Artist: Hands
Release: The Everlasting EP
Label: Lobster/Oort
Designer: Nathaniel Navratil
Release Date: 2008

I like the thick borders and strong purple and beige palette. Makes for a solid illustration. Flame on!

Navratil explains the layout a bit:

For such a heavy band they have some of the most beautiful melodic parts in their songs, which are the most memorable to me. That is the mood I wanted to capture in the album design. Darker, but visually beautiful. With the album title hinting at spirituality I also wanted to show it with the art (hence the girl holding the flame). Says faith but still can be interpreted in many ways.

[hat tip: Len from Indie Vision Music]

Yeah, and you also– if you look through enough of my work you can see that consistently there are technical errors. I tend to favor those errors over something that’s a little sleeker looking, so, you know, when a paper grain will show through or when a slight smudge or mistake will happen that’s just part of the piece for me. And I welcome– I embrace that sort of thing that can happen randomly. And I think it lends something different to my work than a lot of other people’s.

[hat tip: Crustcake via Buzzgrinder]

Artist: Sigur Rós
Release: Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Label: EMI/XL
Designer: ???
Release Date: June 23, 2008

Good thing they have shoes on.

Artist: Fireflight
Album Site: iamunbreakable.com
Album: Unbreakable
Label: Flicker
Designer: ???
Release Date: March 4, 2008

After a passable intro we’re brought to an interesting interactive page where the user clicks on various clearly-labeled links and a photo of a certain aspect of the artwork theme pops up (I’m guessing the photos are part of the physical layout). It was interesting enough for me to click on each link and see all the photos, but if you’re not into this sort of thing you can click the center graphic to get to the main site, which is mostly a souped up e-card.

The content is kind of the stock promo material but exciting if you’re a fan of the band. I definitely do like the photo theme interaction after the intro. It might a small peek into the future where physical CDs will be phased out almost completely (it’s bound to happen) and the internet will be the primary content delivery tool.

A lot of the content is basic knowledge, but I relearned a few things I had forgotten. Plus, there’s a million ways to do the same thing in Photoshop, so you may find a nice shortcut or two in there.

[current listening: High and Mighty Color - Rock Pit]

Anyone paying attention to independent bands knows that gear and money get stolen all the time while on the road. The same misfortunes can happen to designers, too.

From the inbox:

Hello everyone. Last night, a friend’s car was broken into and our main computer (a Macbook Pro) and main hard drive were stolen including a a friend’s iPod.

….

We are not asking for donations. What we are asking for is help in a different way. Any purchases you make from our online store help us to recover financially from this tragic event.

So please, check out www.theblackseaonlinestore.com and pick up a shirt or two. It would be greatly appreciated. It will help speed up the process of our new line coming out. We have to redo a lot of the designs because they were all on our hard drive. Our street team database is gone as well as a lot of our contacts.

If you can’t afford anything, maybe just post a bulletin for us. We have a bulletin code on our Myspace in a textbox that you can copy and paste. http://www.myspace.com/blackseaapparel

Thanks so much in advance for your help! We think you will enjoy what we have to offer!

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Release: Lightbulb Sun
Label: Snapper UK
Designer: John Foxx
Release Date: May 27, 2008

I like the idea of putting the band name and title over the kid’s face, because the eye is naturally drawn towards eyes and facial features in general. And the fact that most of his face is hidden and holding a smoldering light bulb adds a bit of a story to the whole thing.

Artist: The Manchester Orchestra
Designer: Ginger Group Designs

I like this…the disorganized look hasn’t been too big in site design the past few years, and for some good usability reasons. I’m on the fence in this case. This can get a little too busy/distracting for some people, but maybe some of us have been so desensitized after a good decade’s worth of internet usage that it doesn’t really matter anymore.

Threadless is holding a contest for everyone’s favorite underground alternative music festival (sponsored by AT&T), where designers are encouraged to submit t-shirt designs based on Lollapalooza’s theme:

But did you know that the actual word “lollapalooza” means “remarkable or wonderful person or thing?” Well, I guess you learn something new everyday… and for this challenge we want to learn about the remarkable, wonderful things floating around in your head! Design an exceptional tee based on the true meaning of Lollapalooza. What inspires you? What makes you happy? Tell us! Be a lollapalooza and give this challenge a shot.

Hop to it, pixelpushers!

Artist: Stand Your Ground
Release: Open Eyes and Beating Hearts
Label: Harvest Earth
Designer: ???
Release Date: May 20, 2008

The imagery of the soldiers departing a pontoon boat is compelling, and while I applaud the use of the Courier-esque font, I don’t think it was used well here. Hi, text on the bottom? Art thou orphaned? Where is thy mother?