting British band taking their lead from American blues, championed by Sire Records’ Seymour Stein. This is a story that could have taken place at any time in the last four decades, and the sound lives and breathes on vinyl.

BLACKBERRY SMOKE

Holding All The Roses (EARACHE, 2015)

Pressed in a wide range of spectacular modern hues, the vinyl release of the brilliant Holding All The Roses is colour-coded according to national flag: Swedish copies are blue and yellow, while the Norwegians get red and white.

Classic Rock
Classic Rock

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