ROUGH KIDS - Debut 7" out now...

LA's Rough Kids just self released their first 7", and they are now officially my favorite band in the area. their music is a balanced blend of punk and power pop, and the art for this 7" delivers the vibe perfectly. really loving the blown out black and white photo theme of this layout. nice big half tones work to obscure the over-sized images for a gritty abstract feel. especially feeling the back cover panel! great job on your first release guys!

DRY ROT - Subordinate ep

Painkiller Records released this 7" back in 2007, but since i wasn't blogging back then, here it is now! truthfully, this layout is just too insanely good for me to not blog about it cause it didn't just come out...

Dry Rot's guitar player Jordan Darby provided the art for this record layout, and holy shit did he go all out! let me just start by saying that i can't think of a single punk or hardcore band since the Circle Jerks's "Group Sex" LP to embrace watercolor art for their album cover, which is really a shame considering the potential for the medium in punk art. instead of doing a normal insert, this 7" is actually a 7"x7" book, where the front cover is stapled and folded to contain 4 pages of lyrics and art. i haven't seen a layout like this since 1997! pretty fucking over the top. i really like Jordan's drawing style on these inked insert pages and the fact that the images follow a story, which makes for a very well thought out and executed package.

TRUE COLORS - limited edition screen printed 12" sleeves!

i just designed and printed up some limited edition 12" jackets for both the True Colors Lps being pressed for the U.S. by Six Feet Under Records. click here to preorder these bad boys....

Mean Jeans - Stoned 2 The Bone!

i love this band.... check out this awesome video they made for their song "stoned 2 the bone" and then go get their records! they have a 7" out on Dirtnap and one on Rehab Records, both are pretty great!

http://www.myspace.com/themeanjeans

Hjertestop - Aarh, Fuck EP

Hjertestop are a punk band from Denmark. i'm guessing this is a self released 7" since there is no label info anywhere to be found in the layout (no insert either, for that matter). They did a nice job with the collage art on this 2 color cover. the diagonal blue stripes mixed back with the cut and paste photocopied style gives a nod to the Dangerhouse Records aesthetic of the late 70's LA scene. the use of tiny typewriter type in the white space of the collage was a nice touch as well, especially on the top left corner. i had the chance to play a show with these guys while they were on the west coast this past spring and was impressed with their live set. check them out if you have the chance.

Broken Patterns Tee's are gone....

maybe i'll make some new ones for when our 2nd 7" comes out..... maybe not. you can hear our music here... our 1st 7" is down to the last handfull of copies available, all with screen printed covers (would you expect any less of me?). hit me up if you were looking for one.

Nitad - Ger Oss Mer EP

this is the third and final post on my No Way Records kick.... Thank You Satan came up with some pretty killer throw back 60's psychedelic art for this record, and it's definitely worth a post! Excellent Filmore style typography on the front and back panel make for some pleasing creative design in this controlled 3 color layout, and while the execution is clean and crisp, it doesn't come off as contrived at all. i really like the bold strokes of white spaces mixed into the saturated colors of the art as well..... the insert is little more than a well organized lyric sheet, but since i don't speak Swedish i don't really feel like i'm missing anything anyway.

overall, a solid release! if you're a fan of fast Swedish hardcore pick up a copy and give it a spin!

Acid Reflux Ep

after making the post last week about the new Social Cirkle LP on NO WAY Records i decided to pull out some other No Way Releases that have impressed me lately....

Albany's Acid Reflux put out a great 7" earlier this year, and they did a spot on job with the layout. simple black and white glued sleeve jacked that is printed (not photocopied) on a nice off-white paper stock to give it a nice aged look, and while both the front and back covers are clean and presentable, they still look like they were made on a photocopy machine. they also put some time into their 11"x17" fold out insert, one side featuring a mirrored collage of live pics and owls (?) and then the other side..... ok i have no idea what is going on with the imagery on the other side, but all the lyrics and info are all present and that's what matters!

what really stands out about this record is the attention to detail. the off-white paper they printed the covers on is a fine paper stock, not a cover sheet, so when you are holding it in your hands it feels authentically old. same goes for the paper they used for the insert.... they could have just photocopied this on any old 11x17 paper, but instead they went with something a bit more delicate. really nice touch in my book.....

New Art Print Available @ Screenin4achange.com!

i just finished up another art print.... this one is titled "Well Suited", and it is an 18"x24" 4 color screen print in an edition of 35. stop by my Etsy Store to pick one up!

SOCIAL CIRKLE - City Shock LP

the new social cirkle lp came in the mail this week from No Way Records, and i've been meaning to make a post about it all week but have been having a hard time pulling it off the turntable..... sweet jesus this lp rips! social cirkle are one of the last bands left carrying the fast and snotty hardcore punk torch thru this decade, and this lp is an instant classic in my book. they went with a photo based front and back cover which was a nice touch, although truthfully it does remind me a bit of the Carbonas 2nd lp cover art. that said, it's still a cool idea and definitely makes for some stand out cover art. the printed insert contains all the lyrics in a clean column layout so you can learn the sing alongs at home, and then on the flip side is a great flyer collage which reminds me how much i miss going to shows on the east coast.... sigh. overall, another great overall package from NO WAY! nice job guys!

The Year of Maximum Rock N Roll...

don't know if anyone else has been noticing, but MRR has been killing it in 2009! i have been an avid reader of this publication since the age of 16 or so, and they have consistantly done a knock out job, but they are really outdoing themselves this year..... here is a "greatest hits" so to speak of some of my favorite cover art from this years issues. keep up the good work guys!

Quiksilver Artist Series T-Shirts Now Available!

The Quiksilver Foundation purchased three of my art pieces to be used for their "Foundation Artist" t-shirt line, and they are available NOW! it looks like 2 of them are available at the Quiksilver online store, but all three will be available at any of the Quiksilver Retail stores.... all proceeds from the sales of these t-shirts will be donated to the Quiksilver Foundation. check out more of my poster art here

soak up some minimalism with THE CHROMATICS

FULL DISCLOSURE.... i picked this 7" up not knowing anything about this band, and truthfully, this is not very good musically (...it's kinda electro pop bullshit....or whatever). but since i bought it for the layout exclusively, i figured i should still make a post about the layout regardless of what the record sounds like.

so here we have a wonderful layout for the chromatics 7", nice simple 2 color dayglo design that carries thru to the A and B labels. the front cover is pretty wild, a sort of trippy abstract skeletal image, but check out that back panel! great use of negative space to really pull you into the image. overall, a really sweet looking record! ....too bad i can't get down with their sound though.