Rome Plow is ruining it for every other label in the world.

Instead of just putting out decent records with "it'll do" cover art, founder Adam Paysse and Co. take great care with not only the sound but the look of every release, silk-screening every piece of the packaging (from the plastic sleeve to the liner notes) and even hand-etching the records. Rome Plow's latest masterpieces? The new Helms Alee and Deadsure records.

Pressed on snow-white 12-inch vinyl, the new Helms Alee record is a four-song, one-sided EP. Side B is etched with a line drawing done by Faith Coloccia. The record's sleeve is both printed and silk-screened, with black-and-white photography and dark-gray and white ink, respectively. You have to examine it to catch all the little details, like which parts are printed and which are painted—it's pretty amazing.

Helms Alee are more than just pretty packaging—the band comprises just two girls and one guy, but they make more noise than most bands twice their size. The guy is Ben Verellen (he used to be in These Arms Are Snakes and Harkonen), one of the girls is Hozoji Roseanne Matheson-Margullis of Lozen, and the songs were recorded and mixed by Matt Bayles. With that kind of personnel, it's no surprise that the music sounds amazing. The drumming takes cues from hardcore, the guitars swirl in and out of haunting breakdowns, and the songwriting is strong and compelling, a little reminiscent of the Pixies (I wonder if that's just the male/female vocals talking, though).

Only 400 copies of this debut are being pressed, and for now there's also a limited-edition CD up for grabs. You can get both at www.romeplowrecords.com.

As for Deadsure's record, it's a new pressing of the now-defunct band's full-length, a follow-up to the debut EP released on No Idea four years ago. Even though the record is coming out posthumously, the art is just as vital as any other Rome Plow effort, with collage-style pictures glued to both the front and the back and intricate four-color printing. The packaging also comes with a CD version, and an envelope containing a papyruslike lyric sheet. Only 150 copies are being printed, making it even more rare than the Helms Alee release (but if you only had money to spend on one, I'd go with Helms Alee—it's am-a-zing).

Rome Plow, you did it again. Way to make all the other labels look bad.