Everything

(Not Really)

A Baby, A Blanket, A Packet of Seeds (1990)

Album by Nothing Painted Blue

This album sounds like it was handed to you at a basement show on a blank cassette tape.

A Baby, A Blanket, A Packet of Seeds isn’t exactly easy to find but I’m glad someone preserved it online because this thing is sharp. And it sounds like the kind of music I was brought up on. Clever, witty, acerbic lyrics, music that straddles the line between punk and pop, and a vibe that just barrels in furiously as it unpacks 16 two-minute tracks with blazing speed.

The production is rough, almost demo-level scratchy, but that is part of the appeal. It sounds like a band that cared more about getting the songs down than smoothing the edges. Or perhaps, didn’t have enough money to hold the studio space long enough to iron these all out. But I love that about this one.

There’s range hiding inside the noise. “States Away” opens with this punchy blend of punk and new wave that somehow feels both abrasive and pop-minded at the same time. “Fitted Sheets” bounces along with an almost aggressive R.E.M. energy before snapping back into something more jagged. “Misjudge Me” leans California punk. “In an Ames Room” is all start-stop tension. “Matter of Days” taps into a kind of surf-tinged snap. “Down” has this sneaky Beatles undercurrent beneath the grit. “Push My Swing” is legitimately hooky — the cleanest vocal on the record and maybe the closest thing here to a radio moment.

“History of Zurich” rides a playful bass line that feels weirdly ahead of its time. “Genre Exercise” crashes back into punk urgency. “Approachable” is built around a killer guitar riff. “Through My Head” and “City Tablets” round things out without losing momentum. The entire thing sounds like a mash-up of influences that I instantly recognize even if I can’t name them all.

It’s short. It’s rough. It’s clever. It feels like a band operating all by themselves with no net.

This one sounds like it shouldn’t exist, let alone work as well as it does. And yet, for me, it absolutely does.

Verdict: Great

Explore more from Nothing Painted Blue

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Responses

  1. J-Ro Avatar
    J-Ro

    i have a running gag with my friends about how Franklin Bruno (lead NPB guy) is my nemesis, going back to a music festival in Catskill in 2024 where he left his messenger bag on a seat towards the end of a long day of music. Since then I have seen him several times – including sitting in front of me at a tiny show in my small NJ town, large bag in tow, on the floor.

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  2. Franklin Bruno Avatar
    Franklin Bruno

    J-Ro: I’m sorry that my bag was in your way. I can’t think what show in Jersey that would have been unless it was the mini-Mekons in Metuchen; that day, I did have an extra bag because I’d taken the train into town early and bought a few things at the disorganized bookstore a few blocks from my namesake schoolhouse. Please introduce yourself next time you see me and ask me to move my bag if it is in your way, unless it’s more enjoyable to make a nemesis of a generally innocuous stranger who sometimes puts down things he is carrying.

    About the review – whoever you are, you’re being more generous to that album than I am myself at this late date; I’d like to think some later recordings are more accomplished (though my vocal takes have remained a problem). Your hunch about the limited studio time is right – it was recorded and mixed in two 8-hour sessions with very few overdubs (and mostly live vocals), in a studio (8- or 16-track tape, I can’t remember) in Chino, California that we picked out of the phone book, engineered by a guy who I think mostly recorded church groups and school ensembles, and who had no idea about the new-wave/”college rock”/SST-Homestead-era indie we were emulating. In my head, I was hearing something like Chronic Town, Singles Going Steady, Double Nickels on the Dime, or Scrawl’s first album, depending on the song, but had no idea how to achieve any of the relevant guitar sounds. At that age (I was 20), we also played everything extremely fast, which has its pros and cons. Limitations notwithstanding, I’m really happy you got something out of it, and decided to be kind.

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  3. J-Ro Avatar
    J-Ro

    Franklin,

    I assure you that my references to you being my nemesis are made in jest. I’m a huge fan of your work, and just sometimes a little awkward socially. Your bags weren’t in my way at the Langford/Timms show.

    Just out of curiosity, how long did you last in that book store? There’s gems to be had (was that copy of Das Kapital (or was it The Communist Manifesto) from there?), but i don’t think i’ve managed to stay longer than 20 minutes.

    I will definitely introduce myself next time. I hope my pretend enemy grousing didn’t upset you.

    Your future pal,

    J-Ro

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    1. Franklin Bruno Avatar
      Franklin Bruno

      No harm, no foul. I am also a little socially inept (I talk too much), though it’s improved marginally since the 1990s.

      Capital, I had with me. (Also bulky.) I made myself read 10 p. of Vol. 1 a day for the last 3-4 months of last year b/c I was tired of having second-hand/summary knowledge of everything but the most famous parts, not that I’m now an expert on one read. But there were some odd finds in that bookstore – mainly, a nice-looking edition, in excellent shape, of the collected lyrics of the French songwriter George Brassens, whom my wife’s really into (and can understand). It’s one of these places where the prices are good b/c it doesn’t seem like the proprietor’s entirely aware of what he has, but I doubt that there would be much turnover in the stock if I went back six months later.

      If we don’t cross paths before, I’m pretty sure The Human Hearts will play DromFest this year, seeing as the guy who runs it is putting out our record. Hope to see you!

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