Sexy Album Cover of the Week: Washed Out / Sad Local Photo of the Week: Joe's Bakery Sign

Hipster album covers tend toward obscurity or cuteness, so it's always a nice surprise to find one that recalls the sexy covers of a bygone rock and roll era. A good example is Washed Out's Within and Without, due on SubPop this July:




















Chip: "They seem to be going for a sort of retro-romantic feel here, though the guy also appears as if he may have passed out. Too many PBRs, perhaps? It gives me a boner, sure, but I'd prefer to see a 'reverse cowgirl.'"

But what does the music of Washed Out sound like? Pitchfork gave high marks (8.0) to their Life of Leisure EP, explaining that they are among the best of the recent trend of bands that traffic in childhood nostalgia:

"...childhood memories, in particular, are present now like never before...an international cohort of rising artists has successfully translated this culture of watery VCR transfers and Fisher-Price cassette rips into 1980s-inspired psychedelic music...[With Washed Up] out-of-sync PBS-theme synths and videogame lasers meet funky horn breaks."

Critics love to coin terms for new musical genres and, according to Pitchfork, this might be considered "glo-pop" or "hypnagogic pop."

Anyway, we'll be purchasing this on vinyl and staring at the record cover come July.

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Speaking of nostalgia, we wept yesterday, dreaming of sweet, sweet doughnuts, as the Joe's Bakery sign was taken down (photo from LJ-World):
















But at least the legendary sign will find a home in KU's Memorial Unions history collection. Go and remember.