Seven Inches To Freedom #9...

Here's a real quick post for your viewing pleasure, it's the last (but not least) submission from Joe down in Florida, this time with his newest issue of Seven Inches To Freedom Fanzine. I am a huge fan of this fanzine, every issue I've seen looks great and this is no exception. Joe is always able to conceive a thoughtful, in-depth analysis of the punk world as it's happening around him and deliver it in a tight and consistent layout that is enjoyable to read. Page after page, you get a sense of Joe's love of his craft as every last aesthetic detail is cared for. It actually reminds me a bit of the Touch & Go zines of the early 80's, a true contender for the cut-n-paste photocopy hall of fame. Enjoy the photos, and click the link to where joe has some copies for sale, it's well worth your $2...

Panzram 10" ep...

last weel i posted up a 7" ep submission from Florida based Panzram, joe had also sent over this 10" released on IFB records for review.... just like the 7", joe not only handled the art and layout, but he also hand printed and assembled the covers. these are one color screen printed jackets on an uncoated charcoal cover stock, and the prints are p e r f e c t. nothing warms my heart like crisp, clean, flawless screen printing, and i am just melting over here holding this record. the cover art is a touch on the abstract side, but i love the way the design comes together with the type. the slim all-caps font balances out nicely with the thick outer circle of the artwork and all the negative space...

the back cover is my favorite panel on this layout. the song titles utilize the typeface from the front cover paired with a big, bold, blown out font on the top and the bottom of the composition. i love the thick bar separating out a column for the song titles from the art elements. very stark...

these covers are actually a "hand-made gatefold" so to speak.... the front cover unfolds to reveal 2 printed panels inside, one of which has been folded and glued to create a inner pocket where the record lives. that is an incredible amount of labor for one person, but it was clearly time well spent because the end result is awesome. the left panel is a well crafted lyric sheet where every song has been delegated to its own organized space. the type was perfectly fit for ever song, and the end result is both orderly and easy to read. on the right panel we have a bit of art and liner notes which follow a similar theme of rigid and confined order...

the record's dust sleeve came hand-stamped on both sides, here are some pics...

A side label is a nice example of type design that was run thru a photocopier about a hundred times. looks good to my eyes....

B side label is a photo of the man himself...

really great looking record, be sure to check these guys out...

Panzram - 7" ep...

This awesome submission came in from Joe down in Florida, he designed and screen printed the packaging for this Panzram Ep out on Drugged Conscience Records. These 2 color screen prints were printed on 100lb matte uncoated cover stock paper. I love the cover art he came up with, the collage of faces mixed with the horizontal lines looks killer! It's a very fresh and modern aesthetic that layers well while keeping a good balance of color in the design...


These covers were cut and folded, not glued. The back panel is all about the song titles, and framing them within the broken black box helps this feel like a composition.


There is also a 2 sided photocopied insert on what feels like some sort of lightweight linen paper stock. I really like the way the typography and handwritten details are blended together here, it kind of makes me wish the back panel had more of this style worked into the approach.

Both sides of this insert are pretty unconventional; they deliver their information in their own unique way. The first side had that wrapping type detail around the outer edge of the design. on this side, the song titles are placed in typed up and centered columns but then all the liner notes are hand written and placed in the center. I really enjoy how informal it comes across....

The A side label is just type, looks good...


The B side label is a random found photo of some kids hanging out. Not sure what the significance is but it does look cool...

Thanks again joe! Keep up the great work....

Pulling Teeth - Funerary

Another great submission that came in recently is the new Pulling Teeth Lp titled "Funerary". this is most likely their final release, so I'm really glad I was able to get it up on here since they have done an excellent job at creating a consistent band aesthetic throughout the years.

Much like their other releases, the cover art (by Jeff Beckman) taps into the world of the surreal with a heavy mix of dark imagery and traditional tattoo styling. I really like the way he played with symmetry without creating a mirror image, it's like my eyes keep getting pulled into all the details in search of the subtle differences. There is a lot of imagination happening in this piece...


The back cover is a wrap-around continuation of the front panel to act as a background for the song titles. Overall this is some really nice typography, although there are a few areas where the spacing becomes an issue with the scroll work. it starts to feel like its sitting a little too tight in some areas...


This is the cd version of this release on Firestarter records, and these cds these were made using a standard 6 panel digipack layout. The layout was completed by their singer Mike Rily with the help of Linas Garsys. This next shot is of the cd with the front cover open and the inside panel closed. There are a lot of lyrics printed here, and they handled the typography well. It may be very small, but they're not hard to read...

The next shot shows both panels opened. There is a rad illustration by John Patrick on the inside panel when it's opened. Nice balance of color and lots of fine detail, I bet this thing looks sick on the Lp version....m


The cd face is where we see that classic Pushead style logo they have been using over the years. The background here is a tie-back to the cover art...

Nice job to all the guilty parties, this is a solid release.

Crazy & The Brains Cassette...

Got a cool submission package from Baldy Longhair Records of some of their very limited, very professional quality cassettes. This first one that we'll talk about is my favorite of the bunch, it's the Crazy & The Brains tape called "Don't Need No Snacks". The overall aesthetic of this packaging reminds me a bit of what C.M.Ruiz does with mixing photocopied imagery with hand drawn type and line work. I mean, it's not blowing me away or anything, but, it looks pretty cool for what it is....

here is a shot of the back, nice hand written song titles and a pretty funny label logo...

The inside of the J-card cover continues the hand drawn pattern work from the front cover and then has one of the most awkward looking band photos I've ever seen. It's so awkward I guess it kind of works, it almost looks like what you would expect to see on a 8x10 glossy of some early 90's alt-rock band. these inserts are professionally printed on a glossy coated paper and hand numbered out of 100...

I like that they went with a transparent royal blue cassette to match back to the insert. I've never seen a tape in this color plastic before, so they win points on that for sure, but it also works really well with the layout. Plus, all that sloppy handwriting that was printed in white on in looks killer. That Crazy & The Brains icon they came up with is rad too, hope they stick that on some t-shirts....

be sure to check out the Baldy Longhair site, where you can pick up a copy of this tape along with many of their other releases...

The Holidays...

I really thought I would be able to bang out a post or two while visiting family over the holidays, but it's not looking likely at this point. Between all the travelng, visiting, and screaming little children i just can't seem to get the "quiet time" i need to write a review. Look for new entries on here starting January 2nd....

And in the meantime, be sure to check out and follow my other blogs which are both updated daily...

California Daydream is my iPhone image feed, usually a couple new images made every day.

Focus On The Negative is my daily drawing blog, one new drawing is posted every day.

Scum Again Ep....

Toxic Pop Records sent over this Scum Again Ep for review, this thing has some insane cover art... No credit as to who made it, but it's signed "Wren" on the back cover. This is a great humorous illustration that's been handled in a "classic punk tradition" sort of way. Raw, loose style with the right level of finishing to keep it looking legit, while the subject matter pokes fun of current political and popular culture events...

The back cover is another great illustration with a similar theme as the front cover. Be sure to click into these images and soak up all the hidden little details, cause there is a whole lot going on...

These covers are black and white offset printed on a coated stock and are folded but not glued. Open up the sleeve for the insert which is printed on the inside of the cover. This insert was designed as two separate panels despite the fact that they could have been one spread, but oh well. It looks like they divided the sides to be A side and B side dedicated panels, each with their own humorous illustrations to support the lyrics....

red vinyl with a perfect match red printed record label. That is awesome! Just red vinyl would have been ok, and just red labels would have felt out of place since the rest of the layout is black and white exclusively. Together, this is hot shit...

Pick this up from Toxic Pop directly....

Divided Heaven...

i've been making a lot of art this year for the Los Angeles solo project of Jeffrey Berman known as based Divided Heaven, first up is the debut release that came out on Paper And Plastick Records a few months ago. this is a full color offset printed digipack sleeve with 6 printed panels, have a look...

back cover...

this shot is with the front panel open, the inside panel closed....

both panels open...

and the disc face, which the printer did not bother trying to color match to the rest of the art....

i also recently made two t-shirt designs for Divided Heaven to support the aesthetic of the cd art....

and last but not least, a sticker....

to see more of my art for bands, click here.....

Tenement - Taking Everything Ep

Got a rad submission package from Toxic Pop Records the other day....Tenement put together another great looking record with the same personal style and aesthetic they established with their earlier releases. For the cover art, they came up with a cool composition based on found vintage photography. it's sort of a four-panel study of human gross-ness...

The loose layout of the images mixed with the simple typewriter font setting really add to the charm of this cover art. The back panel is rather moody and dark in comparison, quite a compelling composition. A single photo obscured by a black shadow over half the image with no type to speak of except for the Toxic Pop logo. I love it....


These covers were full color printed and folded, not glued. there is also a black and white 6.5"x6.5" double sided insert included. On the front side of the insert is a fucked up found photo of some dude with his face rotting off, and i have to say that I'm never really a fan of this style of shock imagery. I feel like the back cover composition is a perfect example of how you can achieve a "dark and mysterious" vibe with out actually showing the most gnarly imagery you can find in a medical book. Not to single this record out or anything, i've just been noticing it more and more lately and felt it should be noted... This is also where the liner notes live, and I like that the type setting remains consistent to the front cover.


O the flipside of the insert is where the lyric sheet lives. I'll call this the lyric sheet side despite the fact that the combination of the size of the typewriter font and the photocopying make this pretty near impossible to read. Still, I do like the breakup between the images and the type here...

A side label has another random and obscure photo mixed with some hand written type, it's a winner! This actually might be the first time I've ever wished for a small hole on a 7" just so I could see more of the label art....


B side label is also photo based but this one gets a little too literal for me. Who are these dudes? Why are they staring off inn opposite directions? I just don't know...

solid release, thanks for the submission guys....

Night Birds - The Other Side Of Darkness

Here's a record I've been meaning to post up for quite some time now, the long awaited Night Birds Lp. they enlisted the help of photographer Max Ryazansky to stage a scene for the cover art that further cements this release as the "soon-to-be classic" record that it is musically. It's a dark and looming exposure that let's you see just enough detail in their faces to entice you while remaining abstract enough to keep you guessing. All the type was left to the marque floating above them. I like the idea of these men being overshadowed by their own creation, as though the very thing that identifies them also obscures them. This is the other side of darkness...

These covers were professionally black and white offset printed and glued, "standard issue" so to speak. The back cover is one of the many great live shots I've seen of Night Birds (photo by Keith Marlowe) as well as some hand-drawn song titles by Bryan Sculthrope to match back to the band name logo he originally created for them on their demo. The up-side to being an incredible live band is that there is never a shortage of kick-ass live photos lying around...

They went for a printed dust sleeve instead of a regular insert, which is always a classy choice in my book. Also black and white professionally printed and glued, on the one side you have an alternate image from the front cover photo shoot. This time their faces are revealed, further playing with the "other side of darkness"concept....


On the opposite side is a killer looking hand written lyric sheet. This thing is perfect punk style.... The hand writing varies quite a bit in size and character (slightly more organized in some places and then more free-form in others) and there are all these rad little naive doodles that were scattered throughout! It kind of reminds me of a Ramones insert, I wanna say Rocket To Russia....?


A side label is where the info goes....


B side label is the fun shot...


since I pre-ordered this thing like a good little record nerd, my copy came with a limited edition hand screen printed cover as well! this is a one color screen print of metallic silver ink on a raw black paper stock. These were printed in an edition of 210 and were available for pre-order only. Hate to say it but I think I actually prefer the high contrast screen printed version of this cover art to the actual photo real cover....

Half back panel with the song titles and the alternate photo from the insert. Same comment here as the front cover, I think I actually prefer the high contrast version now that I have seen both...

This is easily one of the best records to come out this year, be sure to pick up a copy from Grave Mistake directly if you haven't done so already...