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Baker's Dozen

Nice And Sleevy: Andrew Liles' Favourite Album Covers
The Quietus , November 25th, 2015 11:06

The prolific multi-instrumentalist, Nurse With Wound and Current 93 collaborator and vinyl art devotee picks his top 13 LP covers, tipping his hat to Coil, Cabaret Voltaire and a quintet of dancing banjos among others

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Big Ben Banjo Band - Dancin' Banjos
An abominable ragtime album. Really horrible. The back cover has the audacity to claim: "This is the music for your party." Essentially it's a "minstrel" album, as in the black and white minstrels. Expect whistling and exaggerated sliding trombones along with a rolling old barroom piano. It's amazing to think these albums sold in their millions. But the cover is perfect. Happy banjos dancing. I love the font and the colours. To my eyes, it's a little bit sinister. There is something unnerving about inanimate objects with faces… coming to life. Imagine if you saw these little fuckers dancing around your bedroom one morning… with really, really loud ragtime blaring out.