Best Album Booklets of 2006
Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
With the release of their difficult junior album, New York’s Liars became a love/hate band, and this attitude can be applied to their artwork as well. While the artwork on Drum’s Not Dead might not be “beautiful” or attractive in the more traditional sense, neither is the music, and quite a few people seem to like both. The beauty of the artwork lies in the creativity and how appropriate the art is to the album. Both cold and calculated, the artwork also gives a glimpse into the recording processes of each song, and the quirky artwork also hints at the lightheartedness that is sometimes present in the disc and the band’s earlier work.
Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
While the cover of this album is nothing awe-inspiring and is rather B&S by numbers, the inside of the booklet provides a nice fan Q&A session with a long lists of questions from fans answered by different members of the band. The dialogue varies from quirky to genuinely funny, and even some personal chit-chat (“From: Lola Q- How come I never see you anymore? A- Lola, darling! I’ve been working. Stuart”) and all are interesting to B&S fans and a nice little bonus.
The Ms – Future Women
With an album that doesn’t create any new genres, nor necessarily travel through too many in its 50-minute lifespan, The Ms don’t sound preoccupied with emulating any one band’s particular sound, which is to the benefit of their own record. This same, all-inviting attitude seems to apply to their artwork, relying heavily on the conventionless art of graffiti.
Boduf Songs – Boduf Songs
This album from folksters Boduf Songs is yet another quality release from the nearly flawless Kranky. As on many of albummates Charalambides’ albums, the artwork on this album is Gothic in nature, paradoxically detailed in spite of its minimalism. This mood fits the sound of Mat Sweet’s compositions, which are equally stunning despite their similar minimalism.
Oneida – Happy New Year
Oneida continue to be one of the most creative bands in indie Rock, and this album continues the newly established tradition of awesome artwork to accompany their music. The strong lines of the art as well as the bold and sharp text mirror the angular sound Oneida has become so excellent at reproducing.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – Etiquette
As Owen Ashworth’s music continues to complicate itself, so does his artwork. Lush yet still sparse, the artwork of Etiquette follows the sound of the album, which uses a lot more live instrumentation and varied sounds in general, yet is still undeniably CFTPA. After rather mundane artwork on his first two albums, Ashworth is defying the trend of many artists in losing interest in the complete package as they move on, a good sign.