Ben

Jesus, that merch is sloppy. Still no update on any of the items I pre-ordered in early March that should've shipped on 3/31, lol. Starting to feel like I just need to do a chargeback. So beyond unprofessional that we're going in to mid-May and all I've had is a couple auto-responses of the shop staff bitching about the high volume of orders and a crappy coupon for 15% of another order I'd never receive.

Well, Portals has been out for 3 weeks and still no update on the vinyl or signed CD I pre-ordered in early March from her official store. Got yet another bland support response that answered nothing, but gave me a 15% off coupon for a future order… as if I’d place another. Wild.

Please share if you do. Portals as a whole has some odd mixing moments, but it's so painfully apparent on the Evil verses. I've tried to get over it, but when her previous work has felt so immersive, it's a hard pill to swallow to end up with this muffled jumble. I adore the album as a whole, but I hate that half the songs sound like she has a retainer in her mouth. I'm at the point where I'd legit pay someone to perform a decent remaster of the album. Probably wildly illegal, but...

The total lack of shipping info on pre-orders from her official store is unprofessional. I opened a support ticket earlier today to request info, and it says someone will be contacting me as soon as possible. No auto-response yet. The website clearly states: When will my Pre-Order Arrive? US Orders: If you place your order no later than 10 days before the scheduled release, you will receive your shipment on or around the release date. I swear, if my swirl vinyl shows up as a gray blob... There's no point of offering pre-orders (beyond grabbing cash from fans) if you can't fulfill orders by, or at least on the release date... They should've had shipments packed and ready to go in advance of 3/31 for those who ordered with plenty of time to spare. Also love that her website spelled her name "Melanie Martine". Confidence-inspiring.

Massive improvement - thank you! I need someone to do this with the whole album, ha.

Interesting! I've never noticed these issues with her previous work... Pity Party, Cake, etc. all sound crisp and tight as opposed to the muddiness I'm getting from Portals. Some of the songs leave me feeling like my ears are plugged, which is such a strange experience for a new album. Guess I'll just have to get over it.

Posting on LanaBoards for the first time in 10 years to join this discussion... Damn. I'm loving Portals, but I'm really struggling with the mixing. Am I crazy, or are Melanie's vocals absolutely buried in many areas? The instrumentation sounds flat in random spots and her vocals feel as if they're in a different room at times. It's like things have been fed through a treble reduction EQ, the soundstage is spotty, and some songs still feel like they're in an unmixed demo state. I believe this is most apparent on Evil, although the chorus brings some life into things. It's strange, because the songs aren't consistently flat across the album. I wouldn't consider myself a full-on audiophile, but perhaps I'm more particular about this. I don't recall a recent release that I've encountered this to such a strong degree. It's a shame, as I feel like with the proper mixing, the album would truly be brought to life. I've seen a couple comments noting similar observations. Is this a widespread feeling?

"COME TO BRAZIL LANA!!!!!111 BRAZIL!11!!!!!!! BRAZIL LOVES YOU LANA!! BEAUTY!1!!!!!!!!!! LANA ARE YOU COMING TO BRAZIL????????????? #asklana"

As far as the images in the box set go, don't get riled up just yet about them re-using things. That is just a digital mockup, and a lot of times, they photoshop random, already released images onto the vinyls and whatnot so as not to give away the surprise. Can't guarantee they'll be using new images here, but I've got a pretty good feeling they will. But Blue Velvet also does seem that it was done for H&M and then included on the album, so it wouldn't be completely unfitting to use that image for the vinyl. We'll just have to wait until someone gets the physical set to see what images they've included. I'd say that chances are high that there are at least a couple new photos. Gaga did the same thing when she released the vinyl box set for Born This Way. It was just a digital mockup with old images when you pre-ordered it, but when it came, they had multiple brand new images printed onto the vinyls. ^ That one on the lower right is from a random magazine photoshoot, not an album shoot. So don't worry, there's still hope.

You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.

I'm really excited for this release. She always delivers, and the previews sound really incredible. I love that they made a box set, too. Pre-ordered that one.