New and Notable: Semi Precious Weapons

The new self-titled EP by New York City glam band Semi Precious Weapons is currently available on iTunes and Amazon.com. The band is on tour with Lady Gaga and has been getting a lot of attention.

I wanted to write about the cover art for the EP for two reasons. The first is that I find how the photograph used for the cover (right) was cropped to be very annoying. There is a lot going on in the photo and the photographer used some talent to get that frozen in mid-air effect just right. Probably the most shocking thing about it is what frontman Justin Tranter is wearing. The silver ankle boots and grafitti-covered nylons are just too much!

For some reason, the bottom of the image has been cropped off for the cover and the result is somewhat ordinary. Why bother to hire a talented photographer if the best part of the photograph ends up in the recycle bin?

The second thing that I think is worth noting about the cover is that it used a 3D effect for the typography. This is about the third time I have seen this done in recent mopths. I doubt that many people have 3D glasses sitting around the house. I just happen to have a pair and the 3D effect is kind of cool. The image of the band floats in front of the type.

Personally, I would have rather seen the entire photo on the cover. The 3D type just looks like a printing error without the glasses. As it is, the cover is just kinda cool and not nearly as outrageous as the band.