There are some bands that just blow your mind every single time they release something, and VR Sex are one of those bands. Of course, if you’re also in the band Drab Majesty too- then you are only ever going to put out masterpieces, right? That’s what Andrew aka VR Sex has done yet again. I’ve had a copy of this record for about a month or so, and I’ve held off writing about it because I wanted to give myself time to obsess over it and figure out why it’s probably one of the most thrilling records of the year.

Now, I’ve never claimed to be good with words but hopefully you’ll pick up on how much I love this record and hopefully it will make some sense rather than utter nonsense. I’ve listened to Hard Copy enough times now to call it as one of my favourite records of the year. Definitely in my Top 3 if I was to make lists, but my brain hates organisation. The record smacks you immediately with the opener Dictionary Talk, and it immediately grabs you and makes you realise that this record is truly something else. The record is filthy, smutty, and just everything you’ve ever been warned against- it is a thing of beauty, and I cannot get enough of it. It is very easy to love this record and become obsessed with it. It’s dark, it’s creepy as hell and it is solid produced record that only a fool would find fault with. I want this record injected into my body.

Sure, the record touches on glue-sniffing escapades (Jenny Killer Glue; an absolute monster of a song) and if you’re of a certain age you maybe shouldn’t be listening to this record but whatever! You’ll find out anyway. What I adore about this record is that it sounds nothing like previous VR Sex records. You can hear something in this record that wasn’t in previous releases, and by no means is that a bad thing. It just shows how bloody talented this band are and having this fearless approach to the record truly makes it tower over anything else you’ve heard this year. I want it constantly playing in my ears, I want to fall asleep listening to it and I want this beautiful racket waking me up for work every morning. Utter bliss.

Hard Copy is the kind of record that would be perfect for a real smutty film that not even an arthouse cinema would show. There’s this enthralling weirdness to the record that hooks you in so quickly, and you cannot let it let go of you at all. For me, this is apparent on songs like Inanimate Love (the intro to this is SO good and the vocals remind me of The Cramps.) It’s a killer record, and I want everything I ever listen to to sound as heavy and strange as this. I love that the whole record touches on strange elements of lust, desires most would turn away from and in parts; isolation. The way this record has been produced is exceptional, and it’s probably the best produced record I’ve heard so far this year.

Most of the songs on the record hit the 5 minute mark, and this is another reason for me to love this record with all I have. Hard Copy is an exceptional record that is so easy to get lost in and let consume you in the best way possible. In some parts, the record feels like it could be a film soundtrack but at other times, you just know you are listening to something where everyone involved in this record hasn’t been afraid to really experiment with their sound and get a little strange, y’know? I feel the record gets heavier and darker on the second part of the record. Runaway Runaway kicks off the second part of the record, and it’s a heavy number that has tone to it that is unlike anything else on the record and honestly, unlike anything else VR Sex have done before. If you listen to their previous records before this one, it’s like listening to a different band- and by no means is that a bad thing at all. The band worked about 12 hours a day to make this record, and you can truly hear the dedication to their work on this record. You can hear the frustrations; you can hear the urgency. It’s just a dream of a record from start to finish.

There’s no point in wasting time on trying to find a genre to lump this record with- like all VR Sex records (and Drab Majesty too) it goes beyond that. Labels are useless anyway.  I think at the moment I am calling Jenny Killer Glue as my favourite on the record, but of course I will change my mind with every listen but this one has something about it that rather than play the record in order, I start with this and I then listen in order. It’s just such a great song and I hope they make a video to this because it would be wild. It might also get banned, but it’s fine!

I feel I could write thousands and thousands of words about why I love this record. And maybe I could have summed up how phenomenal the record is with just a short paragraph but when a band you love make something like this- you can’t help but ramble on. It’s a big sounding record with zero pretentiousness to it, and that’s so rare.

Hard Copy is one of those records that I know I’ll still be fascinated with in years to come, and I’ll keep finding new things to love about it. It is a proper work of art, and in every delicate and tough moments of the record- you find a home in it and that’s such a beautiful thing. It’s the kind of record you can play at any time of day and you’ll immediately be thrown in VR Sex’s world and you won’t want to ever leave. Let the record consume you in all ways possible.