Chaos in Bloom LP

Pressing quality is genuinely great — dead quiet vinyl, no surface noise, and the vocals on "I Want a New Fix" come through crisp. Rzeznik producing the whole thing himself was a smart call; you can hear how much tighter the arrangements are compared to the earlier records.

Rzeznik stepping into the producer's chair for the first time really pays off — the guitars sound punchy and the vocals sit right up front. Spun it twice through already and the track order keeps things moving. Solid pressing too, no surface noise.

The production on this record really surprised me — you can tell Rzeznik was behind the boards, everything sounds sharper and more layered than their older stuff. "Chaos in Bloom" has become my default spin on the turntable these past few weeks.