Label: Matador | FLAC Source: CD & 2019 High-Res 24-bit/96kHz

The Report: “Slow Hands” is a bass test. Brad Truax’s bass guitar is the anchor; in lossy formats, the lower register muddies. A new report from 2021 indicates that the Japanese SHM-CD version of Antics (WPCB-10055) offers a marginally lower noise floor than the standard EU/US pressings. Avoid the 2004 MP3 transcodes labeled as FLAC on public trackers. The genuine 24-bit release has a file size of approximately 1.2GB for the album.

Label: Matador | FLAC Source: 24-bit/44.1kHz (Bandcamp/HDTracks) vs. Vinyl FLAC

The Report: The controversial record. Producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips) intentionally smashed the dynamics. In lossy formats, Marauder sounds like a blown speaker. However, the 24-bit FLAC version reveals why he did it. The distortion is musical clipping on the preamp, not digital brickwalling. The track “If You Really Love Nothing” has transients that recover faster than any MP3 can render. The new report: The 2018 “Mastered for iTunes” 24-bit AAC is not FLAC. Avoid it. The genuine FLAC from Qobuz remains the gold standard.

Subject: Interpol (The New York Darkwave Vanguard) Format: FLAC (High-Fidelity Audio Analysis) Era: Turn of the Century to Pre-Pandemic