THIS IS NOT A MUSIC BLOG.

This is a blog to show love to some of my favourite album art and their artists. Someday I hope to illustrate covers myself. I'll also be writing about authors that tie in and inspire musicians. So this is basically a music blog that's not really about music. I am not a music, literary, or art critic, nor do I pretend to be. Click here to see all the albums I've discussed so far.

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Such Gold // The New Sidewalk (2014)

This album was recommended by a reader of the blog, and I find it quite interesting. Unfortunately, I haven't really listened to the album in depth, so I can't offer commentary on visual connections with the lyrics (if there are any). And note how it's not a pattern on the face, they're actually from old comics! (I believe I see Betty and Veronica) This image is so different from 2012's Misadventures, which is pretty graphic and uses minimal color.

At first look, this is a pretty symmetrical piece, right? With closer examination though, you'll notice that the half-faces on each side are not the same and simply the middle on cut in half. There is also the nice design element of the airplane streak in the sky.

I'm curious to whether or not this is a multimedia piece since the face may looks like it could be a sculpture. However, it seems like the whole piece was put together in photoshop, and it's interesting to note that the artist took time to add in the shadows to make it seem like these faces are actually floating in this space. It's a nice juxtaposition between the quiet looking suburbs and a science fiction like mask. To me, the overall image of this symbolizes the different layers of a person, and perhaps that they way you appear to the world is not always how one really feel inside.

This image was created by artist Pat Fox, also known as Apollo Collective. You may have seen his work before, as he has done covers for the likes of Northlane, The Amity Affliction, and Jack Johnson.

Apollo Collective

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To anon: I've started working on the Such Gold post, sorry it took so long! Thankfully it hasn't been released yet so I'm planning to posting it on release day. :)

[wakethesleepless]

write about the new such gold album cover please it is b e a u t i f u l

That will be next on my list, thank you so much! :)

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Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in quite a long time I've been just really busy with school and everything, you know- the usual. Also I was a little discouraged for a while because this blog has a very small number of followers (shout out to all 30 of you though, I really appreciate it!),  and I felt like no one really cared about what I had to say, but then I rerealised that I started this blog first and foremost for myself, and whoever else that wants to read it is more than welcome to.

Anyways, the good news is that I will resume posting regularly very, very soon (the semester is over in two weeks) AND in the meantime I have discovered a lot of rad music, and therefore rad album art. 

-emilie

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Basement // I Wish I Could Stay Here (2011)

Sorry I haven't posted here in a while, I've been pretty busy with school stuff but I'm really happy to be writing for this blog again! It's a bit hard for me to write about this, because it just really, really miss Basement.

I feel like this photo definitely fits into the whole "put meaningful band lyrics over nature" trend that tumblr has latched onto lately. That's not really a bad thing or anything, nature is beautiful. But I'm pretty sure it was THIS exact cover that started it all (shhh, you didn't here it from me). There's definitely a story behind this photo, especially if you take in mind the actual title of the album. I think the meaning is kind of up to the viewer, which all decent art should be. Is this location in the town she wants to leave? Or has she already kind of left home? Is this in England? And what the frick is up with her backpack?

So yeah, this photo fits the whole 'rule of thirds' thing and the figure is right in the center blah blah blah. I know I probably mention composition on here a lot, and honestly I thought the whole 'rule of thirds' and placement stuff was really stupid, but I have learned that it really does add to an art piece, and one really can't help noticing it once they start. And I mean, the colour scheme is gorgeous. All nature-y and stuff. But what makes this photo really interesting is when you look closer and notice the girl's backpack and the stone she is leaning against. There's a landscape inside a landscape. Landscape-ception. I recall in one Tuesdays with Tay, someone asked if the image on the girl's backpack was a coincidence and Alex (Henery, of Basement of course) said "It's art." Damn straight, Alex. Speaking of Alex, he designed this cover (he told me so himself on twitter....*fangirls*), and now he shoots music videos for a lot of your favourite bands such as Balance & Composure, Daylight, and Pity Sex. The only thing is...I just wish I could get a backpack like that.

Alex Henery // Website // Twitter // tumblr

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The Birthday Massacre // Pins & Needles (2010)

The Birthday Massacre have been one of my favourite bands since 6th grade, and they have always kept a pretty consistent aesthetic, both visually and musically, without getting too repetitive and boring. The best way I can describe TBM is Tim Burton meets Alice in Wonderland meets a haunted schoolhouse, all the while keeping a colour scheme of violet and black- a delightfully spooky mix. These silhouettes of children and animals against a violet backdrop have always been hauntingly beautiful to me, like something out of a dark fairytale, and it's even better combined with the actual music. For the original Birthday Massacre experience and a blast from the past, check out an archive of their old flash website, Nothing and Nowhere.

Their first album cover, Violet was quite simple- silhouettes of a young girl and a bunny (a rabbit is the band's unofficial mascot, it appears on their logo and numerous album covers, including this one), and their covers have gotten increasingly more realistic and complex.

I'm not sure the exact materials used to create this piece, but I'm assuming that majority of it was created digitally. Check out the details!- the texture on the road, the leaves, the bunnies, and the town and amusement park in the background. And let's not forget the figure that is front and center. Her mermaid tail dress is so beautiful, and the fact that her 'face's is actually a skull obviously adds to the creepy/beautiful effect. Note the lace details on the gloves and netting on the hat as well. The figure is still fairly dark, which still gives the illusion of a silhouette, but I love how there's just enough lighting to see the details.

This piece was created by Canadian based artist Vincent Marcone. It's nice to see TBM working repping their homecountry and working with other artists from Ontario (TBM are from Toronto). Vincent happens to be in his own band as well, called Johnny Hollow. The rest of his artwork is very creepy and gothic, right in the vein of some of the other artists I've written about here such as Esao Andrews and Mark Ryden. It's definitely worth looking at, and you can find Vincent's website here.

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Los Campesinos! // No Blues (2013)

So Los Campesinos! is pretty much my favourite band in the whole entire world, both lyrically and musically, so I'm really surprised that I haven't written about them on this blog yet. Their album No Blues recently came out and I'm totally feeling all of the surrounding images, as well as this very rad art video.

I love the juxtaposition of something so artificial against leafy green nature. Honestly, I don't have anything else intelligent to offer, other than the fact that it looks really, really awesome. However, I was very interested in the use of pink smoke so I decided to do a little research.

I've noticed recently that pink smoke images have been a bit of a trend on tumblr lately, people have even edited Chanel logos onto them, and I like the look of pink cigarettes myself. Being the huge LC! fan that I am, whenever I see one I automatically think it was to do with No Blues. Pink smoke bombs have been used over the last couple of years during riots, including a student-run one in the UK in 2010 (article can be found here), which is where the band hails from. But I believe the most prevalent use of it was in the spring of 2013 over the Vatican, where woman protested the lack of women priests. There was a documentary made in 2011 called Pink Smoke Over the Vatican as well. I'm not really sure whether or not Los Campesinos! were inspired partly by these events though, it was probably more of an artistic choice.

As with most of LC's art, the one behind it is none other than band member R Taylor/Rob Campesinos! Keep being cool n weird, Rob.

[beijingshibian]

yo people i am going to have a show on syracuse’s radio station WERW, it’s on fridays 5-6 pm starting THIS week. you can listen here: http://werwradio.wordpress.com/ as you see, i’m playing a variety of genres, so there’s something for everyone! prize goes out to whoever can name the most people on this poster! it will be in the form of an on air shoutout, and rad drawing or mixtape!  let me know if you tune in!

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White Lies // Ritual (2011)

My friend and I were recently looking for inspiration pictures having to do with the occult and twins specifically, and I remembered this album and brought this image up. It was exactly what we were looking for.

Since the title of this release is Ritual, it's obviously a pretty supernatural themed record. White Lies are well known for having dark, depressing lyrics that often discuss death. And no matter what the context, there's always something slightly creepy about identical twins, especially when there are dressed and styled the same. Monozygotic twins come from a zygote that split, so at the beginning they were supposed to be one person. If that doesn't freak you out, I don't know what will.

I unfortunately could not find the models used for this, they have very nice cheekbones...I love the grey-blue color scheme, it's quite dreary and depressing which fits along with the music it's self. Design wise, the wall that there are in front of looks very nice and I like the placement of the curtain in the left corner. The twins in the first photo are almost mirror images of each other, their blank expressions are great and it's nice how the one on the right looks slightly startled....by what I wonder. I also appreciate the thought that was put into the styling, they look very schoolgirl-like with their matching braids and Peter Pan collars, and the kohl lined eyes and neutral lips make the photo even creepier.

However, I much prefer the second picture from this shoot even better itI believe this was used for the vinyl pressings). It's slightly darker, but that may just be the image that I found. Again, there's the collars, but they're tucked into black sweaters, which makes the twins' faces stand out even more. They seem to be communicating in a way that only twins can understand, and this photograph captures that perfectly. It's also interesting how the twin on the right is almost looking directly at the camera but still slightly off to the side. Both of these photographs are extremely haunting and I wish more than anything that I could find more photos from this shoot.

The design for this album was done by Tom Hingston, he's worked with White Lies before and many other musicians and companies (that includes Alexander McQueen!!). However, the actual photographer is Jonathan de Villiers, who's been in the business for quite some time. He has shot for the British, French, and Italian Vouge. His work is very diverse and can range from churches to high fashion shoots to bicycle races.

Website

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Deer Leap & The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die // Split (are here to help you) (2011)

Well....that was definitely a mouthful. TWIABP is a band that's been getting a lot of attention lately, their album debuted on Billboard (despite a leak), and many of my friends who I did not expect to listen to this type of music are slowly falling in love with them. The name isn't very easy to forget either. Deer Leap is also a really really great band, and I also recommend them. This is probably my favourite release from the two of these bands. But enough about that...I'm here to talk about art.

First of all, I feel that many emo/twinkle bands enjoy using slightly out of focus, muted photographs as album covers (TWIAP's newly released Whenever If Ever comes to mind). While these photographs most likely have sentimental value, they just don't do anything for me artistically, and we have seen them before. On the other hand, this photo is more unexpected and puzzling.

So I don't exactly understand what is going on in this picture. Are the dead? Are they sleeping? DId they just collapse on the ground, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of life? Or are they just...sick of it all? At least their instruments are placed neatly on the ground and not thrown all over the place! This may seem like an obvious thing to say, but I think this picture definitely goes along with the sound of the album. They're both give of very vulnerable and sad vibe (well I mean, this is emo music we're talking about here). The colour scheme with its dark reds, browns, and greens is absolutely beautiful, I could stare at these colours alone all day. And the really awesome thing is that this photo follows the famous "rule of thirds" perfectly! There's something interesting no matter where one looks. The slight posterization effect on the image is nice, but I would love to see a crystal clear version of this. Choice of font and placement of text is very pleasing as well, it's not to big or too small.

Update: Earlier I embarrassingly incorrectly credited this photo to TWIABP band member, Derrik Shanholtzer, but in fact, Chris Teti is the photographer. Chris himself actually corrected me, so that's a bit awkward, but it's nice to see that actual band members are reading this blog- thanks guys! I am so so sorry for the mix up, here are some links so you can see more of Chris' wonderful photography.

flickr // twitter

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Artist Spotlight : Amber W. Smith

Like many of the artists I have previously posted on here, Amber W. Smith's work is childlike, but also pretty and creepy- there's quirky looking girls and feminine boys. I love how she draws those huge, mesmerizing eyes. They draw you in, and despite them being much different from actual human anatomy, she manages to not make them look too much like a cartoon. I find the fact that she can convey so much emotion in only black and white is very admirable. and the detail in the hair is astonishing, you can see each and every strand.

She created a "Women of Horror" 2013 calender, which contained her renderings of scream queen favourites, including Francine from Dawn of the Dead. Her work is not limited to simply pen and ink either, she also did a "Universal Hand Signals Projects", which features some very, very adorable gifs of her demonstrating just that, said gifs and explanations of them can be found here.

I was very inspired by her work and wanted to do something similar, so I decided to email her with a few questions, and I just wanted to note that she was extremely helpful and congenial!

Amber currently performs with experimental pop band Parenthetical Girls. Her work can also be found in their friend and touring mate,Los Campesinos'! fanzine, Heat Rash.

Website // Parenthetical Girls // Etsy // Amber's Tumblr

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The Maccabees // Given to the Wild (2012)

This artist whose work is displayed on this album cover is neither a painter or a photographer, he's a sculptor. Let me just start out by saying that I know very little on sculptures. However, the photo itself is very nice. The rock sculpture is placed exactly in the middle, following the rule of thirds. And I love the way the horizon line lies exactly in the middle, it's perfectly balance both horizontally and vertically. And I think the image goes along with the album title quite well, the field is pretty much as "wild" one can get...But was it the sculpture that was given to the wild? Must be a metaphor or something, who knows. The Maccabees themselves wrote on tumblr that they all felt that this image was a "perfect visual representative to the record". Nice to know that the band put a lot of thought into their packaging.

The artist is British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, and he's pretty well known (I remember my old art teacher showing his work to the class!). He's known from creating pieces from various things found in nature- twigs, petals, sticks, and of course- rocks. Nature can already be breathtakingly beautiful- his work just enhances that and in turn it becomes part of its surroundings. He writes on his website, "I cannot explain the importance to me of being part of the place, its seasons and changes. Fourteen years ago I made a line of stones in Morecambe Bay. It is still there, buried under the sand, unseen. All my work still exists in some form." Additionally, no waste comes from this. This image comes from Goldworthy's book PASSAGE.

I advise to look at his other work as well, not just his rock sculptures- it all seems very zen-like to me. Also, apparently someone named Tim Goldsworthy produced this record. I'm not sure how common a surname it is in the UK, but perhaps the two are related...

[bensears]

Shirt designs for La Dispute

2013 and 2009

[fuckyeahladispute]

These are radical.

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love these designs! i have the one on the top.

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La Dispute Part II: Shane Crash

This is the second part of my little series on La Dispute and their literary influences. The first post can be found here, which deals with the origin of  the band's name.

Not only does Jordan Dreyer read some good authors, he's also friends with them! Shane Crash is on the right in the first photo, and this this is his website. He's also got a twitter,tumblr, etc. Shane has published one novel so far, entitled Forest Life, and is currently working on graphic novel Tabula Rasa with artist Joyce Maureira. The art looks great, so I'm pretty excited about this project. I currently have Forest Life sitting on next to my bed with a pile of the other thousands of books I plan to read, but only two chapters in, I feel like it's definitely going to be a worthwhile read.

I don't have anything more to say on the subject other than check out his work, but here is Amazon.com's little bio on him:

"Shane Crash is an American author and activist. He's published several zines centered on alleviating poverty and homelessness. In 2009 he co-authored a collection of satire and poetry in the short zine, Lost Thoughts. And in 2010 he released Travel Logs, a short chronicle of his travels across the globe.

He's a student of cosmology and physics. From the age of 21 to 23, Shane traveled the world, voluntarily homeless, living out of a backpack, traveling from city to city. Shane has partnered with the Catholic Worker House to care for single mothers fleeing abuse. He's also partnered with the Catholic Workers to tutor immigrants, teaching English, and American history.

Shane often speaks on nonviolence and social responsibility. He runs Pacifist Army, a volunteer group of nonviolent activists who raise awareness on various social issues, including nonviolence and poverty.

Shane passionately advocates for education and nonviolent alternatives to war. He's a fan of marvel comics and pizza."

*Shane recently noted on tumblr that it irked him that some people have found his facebook, taken personal photos of him and LD, an reposted them on sites like tumblr. I hope this isn't one of them, it was the first image that popped up on google. If anyone tells me differently, I will gladly remove it.

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Balance & Composure // Things We Think We’re Missing (Upcoming September 10, 2013)

This image was just released literally a couple of hours ago. I was previously working on a post that dealt with BalCo's first LP, Separation, but I knew I had to write about this new cover as soon as I saw it. I'm not 100% positive that this will be the actual cover of the album when it comes out, but I'm assuming so since this is the image they have been using to advertise/announce it.They are a really great band, "Say" and "You Can't Fix Me" on the split they did with Braid were amazing and I'm looking forward to hearing what they will be doing next.

I have seen many people saying that they aren't huge fans of the cover art, and I am going to have to agree with them, especially compared to the amazing paintings that were on their previous releases, and I am thankful I am not alone in this opinion. Please realize that this is obviously not a personal attack on the band (because I know how people can get on the internet...).

The pattern that are layered over the photograph are similar to the loop video for the countdown release on BalCo's official site. However, while the website's image is calming and reminds me of looking at cells underneath a microscope, The Things We Think We're Missing just comes of at garish. It's an interesting pattern, but the colors just don't go together very well, eyes go immediately to the yellow bits, and that detracts from the rest of the piece. Additionally, I find the vignette extremely awkward and although the font used is pretty nice, it just looks out of place here.

I do like the photograph itself, though! Quite a lot. A ghost (or at least what I consider to be a ghostlike figure) that is holding flowers conveys romanticism, delicacy, and a hint of creepiness at the same time. Even though the image is simple, and not really a new idea at all, I still love it. Bottom line: the photograph is very nice alone, the image is rather uninteresting, and layered together, the two are just not appealing at all and kind of looks like a bad high school graphic design project. One or the other image would have been a lot better, just not both at the same time.

Edit: I found the artist! David Summers, or dsummersphoto on tumblr. You've most likely seen his awesome concert photography floating around the internet! I've included a "behind-the-scenes" photo that I found on his site. It appears that the color pattern was physically projected onto the figure, which is very interesting.

[wakethesleepless]

Fall Out Boy // Save Rock and Roll (2013)

I love this album cover, Fall Out Boy has always used great art. it depicts two South Asian boys, probably arounds the same age, one in traditional Buddhist monk robes, and the other smoking, wearing a modern black t-shirt and jeans, it's a great juxtaposition of the old and the new. It even appears that the two could be holding hands, which makes the photo even more interesting. Asia is such a fascinating place to be because it has some of the fastest modernizing and growing cities in the world (Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Beijing, etc.), but there are still many who still practice traditions that are centuries old.

FOB wrote on their official site that "We came across the punk and monk image on the Internet and it really solidified what we were trying to get across on the record: The idea of old and new clashing. Tradition and change coming together, obviously this is an image that means a lot to many people...these kids represent the youth, change and irreverence that we hope our record is listen to with." (Anyone else find how amusing it is that "punk" and "monk" rhyme?)

This photo was taken in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma by Roger Stonehouse. He actually titled the piece that was used as the album art as "The Odd Couple", which I think is perfect. His other work taken in Burma is also wonderful, but the one of the two adolescents still resonates with me the most.

[wakethesleepless]

Every Time I Die // New Junk Aesthetic (2009)

Honestly, this album cover really freaked me out when it was first released and it still does, but I appreciate it more. It's pretty grotesque- and not in the "ugly-but-pretty" way, it's just plain gross, but that's probably what makes it so compelling. I mean, what's going on with the guy's arms? Are those intestines? Are his eyes embedded into his hands? The color scheme alone is pretty unsettling and the beard looks more like tentacles than hair. However, considering Every Time I Die's actual music and lyrics, one should not exactly expect a pleasant, eye-pleasing cover from them. This is why album cover art is important- in this case it shows that this band is not for the weak of heart.

Here you can see that the cover actually comes from a larger piece that gets even stranger. There are telephone cords, bleeding eyeballs on vultures, and dead/zombie (?) horses- it's just pure chaos. I think the editing that was done for the actual cover art is perfect and does not take away the feeling of the original. Despite the grossness of this piece, I am just blown away by the details that the artist has paid attention to- check out the individual hairs in the beard.

This art work was created by Jordan Buckley who is guitarist for ETID and vocalist Keith's brother. His other work is just as weird, he has done posters for the band as well, and it looks like New Junk Aesthetic comes from a series, which you can view here (again, really not for the faint of heart, this is some gruesome stuff there).