Farewell Continental – Hey Hey Pioneers!

Farewell Continental’s first full length was released by Paper & Plastick Records. The vinyl release of the album ran into major problems, as pre-orders were delayed for 7 months. Pre-orders went live in early May and did not start shipping until very late November. Pre-orders were launched by Blue Collar Distro, with the label not selling the album at all except on CD and as a digital download. Eventually, after the release was delayed for a few months, Blue Collar abruptly took down pre-orders with no explanation other than “delayed to undetermined date,” and still no longer accepted new orders/pre-orders of the record.

Around the time the Blue Collar pre-orders started shipping in late November, Paper & Plastick put up copies of the record in their own web store and announced pressing info and variants for the album in the process. But when Blue Collar pre-orders started arriving at their destinations, everyone was in for a surprise. All Blue Collar pre-orders were on black vinyl when P&P was selling three variants on colored vinyl. There was no explanation given by anyone, people rightfully complained but really didn’t do anything to get to the bottom of it. All it took was a quick, simple email to P&P to get things cleared up, as I did so and got a response the next day.

Here is the official pressing info from the label for this record. 400 copies on black, 99 copies on orange with black splatter, 105 copies on orange with black stripe and 195 copies on orange with black swirl. The only way to guarantee you get a certain color is to order from P&P, as other distros have random colors or only copies on black. No copies come with center labels on either side, which is odd. All copies come housed in a gatefold jacket, and if you order directly from P&P you immediately get a download code. According to the band the gatefold jacket was supposed to have the lyrics printed on it, but none of the copies do. They all just have the track titles printed on it with a bunch of empty space found on much of the gatefold. Below is a picture of the orange with black splatter variant.

Farewell Continental – 12″ EP (1st Press)

This is the second release from Farewell Continental. It’s another EP, this time pressed as a one-sided 12″. The b-side features screen printed artwork. This 12″ EP, even with the screen printed b-side, cost only $6.

There are four colors for this record, green, blue, yellow and purple, which is determined by the color of the screen printing. The a-side, the side which contains the music, is black with no center label. All four colors are limited to just 75 copies each, information I obtained from Vinnie Fiorello, the owner and founder of Paper & Plastick Records.

Farewell Continental – 7″ EP

This 7″ is the first release from Farewell Continental, a side project of Motion City Soundtrack frontman Justin Pierre. It’s a so-called supergroup of sorts, at least that’s what they’re billed as, even though I have no clue who else is in the band aside from Justin Pierre. They all  use stage names on this project, satirical pop culture reference ones, but after hearing one song it’s quite clear that Justin Pierre is on vocals.

The 7″ was released by Paper & Plastick Records, another label started up by Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello. Those who recall a certain label, Fueled By Ramen, well he was a co-founder of FBR. It was pressed as a square picture disc limited to 500 copies. It costs a whopping $10, and after finally receiving my order after almost a month, I am not pleased at all with the quality of the 7″. Even though it’s a picture disc, which is a draw back in and of itself, the quality of the actual disc/record is horrible. The edges where the record was cut out of the press or cut down to make a square, whichever way they were pressed, are scraped up, chipped up, jagged and rough to the touch. This is the case all around the record.

Now I have a few square picture discs in my collection, and it is in great shape. All the edges are rounded over and smooth, no chips. This Farewell Continental 7″ looks like someone with Parkinson’s cut it out of a big sheet of vinyl with a hacksaw. I’m not sure if all 500 copies of this 7″ have the same issues, just a portion of the pressing or if it’s only my copy, but I’ve contacted Paper & Plastick and am awaiting a response on this damage. You can see the problems in the photos below, and for reference of what a good cut/quality square picture disc looks like, check of the entries for the My Chemical Romance “Famous Last Words” set and the Panic! At The Disco “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes” single, which can all be found through the search function or via the side bar menu on the right.