Carbon Based Lifeforms – Hydroponic Garden

Goodness 149R is impressive. The bass is so low and rich. This is a fantastic pressing of a amazing album.

There have been a number of complaints about noisy vinyl for the first editions of Carbon Based Lifeforms albums which came out in 2016. I got all the 2nd vinyl issues of "Hydroponic Garden", "World of Sleepers", "Interloper" and "Derelicts" which were pressed the year after, 2017. All on black vinyl. These all have the -R suffix, as in BLOOD 149R. Normally I am a strictly first edition kind of person (as these invariably sound better than reissues, especially if the original tape is analogue), but these second pressings are perfect - flat and quiet - nary a click or pop on any of them. So if your BLOOD 149 first pressing is noisy, the 2017 BLOOD 149R is quiet in my experience.
I would say that the sound of these masterings is good if not spectacular. There is a tendency for a rather grainy treble and some midrange harshness, especially on sampled vocals. On the positive side, the soundstage is large and bass depth is impressive.
Luckily, the music more than compensates for these slight sonic shortcomings. There is a lovely gentleness to these floaty meditations that, if they eschew the complexity of Shpongle or Elysium, nevertheless have a harmony that is direct and appealing. These albums are classics of psybient.