Fucked Up - David Comes To Life Double Lp

Fucked Up recently released their 3rd Lp on Matador Records, and from a graphic perspective, they remained true to their well established aesthetic. pretty much every one of their many singles and LP's feature a large front cover image floating within a minimal white boarder with the type hanging out on the top of the panel (not ever to mingle in with the art, but simply to identify it). it's a pretty straight-forward and unassuming layout idea for a record cover, and if they had only done it once it probably wouldn't have made much of an impression on anyone. it's through the repetition of this idea over the span of their enormous catalog of records that has created a commanding visual identity that is impossible to ignore.

i have to say, i really like the concept photography they created for this layout... the main image they used for the cover and the inside gatefold is credited to their bass player Sandy, which is pretty impressive considering the intricate level of detail found within this scene and the fact that i had no idea she was a photographer. there is a pretty big list of models credited for this photo and a whole lot of action happening happening in here...

i'm actually not a huge fan of this back cover. the image is a little underwhelming and the type feels way too large considering how boring the typeface is.

since this is a double Lp, the record jacket is a gate fold! i fucking love gate folds.... and when you open up the cover you have the image that was used for the cover as a full spread and uncropped. the "David Comes To Life" posters in the background were a nice touch...

inside the sleeve there is a huge 24" x 24" fold out poster insert. these are 1 color, 2 sided professionally printed posters on a glossy paper. on this side, we have a naive pencil illustration with some text of a poem added in. there is a nice balance here between the cleanliness of the type and the sketched graphite it's surrounded by.

on the flip side of the poster is a lyric sheet where the type has been perfectly justified into an ordered grid. they managed to make good use of alternating type faces to create a dynamic visual read. when you consider how much text is running thru this thing, you have to admit it feels really light and airy as a piece...

the A, B, C, and D labels are all the same and somewhat retro looking? i don't think that's what they were intending, but these things kinda remind me of something you would see on a Island Records release from the 70's or something.... do you know what i mean?

in addition to all of that, this record came shrink wrapped with a single sheet false cover inside...

pretty glad that's not the cover they put on the actual record. flip that thing over and there is another poem, nothing too interesting visually though...