Artist: FEMME
Album: “Fever Boy” / “Heartbeat” AA-Side
Original Release Date: November 25, 2013

London native, FEMME, has been both on our radar and heavily in rotation here at UTG for the past few months. Unfortunately, we had slept on her earlier singles but took notice with the release of “Fever Boy” and “Heartbeat,” only to then backtrack and spend some time with her earlier works as well. Boasting a fresh take on pop with big beats, infectious melodies, and visuals to wrap it all up in a pretty package, FEMME is resting comfortably atop our watchlist for 2014.

In our interview with FEMME, aka Laura Bettinson, back in early December, she revealed that she definitely has plans for further material to be released this year. As for now, anything further regarding that is unknown but in the meantime we’ll keep spinning her newest AA-side via fancy, translucent, heart-shaped vinyl.

Pressing Info

FEMME’s newest AA-side is pressed on a 45RPM heart-shaped translucent pinkish-red vinyl with her single “Fever Boy” on the A-side and “Heartbeat” on the reverse. The album is limited to 500 copies with the first 100 sold signed by FEMME herself, and it also comes included with a digital download code for both tracks. The release is for sale via Bandcamp and priced at £8 GBP, but unfortunately costs $28.84 total with shipping to the US.

Packaging & Presentation

As for the packaging, it’s somewhat bittersweet. However, when you put the kind of care that FEMME has into the record itself, the minor things that I would consider to be problems could easily be considered warranted. Although the heart-shaped 12″ has been done many times over (The Beatles, Kate Nash, and Heart, appropriately) it’s still always a cool thing to see and feels like a novelty in the whole of a vinyl collection. In this case, the heart-shaped wax obviously makes sense and the translucence and color makes for a great looking release.

Now, on the flipside, the jacket feels kind of cheap, but again, when you put this much care into the record, especially when you release it independently, the quality of the jacket can easily be overlooked. It’s a standard jacket but feels flimsy even compared to most standard single LP covers. It did come with a plastic protective sleeve and one for the album itself as well on the inside.

I love the images on either side corresponding with the two tracks. They have a kind of 3D effect and the colors really pop. Unfortunately, the jacket of my copy had a budding seam split and a couple pretty bad dings in it but that’s the risk you run in getting something shipped overseas.

Sound Quality

The record sounds great but it has to be playing pretty loud to really appreciate the quality. That could be said for a lot of music/records however. Apart from the moments with intentional effects that serve otherwise, the sound is clear and the beats sound really good.

Wrap-Up

Whether you’re familiar with FEMME or not (which you should be), this AA-side is a great release to own for any die-hard vinyl collector, especially if you’re into any type of pop music. I can see where the price could be a deterrent if you live in the US but I also have a feeling that these will be worth a lot more in the future as FEMME rises in popularity, which I picture being inevitable. I personally don’t own any other heart-shaped vinyl releases so to me, this one is particularly unique and I love the way it looks. Being a fan of FEMME’s work certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Review written by: Brian Lion — (Follow him on Twitter)

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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