Big Scary Horses

Pale Horses by Mewithoutyou is without doubt one of my favourite releases of 2015. Not only because the music is great (which it really is), but as a package this record is pretty special. It's strange to think that there is a deluxe version out there that looks cooler than this...

Mewithoutyou - Pale Horses - Run For Cover // Big Scary Monsters - 1st Press - Clear w/ Purple and Blue Splatter /300 (Banquet Records Exclusive) 

In order to get all of this in, it's easier to photograph it all almost section by section. BSM did a three colour press of numbers totalling 1000, broken down as 200/300/500. Run For Cover pressed a total of 6000 units over 4 variants. MwY also released a double LP deluxe edition with two variants /? I kind of forget how big this band is; and really is shouldn't surprise me because they're great. 

All of the Pale Horses art (all of Mewithoutyou's album art in fact) comes from Vasily Kafanov. I first became familiar with his work when he did the album art for Machina: The Machines Of God by Smashing Pumpkins. Much the same as that LP; there is the main cover art and then a set of illustrations that follow the record, providing visual accompaniment to each track. A similar concept appeared on MwY's previous LP, Ten Stories. 

Back Cover 

Kind of minimalist in comparison, but the working titles scratched out and replaced by the printed titles is a pretty neat thing to do. Also here you get to see that a bonus track (Chapelcross Towns) was added for the UK press. This appears on the deluxe but isn't present on the RFC version. That also means that there is a minimum of three tests made for this record, without thinking about rejected tests and such... I think for once I'm more than happy to settle on one variant! 

Stickered Sleeve 

This record arrived in shrink with a sticker affixed to the shrink. I managed to get the sticker free and stick it on a poly sleeve, and if I hadn't done that I may not have noticed that the sleeve for this record is a little taller than your average dimensions. Also, aside from the height issue; the sleeve is super thick. Probably the thickest sleeve I have seen; such a high quality production all around. 

Next up are a few photos from the inlay booklet. This may have also been used in the CD press, or it may have been made up in place of an insert to accommodate the extra art from Kafanov. It's incredible to think that this was all created with ink and paper; the art here is truly magical and captivating. There's subtle detail in each illustration and it's all perfect! 

More of the art. There is some rumour that this was created in 1978, and some sources state it was as recent as 2015. I'm thinking that it's pretty new, but I've been wrong before!

This is how it's all laid out: illustration, title and lyrics. 

List of thanks, including companies used by// endorsed by the band. Also, tour buds are given a thanks here which is cool right? 

The record is housed in a printed inner sleeve too. Kafanov art all over, with one side cut to see the centre label and one side solid. 

The bit about this side that really gets me is the working titles in the top left. Xmas Cards For The Mentally Ill would've been a winner for me, purely for The Smiths reference. 

I'm a total sucker for this record, and this variant looks beautiful next to the art. The packaging is incredibly well thought out, and it's another victory for a cool UK label, what's not to love? 

Cheers!