HUM - Downward Is Heavenward (1997) Rare LP edition

	£		30
	$		40

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HUM - Downward Is Heavenward  (Martian USA 1997)
 
Rare Vinyl edition + poster + insert

Reviews of Downward is Heavenward are filled with reference points, trying to map their music, to construct a blueprint that would give the faint hope of replication, because Hum themselves disbanded shortly after this album failed to reach the audience it so richly deserved.

So what was it that kept success away from Hum? Riding into this unmitigated masterpiece right after a hit single with "Stars" should have guaranteed them an audience, but there is a certain alienness about Downward is Heavenward. What held me at arm's length upon its release was the production - it employs the wall of sound in a fogbank style that characterized the best shoegazing - enormous towers of guitar stacked up and blurred, reminiscent of Loveless but possessed of much greater clarity. Brigades of instruments blanket one another, surprising the listener as they slip out from underneath and reveal themselves. All of it is centralized behind Matt Talbott's clear, direct vocals. In structure, there is the ghost of grunge if notably not the spirit - that downhearted angst that characterized the genre is entirely absent.

Hum very much cuts their own path. Intricate, spacey patterns are layered with monolithic guitar sound as Talbott's lyrics express a certain expansive glory of experience, a scientific revelry of place and time. My favourite lyrics come in "Ms. Lazarus" with the reflection 'the way your headstone shines I only wish that it was mine,' with the song reimagining the human mind as 'a time machine that will not power down' in the infinite looping and cycling imagery of memory.

Quite something. 'I'm thinking of a number between everything and two...

RECORD M-
SLEEVE EX
(bc)

GRADINGS:
Records are graded first,then covers
S/S = still sealed
M = mint , new or unplayed condition…cover is nice and new looking with no ring wear.
M- = near perfect copy, played only a few times.
EX = only slight signs of wear; very clean, only light surface marks which will not distract
        significantly from the sound…sleeve also has only slight wear, and is still in nice
        collectible.
VG++ = played often with moderate surface wear and some moderate noise, still plays well…
        sleeve may have medium overall wear or some ring wear.
VG+ = overall wear, but no skips of serious defects, more noisy sound during quiet passages…
        sleeve is well worn, usually with considerable ring wear.
VG = plays a lot, heavy wear on record and cover…guarantee does not apply to vg- or worse
        condition records.
A FEW ABBREVIATIONS:

CC=cut corner    COH=cut out hole     WOC=writing on cover     SOC     (sticker on cover)    

WOBC=writing on back cover     TOC=tear on cover     TOBC=tear on back cover    

NWOFC=name written on front cover     NWOBC=name written on back cover    

NWOL=name written on label     WLP=white label promo     SRW=slight ringwear    

SEW=slight edge warp     CW=cover wear     S/S=still sealed     SPLS=split seams    

SIS=still in shrink     TOS=tape on seams     FOC=fold out cover     BC=band corner    

SCW=slight cover wear     SOC=sticker on cover     WOL=writing on label    

SOBC=sticker on back cover     PRS=promo stamp or promo sticker     RW=ringwear    

OIS=original innersleeve     WD=water damages     FAQ=frequently asked questions    

PAYMENT:

Europe:PAYPAL or DIRECT BANK TRANSFER (IBAN/BIC/SWIFT)

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PACK&POSTAGE RATES:

Normal Weight Items Only

BELGIUM:

1-5 VINYLS =  6,50 Euros = £6,25

EUROPE:

1-2 VINYLS = 11 Euros = £10,60

3-5 VINYLS = 20 Euros = £19,20

EUROPE(REGISTERED):

1-2 VINYLS = 15,60 Euros = £15

3-5 VINYLS = 24,60 Euros = £23,65

USA,CANADA,JAPAN,AUSTRALIA,ETC…

1-2 VINYLS =17 Euros = £16,35

3-5 VINYLS = 33 Euros = £31,75

USA,CANADA,JAPAN,AUSTRALIA,ETC…(REGISTERED)

1-2 VINYLS =21,60 Euros = £20,80

3-5 VINYLS = 37,60 Euros = £36,15

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PHILIPPE