Vinyl is cool as hell, and nowadays music can be pressed in any color combination available. When it comes to appreciating this physical medium, the devil really is in the details. We’re kicking off this series with a slightly older release that really stood out. Knocked Loose’s 2021 EP A Tear in the Fabric of Life delivers on the punishing approach KL has made their name on. It features their live staples ‘Where Light Divides the Holler’ and ‘God Knows’. The band doesn’t change up their style drastically between releases, but this one certainly sounds like a precursor to the southern gothic atmospherics they’d fully embrace on 2024’s ‘You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To’. The songs are great, but that’s not why we’re here today.
The cover is clad in a crimson duotone photograph of a figure levitating just off the floor. All of the information is contained within a sidebar to the left, reminiscent of an obi strip. The illustrated letterforms of the record title nod to art nouveau’s organic embelishments.
It’s the pressing itself that really stuns here– a transparent base with an inky explosion of black and orange. The real killer detail of this release is the illustrated lettering screen printed on the B-side, which features no pressed groove. It’s a great reminder that just because you haven’t seen it before, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
