Disappears frontman and graphic designer Brian Case reimagines four record covers, including his own Album art is what first got me into design. In high school, we used to take over Kinko’s a few times a week, making flyers for shows, tape inserts, 7-inch sleeves—you name it. I had no idea what I was doing, but that’s what was so fun about it. It’s a lot like when you start playing music, just absorbing aesthetics and trying to see if you can get close to what you like. I used to buy albums I’d never heard of based on their covers. It quickly became apparent that good design and good music went hand in hand: Factory and Peter Saville, 4AD and Vaughan Oliver, Blue Note and Reid Miles. The designers were the first step in getting me to hear bands. Crass and the Smiths had their aesthetic so dialed in from the beginning, it was like stepping into their world every time you picked up an album. Then there’s Sonic Youth, who introduced you to an amazing artist with each release. And is anything better than the cover for Kraftwerk’s Autobahn? It’s just a road sign, but it tells you so much about what’s inside. I gravitated toward simple and stark designs with an underlying message about the music. Design is communication, just like music: How can I get you to understand what I’m thinking? These sleeves aren’t redesigns; they’re reinterpretations, like covering a song. Disappears’ latest album, Pre Language, is available now through Kranky. ST—066
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga I think Britt Daniel does a lot of the design for Spoon. I know he did the little collage on the back of this album. They used a cool picture, but I always just look at it and see the Ga Ga’s everywhere.
Veronica Falls, Veronica Falls I love the picture they used for this release. It’s connected to the record’s lived-in vibe. I wanted to see if I’d hear the music differently if the art was a little colder and less personal. Disappears, Pre Language There was a lot of arguing about this art. I wanted it to feel different from [our] other releases, hence using a photo for the first time. I tried to keep some of the same hallmarks from past releases but wanted it to be striking in a different way. This alt version makes me think of the songs in a Rough Trade 12-inch single kind of way.