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) as well as a monograph of Sub Pop’s Art Director, Jeff Kleinsmith, slated for publication by the label in 2008.

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:

Peter Bjorn and John “Writer’s Block”

Is it worth listening to no matter what it looks like? In honor of Peter Morén’s upcoming solo effort it seemed to be a perfect time to review one of the more talked about releases in recent memory. Being the “Peter” in Peter Bjorn and John and what not and adding to my need to dig into a package I really enjoy. It is going to be interesting to see how history paints PB+J. Following their ballyhooed debut they have quietly pursued singular interests musically, seemingly shying away from the pressure of a follow-up disc. Certainly the interest is greater in the collective and having had a song that gets played everywhere from Grey’s Anatomy to your local supermarket and all points in-between - the payoff is in staying together and getting down to writing hits. The success of “Young Folks” is a confirmation that an amazing pop song will find it’s way no matter the circumstances. The past is littered with examples but I refuse to throw names about, as I am not convinced PB+J are finished writing hits. The proof is in “Let’s Call It Off” and “The Chills” and other close calls. Sure those tracks don’t have beguiling female call and response vocals or the dreaded secret pop weapon of whistling, but they do have hooks and smarts and pave the way for what might still be to come.

For the time being we are left wondering if PB+J are this generations EMF with only one disc in the archives. If this does end up being the high point, they at least left behind a singular strange sound to wrap around their simple tunes and one killer single. Insane amounts of reverb and echo surround tinny beats and noisy yet thin bursts of guitar - somehow they managed to combine the charm of bedroom recording with the innovative gasping claustrophobic feel of Martin Hannett’s work for so many Manchester maestros (and U2 and the Psychedelic Furs and…) From the bracing rush of “Objects of My Affection” they keep things simple in their post punk folk mix, letting the details shine. When a second vocal comes in or say a super catchy whistling melody it is all the sweeter. When the reverb drenched “Start to Melt” comes on followed by the skittering thump of the ramshackle drums and a guitar solo that would make a young Robert Smith proud via “Up Against the Wall,” you realize that there really isn’t anything else that sounds like this. And you wish that there was - with the ache and longing that all good things create.

Credit: “Artwork & Handwriting by Graham Samuels, Typography by Kersten Hanson, Original Band Photo by Johan Bergmark ”

Any signs of creative interference in the design process by the artist? Not that left an obvious imprint.

Does the look fit the sound? Fresh faced Swede Samuels illustration style works very well with the band and he would go on to produce the “Young Folks” video and all of the singles sleeves associated with the release. It shares the simplicity and revels in the details much in the way that the music does. On the interior he uses a foldout graphite drawing of a seven-story building to allow the viewer to peek into the windows and “witness” each of the songs with a tailored image. The inside booklet also has the shy and pensive looking band members seeming uneasy at the attention as they catch you looking in. For all of the subtle joys on the inside (unfortunately the body type is not one of them nor is the lack of a needed third color on the discs) it is really the cover where Samuels shines.

Taking such a wry and literal view on the album title, he creates a city “block” and uses the title as playful signage with pigeons resting on it’s points. Having the band represented by three architecturally different skyscrapers is one of those “why didn’t I think of that” ideas. My true gauge for amazing design and imagery is deciding whether I could have come up with the same solution. In this case I can firmly say I couldn’t have in a million years and the fact that it is so obvious once you see it makes it connect all the more. The restraint in color is admirable, leaving the dark corners all the more powerful without being ominous and tempering the shine on the glossy glass-enclosed monoliths. You know you are getting a “big” effort without a lot of pretension. Only after staring at the cover for what seems like hours do you realize that right there at the base of the sign is a figure hunched over and determined to capture his thoughts on paper. Brilliant.

Final score (out of 10): 8.5 design (8.0 for the music)

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