JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: Homeboy Sandman: Subject: Matter [EP]

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER makes a preliminary judgment on a work of art based solely on the merits of its cover. A second review of the content will then challenge the idiom "never judge a book by its cover." Almost Colossus Mythbusters.

Homeboy Sandman, Subject: Matter [EP]; Stones Throw, 2012

Critiquing hip-hop on the merits of album art could be a challenge. So much of what defines hip-hop is in the lyrics, its content and flow. But the cover of Subject: Matter says a lot about the artist and content. Its the maximalist counterpoint to the minimalist matter-of-fact-ness of the Black Keys' Brothers by way of Mackie Osborne's backwards-forward packaging that's become synonymous with the Melvins' Ipecac catalogue.

There's a distinct vintage Nineties Hip-Hop vibe here, too -- before hip-hop got too flashy. Homeboy Sandman is decidedly under-dressed (are those sweatpants?), looking like he walked right out of a Naughty By Nature video, although the wordiness of the "liner notes" (the actual content of which I'm choosing to ignore for now) indicate Sandman wants more than other people's, er... property. He wants their minds, their attention. Homeboy is deep; he makes you think. He's not looking down on you and you're not looking up at him. You're looking into him.

Musically, the art suggests simple beats -- an 808, sparse samples -- while the Stones Throw label dictates with almost certainty obscure jazz and R&B breaks. Independent, underground; adverbs aside: non-mainstream, backpacker rap.

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: A Place to Bury Strangers: Onwards to the Wall [EP]

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER is a feature where selected media (music, film, book, etc.) is first reviewed based solely on the merits of its cover. A second review of the contents then proves or disproves the idiom "never judge a book by its cover." Almost Colossus Mythbusters.

A Place to Bury Strangers
Onwards to the Wall [EP]
Deep Oceans; 2012

A juxtaposition of modern and ancient buildings? Looks like a David Byrne TED lecture.

The left side of A Place to Bury Strangers' EP, Onwards to the Wall looks immediately like a close-up on last year's Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will by post-rock vets Mogwai. It could just as well be the cover of any trendy NYC indie band, so the sound could vary anywhere from droning guitars and electronics to whatever hipsters listen to today. So, like, Black Bananas? Yeah, whatever they sound like. But the right side's temple is deceiving. It's easy to think jam-band. But the psychedelic Instagram water-coloring hints at something less Rusted Root and more Akron/Family. It's also eerie; a pillar of impending doom -- Mayans, 2012, all that. Wait, that's it -- doom, stoner metal, drone. Whatever you want to call it, there is definitely some amplifier feedback and sludgy guitars to be found within.