We all know not to judge books, records, movies, et cetera, by their covers, but let’s face it, sometimes it’s hard. For better or worse, cover art incontrovertibly becomes part of your experience of whatever you’re watching, reading, or listening to. Good art is magnetic, it adds a little extra something; bad art, on the other hand… well, you know, think about the recent uproar over the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Mosquito cover. The internet era’s having made album art an almost-obsolete art form might level the playing field when it comes to music, but it also takes away quite a bit of the fun – picking up a beautiful, iconic record is frankly pretty thrilling. It’s like if you could pick up the Mona Lisa, then manhandle it while you listen to a musical version. Or at least, that’s what it’s like to check out album art by Storm Thorgerson, the British graphic designer whose intense, surreal, one-of-a-kind artwork adorns records by artists from Led Zeppelin to Ween, who passed away this week at 69 after a long fight with cancer.

Thorgerson and the studio he co-founded, Hipgnosis, created images that have since become larger cultural touchstones, whether they be humorous (like Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother), creepily surrealist (like the Cranberries’ Bury the Hatchet), or postmodern twists on more traditional album artwork (like Peter Gabriel’s 1978 self-titled release). Most iconically, Hipgnosis designed seventeen album covers for Thorgerson’s close friends in Pink Floyd, including the now-classic refracting prism that covers Dark Side of the Moon (above). On Thorgerson’s website, you can peruse a slideshow of some of the collages, manipulated photographs, and illustrations he and Hipgnosis designed for a diverse array of artists (our personal favorite is their cover for Black Sabbath’s 1976 release Technical Ecstasy), or watch and listen to this great 2010 interview, as Thorgerson speaks about his own creative process, especially when it comes to creating his tongue-in-cheek artwork for Pink Floyd.

we’re all freaking out today about deerhunter’s new record monomania which comes out may 7 and about this amazing accompanying press photo. as is typical i aspire as a writer to the cryptic weirdness of the statement they made about it. i’m listening to cryptograms on repeat in celebration as usual

tracklist looks like this:

01 Neon Junkyard
02 Leather Jacket II
03 The Missing
04 Pensacola
05 Dream Captain
06 Blue Agent
07 T.H.M.
08 Sleepwalking
09 Back To The Middle
10 Monomania
11 Nitebike
12 Punk (La Vie Ante?rieure)

deerhunter have a new bassist josh mckay (though i already miss josh fauver) and a new guitarist frankie broyles who used to be in a great band called balkans. he also played drums with lotus plaza last year and he has his own project that sounds a lot like oldschool lotus plaza (which is not a problem for me). keep in mind that this brings deerhunter’s guitar count to three so get ready for your face to melt the fuck off.

i thought the titles “the missing” (which is the lockett track on the record) and “nitebike” sounded familiar so i went back in my truly embarrassing deerhunter bootleg archives and remembered they were both played live with lotus plaza and atlas sound respectively; those links are to downloads of the shows that include those songs on nyctaper if you want to check them out. “the missing” is “unknown 2” in the lotus plaza recording.

remember the black lips said it was really punk and brad said something about bo diddley.

we will keep you posted on this.

Minneapolis trio Strange Relations have returned with yet another brilliant, stormy single. Despite the fact that they have yet to release their first EP, members Casey Sowa, Marisa Helgeson, and Andrew Shaw have wasted no time in captivating the Minneapolis scene with their stunning live presence.

Writing in Reverse is proud to premiere Endurance, a thunderous display of technical prowess that combines everything we love about dream pop, shoegaze, and math rock in to one. Featuring crisp rhythms, haunting vocals, and a gliding guitar groove, Endurance is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Make sure to catch Strange Relations when they play The Turf Club this Saturday, January 26th in support of Philadelphia sensations Free Energy, and keep watch for their debut EP, coming winter 2013.

Caitlin

R E C O R D S

naomi punk the feeling
nu sensae sundowning
ty segall twins and slaughterhouse
metz s/t
lotus plaza spooky action at a distance
tame impala lonerism
liars wixiw
cold pumas persistant malaise
menomena moms
the soft walls s/t
grass widow internal logic
dan deacon america

E P s

footwork +jbvm
chastity belt fuck chastity belt / dude
wimps  demo
kithkin takers & leavers ep
makeup monsters nervous case
each other heavily spaced
blessed state demo
ubu roi demo tape / babe demo
weed gun control ep
hags cool evil ep

S O N G S

naomi punk “trashworld”
lotus plaza “eveningness”
roomrunner “undo”
ff “deadhead”
eric copeland “double reverse psychology”
screaming females “doom 84”
white lung “i rot”
disappears “joa”
hausu “bleak”
ty segall “slaughterhouse”

V I D E O S
(i didn’t watch many music videos this year)

naomi punk “burned body”

P R E V I O U S  R E L E A S E S
(records from years past that i had newfound appreciation for in 2012)

talbot tagora lessons in the woods or a city
nirvana insecticide
the birthday party s/t
my bloody valentine eps 1988-1991
cluster & eno s/t
quilt s/t

B E S T  P H O T O  O F  L I L  B U B

Genevieve

R E C O R D S

naomi punk the feeling
cold pumas persistent malaise
lotus plaza spooky action at a distance
grimes visions
nu sensae sundowning
menomena moms
broken water tempest
the soft walls s/t
ty segall and band twins and slaughterhouse
tame impala lonerism
metz s/t
diiv oshin
divine fits a thing called divine fits
purity ring shrines
the men open your heart

E P s

makeup monsters nervous case
kithkin takers and leavers
dan rossen silent hour / golden mile
azealia banks 1991
footwork +jmbvm

S O N G S
these aren’t necessarily singles, although many of them are

makeup monsters “spirit”
tame impala “elephant”
kirin j callinan “wiiw”
naomi punk “burned body”
pollens “helping hands”
lotus plaza “monoliths”
diiv “doused”
grimes + majical clouds “nightmusic”
grizzly bear “sleeping ute”
thee oh sees “lupine dominus”
divine fits “would that not be nice”
prince rama “so destroyed”
ty segall + white fence “i am not a game”
savages “husbands”
the soft walls “black cat”

V I D E O S
you can probably tell watching these that i was really into westerns this year

doldrums “she is the wave”
azealia banks “liquorice”
twin shadow “five seconds”
king krule “rock bottom”
naomi punk “burned body”
honorable mention – diiv’s “doused” video just because i’m in it

the best picture of lil bub, no matter what cait and gunnar say:

Gunnar

R E C O R D S

naomi punk the feeling
nu sensae sundowning
father john misty fear fun
tame impala lonerism
toy s/t
melody’s echo chamber s/t
beach house bloom
mac demarco 2
frank ocean channel orange
cold pumas persistent malaise 
llying lotus until the quiet comes
parquet courts light up gold
merchandise children of desire
tops tender opposites
how to dress well total loss
dent may do things
young man vol. 1

E P s

haim forever
rhye open
pure bathing culture s/t
noir cœur jahnimal
αtμ<3 (v)
imaginary family hidden
saåad confluences

L O C A L  S I N G L E S

carroll“sticks”
gloss “front porch”
strange relations “ghost world”
olsen twinns “2+2”
prissy clerks “bruise or be bruised”

S I N G L E S

melody’s echo chamber “i follow you”
unknown mortal orchestra “swim and sleep (like a shark)”
wild nothing “shadow”
no regular play “rain all day”
αtμ “what you like”
djemba djemba “oh yeah that’s cool (phillip rablais remix)”
is home is “promise?”
velveteens “chico”
king tuff “stoned and alone”
naomi punk “linoleum tryst”
toro y moi “so many details”
young man “fate”
le1f “wut”
mykki blanco “haze.boogie.life”
kate boy “northern lights”
hundred waters “thistle (starslinger remix)”
korallreven “sa sa samoa (elite g’z remix)”
doldrums “she is the wave (ft. guy davis)”
blue hawaii “in two”
solar year “night and day”

L O C A L  A L B U M S

01. olsen twinns found things
02. prissy clerks bruise or be bruised
03. the velveteens s/t cassette
04. nice purse slumber girls
05. the miami dolphins capri sun
06. france camp your leather
07. vacation dad livin
08. the mystery train s/t
09. pony trash s/t
10. food pyramid mango sunrise
11. leisure birds globe master
12. claps glory, glory

Clean Eugene is the alias of bedroom musician/videographer Max Fisher, a full-time student at the University of Wisconsin Madison who happens to have a lot of free time on his hands. Despite releasing two EP’s consisting  of ambient, drone, and experimental soundscapes, Clean Eugene has never played a live show. Additionally, it’s quite clear that music isn’t his sole aspiration, as he’s entered in to prime video mashing territory with his new film project Hand$ome Phantom. The piece relies heavily on clashing clips from what appear to be 80’s commercials ripped from poorly retained VHS tapes. Though you shouldn’t expect a live show any time soon, the recordings alone are enough to make you hope that someday soon, Clean Eugene will grace the stage. Download the Clean EP for free via the Clean Eugene Facebook page.

i am from a town in new york state called pleasantville. sometimes when i tell people i am from there they ask me if i can only see in black and white. they are talking about the movie from 1998 which stars tobey mcguire, and i can see in color. i have always done a lot of thinking about manchester in the UK because i have liked joy division since i was like thirteen, and then i grew up and started listening to new order and the fall and stuff, and that city feels so black and white to me. i’ve never been there. and really, it’s beautiful! but i don’t know, it makes me think of milltowns in new england and how they feel so gray even on the bluest day with the red brick and the autumnest oranges or the summerest greens. and savages are not even from manchester; they are from london. on facebook they say their influences include jg ballard (have y’all read crash? don’t read crash, except read crash, don’t tell anyone i told you). the point is savages sound black and white. this song “husbands” sounds like chain smoking at a cafe when you have just had some disastrous epiphany about some absolute existential horror (jehnny beth sings about waking up next to someone with no eyes) and the world is going by you in very quick dark blurs and you feel like you aren’t moving at all, but you are moving because of course you are because everything around you is hurtling through space, and so are you, can’t you see it? gemma thompson’s guitar sounds like shattering something. when i saw savages in october i hadn’t listened to them at all and i thought jehn was singing “ask me once, ask me once, ask me once,” and it sounded like a dare. she is saying “husbands, husbands, husbands,” and it’s still a dare. it’s like she’s grabbed you by your ears and is making you stare at the void.

savages have only officially released two songs and a live EP and are not yet signed. they played among the best live shows i have seen this year.

website | facebook | wonderful interview on pitchfork

i laid awake and stared at the ceiling of the factory and wondered what would happen if it collapsed. my bones ground into a fine druglike powder. the grist of me thin and sticky like quicksand. past midnight a dude i didn’t know came through to scrap copper wire and asked me what was wrong with me. my face was still fucked up. my nose looked stuck on by a kid. my eyes inside thick canyoned velvet rings. “absurdity,” i said. when he was leaving in like an hour or so with a few long coils i went outside with him to smoke a cigarette and we set a fire to burn the plastic coating off the wire. the air smelled acrid and the smoke rose furling in thick tendrils. the moon pushed at it blindly through the thick fog. feeling its dumb way. i asked the guy if he wanted to go get a 40 or something down the street after and he said no. i asked if he thought you could live at all with your heart outside your body and he said oh dear god, are you fucking serious? i said sure i was and he said he thought it depended on circumstances. circumstances being whether i was being fucking metaphoric or fucking literal. then he said “what the fuck are you doing out here.” i said, whatever. don’t start with me. don’t open that box.

the soft walls is dan reeves from brighton, uk, who plays also in cold pumas (whose debut persistent malaise is out tomorrow and also incredible) and runs the label, faux discx, that releases his bands’ records among those from other local artists. if you only have time for one song, try “black cat,” which is likely one of my favorite tracks of this year.

if you are in or near new york or new jersey please help your neighbors in any way you can.

Fresh off of a national tour featuring several New York City dates, our favorite Minneapolis folks are back with a new NSFW video for “Radical Roses”. Directed by the band’s own Elise Pfau, the video features drunken rampage, bloody knives, breasts, melting ice cream cones, and sexual ghosts. Clearly, this a prime contender for one of the best independent videos of 2012.  Though the band is constantly busy with their various other projects, we hope that they’ll resume their live shenanigans soon. Stream the video above, and download “Slumber Girls”on bandcamp now.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past thirty years, you should know that Western Massachusetts is a hotbed of punk communities making incredible art and music. In that tradition as well as that of the early ’80s D.C. hardcore scene, newcomers Blessed State are making melodic, danceable-yet-headbangable punk that you can’t help but love. The band, with members of Iron Hand and Ratzinger in the mix, draw inspiration from the likes of The Wipers, Husker Du, and other SST bands, but are creating some of the catchiest original riffs and arrangements we’ve heard in a while. If you’re in Western Mass, catch them this Thursday – Hurricane Sandy permitting – in Northampton (more info here) or Saturday in Holyoke (info here) with some of the areas’ other finest punks. If you’re not, look for a cassette release soon — your ears will thank you.

It seems like Washington state will never cease to be a hotbed of pure talent, with many of the most respected performers of our generation finding their footing in The Evergreen State. 17 year old Washington native Seb Choe, also known as Uda Ox, is no exception to the pure talent claim. Uda Ox is best described by Seb himself, who creates “pop-infused soundscapes” that made me feel as though I were floating aimlessly through an intense dream. In addition to performing music, Seb has taken to producing some amazing short films featuring his original compositions. I caught up with Uda Ox to discuss song writing, recording with Dylan Wall, Avril Lavigne, and local influences.

What is the song writing process for Uda Ox?

I’ve accumulated a quiver of gear over the years, and when beginning the project, I had a hard time deciding on what to use. There were too many choices. The first song I wrote for Uda Ox started with a sample from the film Waking Life. I then wrote lyrics with imagery from over a dozen dreams. Now the process usually begins with writing a melody on guitar or keyboard, and building a loop with samples, vocal overdubs, and different sources of percussion. I used to blend together the music into twenty-minute sets, but have recently gotten into creating songs with their own distinct feel.

From whom do you draw influence from in the experimental music realm?

I wouldn’t say much of my inspiration comes from experimental music. But a few artists that have helped me think outside the box include the Eno brothers, Eric Copeland, and Stephen O’Malley. I find intimate conversations and personal memorabilia visceral sources of material. In that way, Uda Ox is a big scrapbook.

You recently recorded several tracks with Seattle’s Dylan Wall, a fantastic engineer who has recorded the likes of M. Women, Naomi Punk, Zephyrs, and Pangea. Was this your first time recording away from a home environment? Are you happy with the results of recording with Dylan?

Dylan rules. Having been his intern, learning from such a respected figure in the Seattle music community is definitely a fun ride. The only other time I’ve recorded outside of a home setting was with Dylan for a compilation album of young musicians on Seattle’s Eastside. Both then and in this more recent recording, fellow intern Jake Campbell was a big help. This time the tracking was a complex process, but I am very happy with the results and grateful that Dylan put up with all my obsessive requests.

You also just finished producing a music video for the track “Creatures & Creators Pt. II” What was it like shooting a video solo?

Yes. The track is unique to the rest of my recordings because a drummer is featured – Silicon Girls’ David Fure. The video is similar to the song in that it is fairly short, but hits hard and is kind of evil. Because I had no crew, every shot had to be meticulously planned and executed. I hope it is something that people can watch more than once to piece together the symbolism, and form an interpretation even if it isn’t congruent with mine.

Do you plan to pursue the film medium as an extension of your sound?

Uda Ox actually began as a multimedia project. I’ve complemented most of my shows with projected video collages synchronized with my set-list. They contain a lot of found-footage, and the twenty-minute films have been a way to get acquainted with unconventional video editing techniques. Lately though, I’ve been making an effort to isolate my film from my music. I want to explore narrative.

You describe your music as “Pop-influenced soundscapes‘, which I find to be extremely fitting. Do you see yourself branching out in to the pop realm more seriously in the future?

Definitely. One of my favorite parts of playing a show is hearing people whistle the songs I just performed. There’s something beautiful about getting a pop melody stuck in someone’s head even though it’s wrapped up in a cryptic, ethereal package. I would like to advance my Ableton skills, but mostly I want to write fun doom or post-punk hooks to make something cool with a friend or two. Solo production can put you in a very dark place.

Who are some Seattle artists that influence you?

Hearing Masters & Johnson for the first time really encouraged me to leave the Eastside and seek out more mold-shattering music in Seattle. I was introduced to Stephanie in 2010, and just this summer, Ian (the bassist) booked me a show at Cairo Gallery with ambient-lord Secret Colors. Funny how things work out. Travis Coster of Naomi Punk has been a role model, and his now-defunct project U’s organized chaos played a definite hand in the birth of Uda Ox. Casey Catherwood has also been very supportive and I hope that the cult that is Witch Gardens continues to spread. I’m very thankful to have been exposed to such innovative musicians and to have grown up in a community so welcoming to all-ages music.

If you had to tattoo a song or band on your body, what would it be?

The face of 2002 Avril Lavigne on the top of my foot.

Listen to Uda Ox on soundcloud