Darkness Glows

I wrote a little post a while back about the newest H2O record, and how I got the digital long before the vinyl, over-listened and was kind of underwhelmed when it arrived as it no longer felt new. 

Well, the other delay that really bummed me out was this record. Thankfully, I strayed away from the download as much as possible, and as a result this still feels a new record. On the downside, I think a few of us received slightly shitty service from Awesome Distro but a bit more on that later. 

The Saddest Landscape - Darkness Forgives - Topshelf Records - 1st Press - Red Glow In The Dark /200 

This is the first record with Daniel Danger joining the fold. Much in the theme of the box set artwork he did for the band, he also made a pre-order sleeve with a drawn interpretation of the art. I didn't see this in the flurry or ordering this LP, but emailed Awesome Distro not a few hours later to ask about amending my order. They emailed back saying that I couldn't, but instead cancel this order and end up with the /800 variant with a PO cover. It seems to me they still had spare covers, and weren't willing to make the change. There was the whole free patch thing that never happened too, though I'm not sure if that was a label issue, or just a lack of communication. 

Back Cover // B-Side 

You can see the red come into play a little more here. Although it doesn't glow quite as vibrantly as I thought it might it still looks great and I'm more than happy with this variant. Thankfully the artwork is incredible, I heard the woman on the cover may be going out with someone from TSL but that may just be a rumour. 

The insert uses the same art as the Souls Worth Saving 7'', and so I thought I'd pull this one out and include it with this post. 

Nick Dinatale captured some beautiful images of the band playing live, and included them on this fancy fold out insert. Art and presentation wise, this is my favourite TSL record; musically I could never pick a favourite but this is still being played daily here so that can only be a positive thing in my eyes.  

More from the insert. 

Credits and thanks, along with a mailing address. More mailing addresses in record sleeves. I've been picking up early Ramones records lately, and seeing a mailing address for their fan club really puts a smile on my face. The fact that this kind of thing still lives on, alongside a physical format like this is really something right? 

And lastly we have the lyrics. I know that they will be hard on the eye with the dark text on a dark background, but the effort put into this release (in every aspect) urges me to include most of what I can see from holding it in my hands. 

If you haven't heard this record yet, then assume you're fucking up big time. Music is rarely played with such passion, and bands rarely work this hard to make something new and interesting each time. Get into it. 

Thanks!