Tijuana Panthers Lp...

Long Beach locals Tijuana Panthers made excellent use of photography for cover art on their new new lp. the bold colors seen in this cropped in / abstract imagery combined with the hand made type make for a winning combination in my book...

the back cover is another great photo with much more literal subject matter. note the hand written song titles running along the top, really glad they kept them small and out of the way of the subject...

no insert, but the A and B labels are gorgeous! i absolutely love these illustrations and that loose lightweight script is fucking awesome...

they also made some tee's out of these illustrations, you can pick one up along with this vinyl direct from their webstore....

No Class - Kein Klasse lp...

Deranged released this No Class lp at the end of the year and i've been slacking on the pics for a while now... i like the dark and minimalist design approach they chose to evoke with this layout, i just wish it was executed a little cleaner. i mean, it looks great from across the room, but when you move in to get up close and personal with it you can't help but notice how fuzzy everything looks. anyway, this is a great cover image! blackletter typography with german text, a giant latent upside down cross, a rebellious fuck you salute, and lots of negative space.... very intimidating, i like it.

the back cover gets even more abstract but remains visually impactful. the song titles here are still in blackletter and looking overall presentable, but that Deranged type at the bottom could have been a bit smaller...

this cover is an offset printed and glued jacket on standard matte cover stock. the inner dust sleeve is also offset printed and glued, and keeps with the minimal / B&W themes from the cover. on one side, just some scratchy art....

on the other side is a lyric sheet with two really big design no no's... all the type is in blackletter AND it's fuzzy! it does not make for a good clean read, but hey, at least they are there if you really want them...

classy A label, trashy B label... a nice topper to this layout if you ask me. the bright white vinyl was an excellent choice too...

there you have it, don't resize your digital files kids! keep em crisp....

Myelin Sheaths - Get On Your Nerves LP

another cool record featuring art by CM RUIZ, this time it's canada's Myelin Sheaths debut LP... more of his signature doodle and photocopy style that's seen in his flyer art. he continues to blend high contrast photos with illustration in a way which is truly his own throughout this layout. i really like the way that he wrapped the bottom of the image around to the top of the composition... pretty great.

back panel is all illustration and hand made type, no photo imagery. everything about this composition is unpolished in the coolest way imaginable. it's raw, dirty, and chock full of attitude, perfect for a record titled "get on your nerves"! the muted and pale color pallet is realy working for me as well, as it brings a nice dimension to the art without being overbearing...

no insert, but the A and B labels do a great job of carrying the vibe of the jacket onto the turntable.... no real information conveyed, but they sure are fun to look at!

pick this up from Southpaw Records if you're interested in checking it out...

LONDON.

i'm off to London for a week in search of style... look for new blog posts next week when i'm back in the states!