Art 4 Punks!: Tenement - Blind Wink Lp

the mid-west powerhouse that is Tenement is no stranger to the pages of this blog. i have featured a few of their previous releases on here in the past as i am a big fan of their playful use of found type and vintage imagery. needless to say, i was way stoked to hear that their singer Amos wanted to send me a care package of their recent releases for review!

the first one up is the Blind Wink 12".... i absolutely love this cover art. anyone who knows me personally will tell you that i have a "thing" for eyeballs, but that is not what i am responding to in this case. i mean, this eye image is great, but really it's the combination of the strained expression of the eye mixed with that beautifully bold typography that creates a dynamic tension that can't be ignored. it's a very simple, yet very creative use of half tones and typography that screams at you to be acknowledged. i've said it before and i will say it again, it takes a lot of confidence to design the cover art for your bands Lp and intentionally leave the band name off. in this case, it was a well played move....

flip the cover over, and the back panel is just as awesome as the front composition. following a similar themed layout to the front, we have 3 images framed within top and bottom bold typography set, only this time the color formula was flipped... instead of having a full color image with stark black and white surrounding it, the majority of this panel is very colorful with the exception of the band photos in the center. just like the front, i love everything about this piece.... the treatment of the type, the rich saturation of the black and white photography, the use of wood in the background to create a sort of mixed media / collage feel.... it's awesome...

there is also a 2 sided 11" x 11" black and white insert included with this record. on the main side, there is just a band photo that reminds me of something you would see on an early 90's shoegaze record, and i mean that in the best possible way. it's actually one of the best band photos i've seen on a punk record in a long time because they are so obviously not trying to look like they don't give a fuck about the photo. clearly they gave many fucks about how this photo would turn out, and i think that it's really refreshing to see...

on the flipside of the insert is the lyric sheet. everything here has been pounded out on an actual typewriter and then scanned in. there is a lot of great keystroke variation and type corrections all over the place which i always love seeing. it's a little tough to follow along with since all the songs flip directions to save space, but overall it's a great looking lyric sheet....