They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul EP
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Birdhouse in Your Soul is an EP released by They Might Be Giants in 1990. The title track was first released as a single, backed by “Hot Cha”, in 1989. On the EP, the two songs were joined by “Hearing Aid” and “Ant”, a song not available on the Flood album, also released in 1990.
The band name is set in Letter Gothic and the EP title and credits in Helvetica Condensed.
Source: tmbw.net License: All Rights Reserved.
2 Comments on “They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul EP”
Hi tillie,
That’s an interesting find: the hollowed-out letters on the front cover are taken from a ready-made alphabet by Walter Haettenschweiler. It was shown in the fourth volume of Lettera in 1972 under the name Wornout. It’s basically Helvetica compact with rough inner contours.
Helene Silverman, the designer of the original single cover, used Wornout on both the front and back. I don’t know whether this alphabet was turned into a proper typeface for photographic or digital typesetting, or whether she reproduced the letterforms directly from the alphabet source book, for example by means of scanning.
When the EP was released, the back cover had to be updated. Apparently this was done by a different designer, who for some reason didn’t use Wornout. Instead, they made their own hollowed-out version to emulate the front cover typography. It’s based on a different cut (something like Helvetica Black Condensed or Swiss 721 Black Condensed, with added stroke) and is a tad wider and bolder than Wornout.
(replying to comment) thats crazy you could find that, thats awesome… i didnt notice the font on the back covers were different either but they definitely are ! i love this font thing its so interesting