skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A few days ago, the Side One Dummy website read that the artwork for the new Gaslight Anthem album had been "unveiled", and I was already skeptical. Unveiled?! What the fuck? A long lost Van Gogh painting? Or even a new Banksy piece? Either way, I figured, it must be special...
And yes, it is special indeed. "Special" in a Special Olympics way.
All right, I am the first to admit that the artwork for The '59 Sound was one giant step forward from the visual atrocity known as Sink Or Swim. And let's not forget that Señor and the Queen looks fucking awesome... (That said, please check out www.giantsquidletterpress.com for a lot of really amazing letterpress artwork!) So well, yes, this band had developed a really strong visual identity over the years, one that even I could enjoy.
But let's be honest, the new cover... ouch! I actually like the idea, but that's where it ends. Maybe the only good thing I can say about it is that it was quite smart to use the same typeface as on '59 again. What totally ruins it is that white border around everything... it looks like some World of Warcraft playing douchebag from the Gaslight Anthem's bible group came up with the concept of making the record look "used" and "old", but one Photoshop lesson after sunday school just wasn't enough to pull it off. Seriously, it's looking putting this picture on top of that cover. Why not poop on it?
(Please excuse me for a moment... must... empty... stomach...)
On with the sweetness, baby! The album title in that black box on the bottom corner... what's that? Did you forget to add it in your 72 DPI preview file? I am not even mentioning the arrangement of the photos here. It wouldn't take any amputee who has to click the mouse with his toes longer than let's say ten minutes to crop them properly!
But the cream of the crap (oops, crop, I mean...) is the knuckle duster right under the label logo. I am not even blaming the graphic "designer" here, maybe it was just a smart business move. "Dude, well, you know, dude, we need to expand our target audience... let's not forget our old fans. You know, dude, that chick in Poophole, Ohio, was all over me... I want her to buy the record at Hot Topic!" NO! NO! NO! What's next then? Girlie shirts in XS that are flexible enough to fit a whale if stretched properly?
Dear whoever-did-this-cover, I would love to meet you and shake your hand. You must be a fucking genius. Not when it comes to graphic design, sorry, but I'm sure you got a big bag full of money to commit offense to all my sensiblities, and that makes you one hell of a business man. Oh, and by the way, you owe me a meal. The one I had today wouldn't remain in my belly.
While going through my negatives recently, I discovered the photo above. Is it just me, or does it really look like this?
Anyway, it made me think of something Henry Rollins once said:
"When I was 18, I wanted to fuck on the floor and break shit. When I was 25, I wanted to fuck on the floor and break shit. When I was 35, I wanted to fuck on the floor and break shit. Now I'm 40 and I wanna fuck on the floor and break shit."
I am 36 years old now. You do the math.
Sometimes it's a good thing if I don't write a review right away. Some things need time. Some things only make sense when the time is right. When I first listened to Restless Rubes, I was like "uhm, well, ok". Today is March 1st. Today is the first real warm and sunny day of the year, and all of a sudden it all clicked, and it all made sense.
I guess Ninja Gun are punk kids at heart. They did split EPs with Fake Problems and the mighty Whiskey & Co., and their lyrics clearly show where they come from - but still, Restless Rubes is a pop record. And no, that's not a contradiction. I mean, come on... fucking London Calling is the prime example of a pop record made by punks. So there.
First of all, the production is superb. "Superb" in a major label, big budget kind of way, but without sounding too slick and polished. There is a certain depth and warmth to the sound that makes a whole lot of dirt shine through. And if you know me, you know how much I love dirt - or, in the words of Jason Jessee: "I like to fall on my face. I like to hurt myself. I like everything!"
So what we have here is a pop album that might appeal to three old boys and aging ex-punks at the same time, and this is something that doesn't happen every day. When I still had a regular 9 to 5 day job, I would play Samiam and Sense Field all the time, because I fucking loved these bands (still do!) and nobody felt annoyed. Ninja Gun should be filed in the same category. Sure enough, this isn't a record to piss off frat boys and cops and co-workers, but what the fuck... this is 2010, and a Born Again$t t-shirt is not going to change the world.
Restless Rubes might not make it into any top 10 lists this year, it might not become anybody's favorite record, but if you seriously give it two or three chances, it's a rock solid album that you will find yourself coming back to. You might even dig it so much that you will save three copies from a sales CD bin as birthday presents. In the meantime, I will keep my fingers crossed that it actually does not end up in sales bins. It's simply too good for that.
www.ninjagun.com
www.gunnerrecords.com
