After some time off from doing design reviews, I have finally brought them back.  What better release to pick back up with than this eye-catching new album from Take It Back! featuring artwork by one of my all-time favorite designers, Dave Quiggle.  But first, let me talk about their music… Take It Back! fall right in the middle of the post-Comeback Kid sound that incorporates extremely melodic, catchy song structures into tunes that are predominantly hardcore.  At times, they even sound a bit like Set Your Goals, especially with the dueling high/low vocals throughout the CD.  Ultimately, Take It Back! suffers from a lack of originality and a vocalist with bigger ambitions than his range allows.  That said, this being their first proper release shows a lot of promise that will hopefully come to fruition down the line.  As for the design/layout, Quiggle demonstrates his diverse abilities extremely well with this one.  The cover image and outer spread exude the fun spirit of the music without being too cheesy.  The way in which the cover elements are carried into the inner panels really works well.  This is also true of the outer and inner tray designs, with the latter showcasing his great use of gradients in the colors.  My only qualm with Quiggle’s work here would be the inside of the insert, on which he does use the comic-like halftone pattern as a nice backdrop, yet he fails to make the text-heavy content a little more interesting than just words.  Overall though, this reminds me of why I love his art/design so much.
Facedown Records / Dave Quiggle