Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - Oscillate Wisely

There is something about handmade silkscreened record artwork that gets me good every time. It often accompanies music released on a more local level and/or limited run basis, and it always demonstrates a level of passion and dedication hardly ever revealed through manufactured artwork.

I can't help but relate this admiration to a foody's obsession with locally grown organic ingredients. Corporate owned restaurant chains continue to fill the bellies of the masses in the same way larger record companies thoughtlessly use the same formulas over and over for what should be creative designs. When you can simply look at carrots and see their unique flavor profile, or open a carton of multicolored eggs and know the vibrant yokes inside are going to ooze richness... that's when I can wait to drop the needle on the record to hear what awaits. It's not going to be Radiohead or Justin Timberlake, and no its not going to be that McRib sandwich that stirs up memories of youthful trips to the beach, but I can promise you it's going to push some envelopes that were left on the table that should have been opened in the first place.

This is definitely the case with Mike Adams At His Honest Weight's album 'Oscillate Wisely.' But Mike Adams has a lot more going for him than thought provoking packaging; he's a brilliant song writer, and has a handsome Mike Love (Beach Boys) -like voice (maybe not quite as high but just as silky-sweet) - best presented on "I'm Not Worried."

The cover art appears to be a picture of Mr. Adams himself, although I've opted not to GTS to confirm. St. Ives and Flannelgraph Records (split release) had a standard white record jacket (spray?) painted with silver ink on the front, and then the artwork was silkscreened with blue ink on top, with the emblem-inspired imagery.

The back cover is much more raw; as if there was a little dirt left on the carrots. Mike Adams did the handwriting and additional illustration. The record is hand-numbered, limited to 500 copies, and does come with liner notes that further explain the teamwork and responsibilities involved with crafting this prize release.

"Don't You Blanket (When That Happens)" launches side-b like the best of any Starflyer 59 album, while "It's All Been Done (You Said)" highlights Adams' understanding of vocal melodies in a way that reminiscent of Alan Sparhawk (Low); pulling from the best-of-the-best of influences.

I can't get enough of this bona fide indie rock record and Mike Adams' graceful vocals, as well as his respect of ambience. Originally released January 25, 2011... Check out 'Oscillate Wisely' over at Flannelgraph's Bandcamp.

The Zookeepers - True To These Times / Signals - ...And Those Times, Too

This split 12inch release between The Zookeepers and Signals, brought to us by Cellar Hits Records, exemplifies what I love about indie rock music: youthful, fearless, boisterous, divergent. I had high hopes from the minute I held this minimally designed record, and The Zookeepers and Signals certainly delivered.

The record jacket itself is a standard plain white cardboard sleeve, similar to one you might buy for that naked John Coltrane 12inch you found at the thrift store last Sunday. There is no actual printing on the white jacket, but a 6" paper square with the cover art has been glued onto the cardboard in the top right corner. There is nothing on the backside, and there is no spine with title information either to help you find this gem once you've filed it in between your Neil Young and ZS, or Tracy Shedd and Silk Flowers records; depending on which side you chose to file by.

Inside the jacket you will find a standard 8.5"x11" sheet of 20lb. white paper with liner notes and lyrics for each band, printed in black photocopier ink. Additionally, there is photocopied sheet music with what appears to be hand-drawn Sharpie-marker artwork, and photocopied receipt-tickets with the message "We designed this for you. All the mistakes were on purpose." repeated. There is a math worksheet, seven pages torn out from a book, information about a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that took place in California in 1994, a random piece of foil, a Pocket Monsters game card, and my favorite... photocopied miniature US currency totaling $22.00. The actual vinyl record appears to be the randomly selected mixed colored vinyl that manufacturing plants often offer at a discounted rate, cheaper than even your standard black vinyl.

Somehow between the medley of propaganda and lack of commonly expected features most consumers and collectors would be seduced by, I could sense The Zookeepers and Signals put a lot of heart behind this release. It's so obvious when someone puts a lot of money behind a record, by gusto is only visible when you close your eyes and open your mind.

This record, and the fact that it was pressed on vinyl (the fact that someone chose to invest the money that it takes to press it on vinyl), demonstrates one of the many shining examples as to why music should truly only exist on vinyl: vinyl records separate the men from the boys. Bands that are serious about their music want it on vinyl, understand what vinyl represents, and will do whatever it takes to make their music available on vinyl, even if that means releasing it with a generic white sleeve and glueing a 6" square on one side to provide you with some satisfaction of having artwork to find the record in your collection. Bands that only release their music via digital outlets, and even worse: online for free, simply have no balls. Bands that work with CDs might at least have a left nut, since a CD is a physical medium and the audio quality does somewhat resemble the actual sounds from the instruments. But when a band releases their music on a vinyl record, and its obvious that it was a financial struggle just to get the music on wax, on top of having to be creative to keep you visually entertained with packaging, it speaks highly about their character, dedication to their craft, and pursuit of artistic expression.

It's like a kid with a lemonade stand who is competing against the aggressively marketed Coca-Cola brand that is hyped through illustrious, trendy adverts. The average Joe would rather purchase an accessibly fashionable beverage at one of many places immediately nearby than drive 25-mph through some adolescent-infested neighborhood where baseballs, bicycles, and bb-guns are threatening their newly purchase used IROC-Z to support that 9-year old kid that picked lemons in the blazing sun the day before from his side-yard and made fresh lemonade with his 98-year old Great-Grandmother to sell today from a table made of a cardboard box. Those kids peddling their homemade lemonade never let me down when the needle hit their records, and neither has The Zookeepers, Signals or Cellar Hits Records with this release.

CDs, digital music, and the internet made it so easy for anyone to compete with the Coca-Cola caliber of musicians; promoting what appears to be an equal product, but not. These outlets have allowed people (not necessarily musicians or even artists) to over saturated the music industry. Vinyl records hold the (financial) bar high enough to keep the riff-raff out. In the past twenty-five years of collecting vinyl records, I've found that when a band is barely paying the entry fee to having their music pressed on wax, its always worth checking out. Bands that strive for this medium, no matter what the cost or sacrifice, always have a lot more to say than those that settle for the bargain-bin way.

This is not to say that all music on vinyl, and especially all music released with low-fi packaging, is going to be ground breaking. But in the case of The Zookeepers and Signals, ...from the hair-raising scream that opens the first track, "Welcome Nancy," on The Zookeepers side, to "Mommy Issues" and "Monster Party 2," with their sickly infectious beats delivered by Jacob Cooper (AKA: Jacob Safari of Wavves, The Mae Shi, Bark Bark Bark), that concludes Signals' side, this split 12inch is full of fresh lemonade made from local, organic, sustainable, GMO free, carbon free, gluten free, grass fed (and whatever else) lemons, and I'm going back for seconds.

Ghosts of Sailors at Sea - Sheldon Taylor 7inch

I love how, to this day, artists and musicians from or touched by New England continue to tie in a nautical theme to their work. Ghosts of Sailors at Sea, starting with their name and moving all the way through the packaging of their "Sheldon Taylor" 7inch, do just that. The record insert includes a quote from Sheldon Taylor himself, leaving you to wonder that if Taylor was an American explorer over a century ago, then Boston's Ghosts of Sailors at Sea would be the soundtrack to his adventures being told on the silver screen in the modern age.

Personally, I love everything "maps," so they had me at pulling the purple vinyl out of the v-fold jacket and seeing the well drafted center labels of the record itself. With the exception of the font type used (I am never a fan of computerized fonts that are made to look like handwriting; robots will never replace humans), the design of this record takes me back to fellow New Englanders like Victory At Sea or The One AM Radio (but in color for the latter).

Musically: I would have to ask Andrew and Patrick from Ghosts of Sailors at Sea if either of them were kin of Sean McCarthy, singer / guitarist of Helms. Their musical structure, derived from Bostonians like Helms (post-rock / math-rock), explores the various tributaries and creeks of the Charles River their founders left pure. There is still an innocence, but Andrew and Patrick have been studying their maps and charting the course for their music to forge ahead.

"Geoffrey Pope," was my favorite of the two instrumental tracks. It's more mature and forthright, and its on side-b; inevitably going to be preferred. The more challenging guitar work on "Sheldon Taylor" (side-a) reminded me of Ed Crawford (fIREHOSE); a bit more complicated and perplexed from its cohort. I could easily see this single sitting within the catalog of Kimchee Records (Victory At Sea, Helms, 27, Tiger Saw, Chris Brokaw).

Colored vinyl is always a win for me, otherwise the packaging gets a B+ for its well placed maritime imagery. However, my favorite element was the 'Christmas Crab' found on the outside of the mailer for this co-released Gatehouse Anchor / Faded Maps Records 7inch. I may just have to employ the Christmas Crab to continue spreading Holiday Cheer (and mailing information) throughout the New Year.

Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits

The moment this album, 'A Thing Called Divine Fits,' first came into my line of sight, I knew Britt Daniel of the band Spoon had to have something to do with it. Somewhere between the simplistic, iconic cover image of a cherry backed by the chartreuse-like (its more yellow than chartreuse) wash of color with the words "Divine Fits" in an Arial Black font slapped on top, to the continuous use of that sans serif font on the back for the song titles (minus spacing) to be displayed in a joyous, proud manner (which I've personally grown to love and expect from Britt Daniel records), I was in the midst of placing my bet that 'A Thing Called Divine Fits' was indeed the next Spoon record. This recently-introduced-fan of Wolf Parade was pleasantly surprised to learn that Divine Fits is actually a new band made up of Daniel, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Sam Brown of New Bomb Turks, and Alex Fischel.

This record was a present for me from my friend Colin, who is cronies with Craig Cully, the painter of this famed cherry that is now part of the ever growing imagery that represents Britt Daniel's musical recordings: girl with camera - 'Nefarious (EP),' man with sunglasses - 'Telephone,' vinyl record - 'Girls Can Tell,' arms - 'Kill The Moonlight,' red hooded cape - 'Gimme Fiction,' text only - 'Got Nuffin,' etc.. Craig was kind enough to sign this copy for Colin to give to me; pretty stoked!

'A Thing Called Divine Fits' is loaded with those übercatchy pop hooks that Daniel often brings to his Spoon records. But it wasn't until track-3, "What Gets You Alone," when Boeckner delivered the opening line, "Jessica please, take out insurance on me," that I was truly hooked on this album. Is it just me, or did anyone else catch the (possibly intentional) homage to Fugazi's "Dear Justice Letter" with this lyric? My mind went wandering with wonder at first; I completely missed the song and had to reset the needle to get back on track with enjoying the music.

"The Salton Sea" led by Daniel is the most entrancing song on this debut album for Divine Fits. With its echoing synthesizers pulling you in through their bouncing beats, you begin to dream that the brilliance of this record could possibly be Divine Fits extending this song until, let's say 'infinity,' so you never have to wake from this dreamscape. However, like any good pop-song-composer, Daniel knows to cut it short and leave you wanting more; well played.

Side-b continues to deliver additional gems for fans of Divine Fits' origins: "Civilian Stripes, "Like Ice Cream," and the pulsating, dreamy (pun intended) "Neopolitans." For me, I continue to respect Daniel's accessible approach to his music / art / design. Six tracks for side-a, five for side-b, and only one vinyl record required for this fun LP; traditional in form, with lyrics and liner notes printed on the inside jacket (no additional inserts needed). I like it. Although, following a critique from another design-focused-fan, I can't help by wonder if Daniel had someone else design the center labels on the vinyl record itself.

Mono - For My Parents

For my first review on this site, it's only appropriate to talk about a Mono release with Temporary Residence Ltd.. I've been a fan of not only this band for many years, but this record label as well. Mono first grabbed my attention back in 2004 with their release of 'Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined,' a beautiful record with a die-cut image of two girls holding what appears to be violins. I did not know anything about the band at the time, and simply purchased that record based on the respect of Temporary Residence Ltd. and the sheer beauty of the packaging (I'm a sucker for die-cut anything).

Fast forward eight years and Mono's latest release is equally as stunning, and musically as brilliant. Being that the purpose behind this website / blog is to not only review records for their music, but almost more so for their packaging... Mono's 'For My Parents' was an obvious first choice.

The use of the 'tip on' style printing immediately caught my attention. I'm near tempted to purchase any record that uses this process of printing; it truly demonstrates the dedication the record label and / or band have for the release altogether. It is financially a significant increase in price for manufacturing, so I can understand why not every vinyl record is housed in this fashion, but it is a sweet feeling to hold a tip-on jacket in your hands.

Second for me was the printing; it's almost more gorgeous that the classic black and white print we've would come to expect from Mark Kozelek / Sun Kil Moon / Red House Painters. Either the black is printed at approximately 30% ink, or they designed this package with only using a single color, close to a grey or light brown. Either way, the simplicity in the design lends to how romantic and mature this record is for Mono.

I had once tried to introduce my father to Mono, as he is a fan of orchestral, ambient music. They were playing a live concert and it was going to be my first time seeing them; I thought it would be a great father-son outing. Unfortunately, Pops couldn't make the concert, and after seeing Mono at that point (early) in their career, I began to think Pops may not have tolerated the more abrasive, explosive elements that they were becoming very well known for, especially in their live shows. 'For My Parents' feels like its the right time in Mono's career (and sound) to try again with introducing my father to their music; following suit on what the title suggests.

My favorite moments with this release come with the second vinyl record (side-c and side-d). I feel where the record begins (side-a), with the song "Legend" and moving through "Nostalgia," (side-b) is comfortable territory for Mono; where the listener is either expecting or wanting Mono to go. This is where I would take my father first so he would understand their history.

However, when "Unseen Harbor" begins with side-c, there is a memory of Spain I have not sensed before with Mono's guitar work. Our storytellers don't stray too far from the dramatic moments we love them for, but if you actually review this track on the physical vinyl itself before dropping your needle, your will notice that its not long before a new dynamic will be presented to the listener; a coming of age, one may say. It provides a perfect segue into the well-titled "A Quiet Place (Together We Go)" on side-d; an impressive finale for 'For My Parents.'

According to my research on the ol' world wide web, the white vinyl (pictured here) was limited to the first 500 copies pressed; 100 of them going to Mono to sell at their live concerts (limited to one sale per concert and only to a person that asked for the white copy) and the other 400 were for Temporary Residence Ltd. to sell by mail order.

The final straw that takes this release over the edge with amazing packaging and design is the additional insert Mono includes for you to send a personal letter to your parents. The insert even includes an area for you to attach a photograph to your letter. It is actually cut on all four corners for the photograph to be inserted into the paper; a great attention to detail, providing a thoughtful way for Mono to connect even further with their audience. Now if I could only bring myself to actually part ways with this one element of the contents from 'For My Parents' and actually use it for its intentions, making my copy of the record incomplete of its original design... I think my parents will understand.