joe c records: March 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Current Favorite Album Covers

i felt that it was time once again to give a mention to my current favorite album covers. i haven't done this in a while because i haven't seen any new album covers that have struck me particularly, but these gave my eyes and mind a bit of a bone.

first up is the the Yeah Yeah Yeah's It's Blitz!. this is the strongest cover ive seen in a while. simple and bad ass. i originally thought it was a hand holding a fucked up flower, but when i saw that it was an egg i thought it was even better. i feel like their last EP IS IS was awesome and dark and the cover worked, unlike their second album whose title i cant even remember. this cover makes me wanna go swimming and cook hot dogs on a fire pit, sipping tequila if possible and i havent even heard the record yet.

second up is the cover for Antony & The Johnson's new record The Crying Light. unfortunately i have not heard this record yet despite the fact that Antony has one of the most intriguing voices and that this record has been out for months, probably two. i like the fact that since I Am A Bird Now his album covers have been vivid black and white images that call upon the beauty of his voice as well as the sheer absurdity of it. i feel as though i am being read a story in a series and its refreshing because its simple and strong.

thirdly we have the artwork for Chad Vangaalen's Soft Airplane out on Sub Pop. another record that has been out for months and that i have not heard. i love his first two albums and the way he makes his records, which is by himself in his basement with a shit load of random sounds and equipment. i tried to buy it on amazon but my card got lost so the transaction got cancelled. his work is all done by him and is always interesting. he steers towards a psychotic childhood / bad dream thing that i like. its raw and suits the homemade quality of his music. sometimes it just feels good to see somthing done by hand because it serves as a reminder that we all need to just calm down most of the time.

last but not least is Depeche Mode's cover art for their new record Sounds Of The Universe. many fans are not fond of this cover but i find this cover striking and reminiscent of Peter Saville's style and the design work he did with factory records. i don't know who designed it so i will have to find out when i get the album. the new single "Wrong" has a classic Depeche sound scape to it and it fits that the cover art hearkens back to their minimalistic stylistic approach via Violator and Music For The Masses.