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 now! 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:

Bishop Allen “The Broken String”

 

Is it worth listening to no matter what it looks like? Starting out with an insanely twee tune in “The Monitor” that seems to be trying to hold back it’s grand pop aspirations until they squeak out now and again. Justin Rice and Christian Rudder come across like Harvey Williams (look it up) writing songs for The Decemberists. Taking the foot off the lyrical pedal, they just let “the rain fall down and wash this world away” and produce a snap crackle pop of a tune in “Rain.” It has just the right production touches and a wonderful exuberance about it that is infectious. The only drawback is that it sets the bar pretty damn high for the remainder of the record.

 

“Click, Click, Click, Click” is too cute, both in its construction and execution. “The Chinatown Bus” has an engagingly awkward guitar intro but it ditches it for tambourine and wordplay before the drunken horns (will no one ever use these well after Neutral Milk Hotel?) tell you it is the bridge. The result is like an American version of the Sugargliders or Lucksmiths, sans all the charm and quirks – which is the point of those bands. Jon Natchez’s flute work at the end takes the poor man’s Jethro Tull approach, which isn’t a good thing. “Flight 180” sticks to a ruminating guitar figure, but a nautical (in a song about a plane ride?)  percussion build is a little much, as is their need to start and stop vocal melodies in a busy manner just off the beat (more a sign of no restraint than a stylistic approach.) Much like The Decemberist’s weakest efforts, these songs suffer heavily from being overworked.

 

“Like Castanets” is a strummy jaunt that at least lets the various instruments breath, but still is little more than a second rate Beulah. “Butterfly Nets” features Darbie Nowatka’s vocals and you are instantly aware of a singer who stays in the “pocket” of the songs. Not that it’s a terribly strong tune but it does showcase the shortcomings elsewhere. Here Natchez’s horn work is given a raw recording and certainly is stronger for it. “Shrinking Violet” continues the down home vibe with banjo and then “Corazon” brings the piano strut and jammy guitar. “Middle Management” (Nick and Nora alert!) comes out of nowhere with a manic power pop burst and giant “alright!” chorus. This would sound amazing nestled next to The Knack or The A’s.

 

Bafflingly, “Choose Again” goes all Peter Gabriel “So” era on us, and then the uber cute “The News From Your Bed” closes things out. It makes for a frustrating listen. There is a glut of bands making halfass orchestral pop but so few that can write a true blistering pop charmer like “Rain” or “Middle Management” so I dearly hope that the band pushes in that direction moving forward. I have my doubts of course… the bulk of the album is re-recordings from an immense pile they created doing monthly EP’s, so their ability to discern might be in question.

 

Credit: “Design by: Darbie Nowatka”

 

Any signs of creative interference in the design process by the artist? Sort of, as Nowatka does add vocals to most tracks on the album and is in the touring band.

 

Does the look fit the sound? The look and feel is suited to the old time nature of a few of the tracks – unsurprisingly, the one that features Nowatka, but not to the whole. The packaging is actually quite like the disc though in that it never quite executes what it aspires to. RISD grad Nowatka certainly has a fondness for old ephemera and imagery, as the booklet makes clear (as does her past work.) The cover is executed perfectly in capturing that feel and the back panel does a nice job as well (except for the inclusion of the Dead Oceans clunky logo – help!) Once inside, a warm wallpaper pattern greets you, but something seems off with the label art. The use of the italic font lacks the weight given to it in other areas of the package and the music notation comes across as a little hokey – not to mention the craft brown background is far from that used in the booklet across the way.

What about that booklet you say? Well, it holds to the found imagery or etchings but updates them with tiny graphic elements in white or brighter colors. It’s not a bad effect but only used in the booklet it seems out of sorts. Taken as a single image, a number of the booklet spreads are pretty striking but I must admit to being immensely disappointed in the literal translations of the songs in some cases. Hmmm… for “Like Castanets” lets show a woman holding castanets… “The Chinatown Bus” is given a tragic treatment courtesy of an obvious bus stop sign and Chinese banners and signs on the buildings. Trust me, we got it with the song title.

The end result is an empty feeling of what could have been but an even emptier feeling of what will never be. Everyone involved is still at the beginning of their careers so lets hope this gets chalked up to experience and we all look back on “Rain” or the record cover and say – “yes, that was the beginning of a widely successful (and fruitful) pathway. I told you they could do it.” The nice part is that I think they can.

Fingers crossed that they do.

You can see what direction they are headed for yourself on Saturday when they headline the Black Cat.

 

Final score (out of 10): 6.0 design, 6.0 for the music

 

 

 Send to a Friend