5 out of 5

Label: Arctic Rodeo

Produced by: The Dubious Brothers

Skeleton Key’s crunchy, garbage can clatter seems made for vinyl, but their first two albums seemingly released during an era where that wasn’t always an expectation. Obtainium maybe made more sense in that format, released on Ipecac and bearing more of a digital edge than its predecessor, but this rerelease by Arctic Rodeo underlines my first statement: this is a better way to hear the material. After years of giving the CD many spins (SK is one of my favorite bands), the wax helps to bring out some of the layers that get lost in the album’s more hard rock production style, and the format simply makes the whole thing sound more weighty in general. The rating reflects that, but also the extra track – not sure where it came from, or why it was left off the disc, except it’s a pretty standard rock tune and so maybe lacked some quirk – plus an insert of some more ear diagram stuff that I don’t believe was in the original.

I’d still love a Spikes vinyl, but I’ll admit I bought this one more from a collector POV than having a desperate desire to hear it represented, and was completely surprised by how it invigorated the listen, despite not having any remaster or remix, as far as I’m aware.