Brightest Young Things

John Foster takes music packaging very seriously. He has deconstructed the design of the recording industry through his personal work and his books, Maximum Page Design (HOW), New Masters of Poster Design (Rockport) and the upcoming For Sale: Innovative Solutions in Packaging Design (HOW) – out in October! As well as a monograph of Sub Pop’s Art Director, Jeff Kleinsmith, slated for publication by the label in 2009.

He will be poking and prodding various albums on a weekly basis so please be sure to keep an eye out!

This week’s victims:

Is it worth listening to no matter what it looks like? Listening to the record basically requires that you have interacted with the packaging in order to fully enjoy it. The text that serves as the cover and wraps to the back of the tray is actually the story of how the release came about. I will save you some of the reading and let you in on the basics; the three core members have played together for nearly 10 years but had yet to decide on a name. As Field Music came together, Memphis Industries asked to release a hodge-podge of material and the band agreed only if it could be presented as such – hence the complex written explanation of the contents.

The complex, XTC on electronics that the group would master in later discs is more than evident. The joyously, playful “You’re Not Supposed To” opens things up with a bang. “In The Kitchen” is more of an acoustic strum with brushed drums kissed by the intertwined sad vocals. The wonderful accents only serve to quaintly drive home a burst of “bop bop baaaahs” before the descending electric guitar ending. “Trying to Sit Out” is worthwhile just to see Peter Brewis getting his bearings arranging for string sections. “Breakfast Song” and “Feeding The Birds” are also Peter solo and feel a little thin in places but “Breakfast,” has a plaintive urgency in the vocal that is perfect.

Older material fills out the back and “I’m Tired” is a major drag but “Test Your Reaction” features a kind of digital hi-hat happy rhythm and twisting guitar figure that is a little out of control at times - but enjoyable none the less. “Alternating Current” screams “sitting around with my four track and my Beatles and Beach Boys records,” but in the best possible way. “Can You See Anything” wraps up the proceedings with a busy arrangement and a tinny drum track.

This followed the full length debut and served as a excellent history lesson on how they arrive at such a refined introduction.

Credit: “Artwork by Steve Rowland”

Any signs of creative interference in the design process by the artist? The band would need to be involved in the written portion but nothing conclusive.

Does the look fit the sound? It goes without saying that the design is intertwined with the music within. I would qualify this entire concept except that it is not entirely new. The most famous example was The Desperate Bicycles covering their DIY release with instructions on how to do so and then Scritti Politti one-upping them by listing individual costs. That was back when it served as a call to arms for like-minded bands to get in the game. Here it serves a more conceited purpose and is written in a fashion that is a tad self-important.

Taking note of the actual layout it brings to mind the famous Peter Saville design for Section 25 – doing much the same thing but with that simplistic style only Saville can bring to a project.

The design is not without its charms, and the use of color is playful and I am certain there is a reason behind when and where it shifts - but I have yet to figure it out. I particularly enjoy the inside booklet panel with the band name displayed in overlapping colors. Again, not a new ploy - but used effectively. Designer Steve Rowland has done a lot of work for the Memphis Industries label and the band and his work is usually dependant on a strong image. When left with type and color he creates something visually interesting but his typography is usually lacking and even here where the font choice is so vital he selects something lacking in nuance (looks like Gill Sans?) It’s not terrible, but it certainly could be better. The running of the copy also lacks tracking for each line and creates the dreaded “rivers” (visible pockets of space running through the paragraph when you squint.)

The portion that I haven’t shown you from the package is the interior booklet, which is filled with my favorite – random snapshots of varying quality of the band recording, taking photos of one another and basically milling about: Pointless and muddy. Bands take note – if you practice this time-honored inclusion I will hunt you down!

Final score (out of 10): 5.5 design, 7.0 for the music