Six Feet Under Pre-Order Arrives

Today I received my pre-order from Six Feet Under Records that I had pretty much forgotten all about. And let it be said - never have I been so underwhelmed by a parcel of records.

First up, the final release from Justice - a 12" EP entitled "Live And Learn":

I've listened to this twice now, and in my opinion this is the best Justice release of all. Most people who used to like them probably won't like this because it carries on where the last LP left off... except the vocals don't sound so slow. It's a really good record, let down slightly by being pressed on crappy GZ vinyl and suffering from poor artwork. I mean, what the hell is that font on the cover? It looks like it was drawn by a six year old.

The next let down (literally) is the debut LP by Let Down. I've liked their previous 7"s, but an LP is almost too much to take. I played it & it bored me. It all sounds the same. Even worse, the package itself looks horrible. The cover is basically nothing. It's plain black (or maybe dark brown) with a few brown lines thrown in to jazz it up. Pretty much the poorest excuse for cover art I have ever seen. To make it worse it looks like the record itself came pre-dipped in shit:

And for some reason, someone decided that the nothingness artwork warranted a gatefold sleeve. Why the hell does every other record come in a gatefold sleeve these days? I thought gatefold sleeves were supposed to be used when you have some really cool artwork. Why use one when you don't actually have any art work? Is it because GZ offer a discount if you buy gatefolds or something? Seriously - what is the point?

I would find it hard to think of another record that looks & sounds as bland as this. Overall, a big disappointment.

Finally, a 12" by Reign Supreme. I only bought this because it's on Dead By 23 Records, who have previously had decent output and made some cool, collectable records. But on this occasion there's no art, the record comes in a disco bag, and it's pressed on crappy GZ vinyl. I played it & it sounds about as interesting as it looks.

Hopefully soon I'll get something that's actually worth getting my camera out for.