Analysis of Album Art

Above is the Arctic Monkeys album art for the album – Favourite Worst Nightmare.
This art is just a photo of a block of houses that has been edited using some sort of software. The windows have all been edited on the central house. They now show a lot of colour and arty patterns which creates a contrast against the dark greys and blues of the rest of the picture. This represents the deep, dark tones of the lyrics in the songs but light hearted way in which they are sung. The font for the name of the band is also bright and contrasting to the majority of the picture. Because the name is hidden away in the corner of the screen, it is as though the band are not really bothered about becoming famous as it isnt slap bang in the middle or large.

Above is the Enter Shikari album art for the EP – We Can Breath in Space, They Just Don’t Want Us to Escape.
This art is quite intelligent, as it is a slightly paradoy of the painting of god reaching out to manking. The stars in the background also add to the idea of god, almost suggesting that he is out there. It could also be the opposite of this idea, and that it is alien life, not god. This is more believable because of the dark theme to alot of Enter Shikari music. The logo for the band is straight in the middle of the art, which gives the impression that there name is what will sell the CD. However, the name is quite small and hard to see but this is probably because it helps it to fit in wth the artwork. The font used for the name is what Enter Shikari use for all of there logos, which keeps the continuity for their work.

Above is the Linkin Park album art for the album – Hybrid Theory
The art is very urban, with lots of graffiti in a Banksy sort of style. This is due to the butterfly wings on the soldier, making fun of what it stands for. The messy stlye of the art is similar to the style of the music that they play, in the sense that the songs are a clash of punk, rock, metal and hip hop. The name of the album and band are also done in a similar way to the artwork, looking as though they have been spray painted onto a wall. This fits in well with the art but also helps promote the band as the name is large and takes up a good portion of the cover. The colour is very lacking in this cover, and it is mostly shades of grey that are used. This creats an urban look and feel which I think is quite nice.

Above is the Gorillaz album art for the album – G-Sides
The art is very cartoony which fits perfectly with their style of music and the image they portray. The art shows the characters that are supposed to make up the band and so the album is trying to be sold based on the band. This is done because the Gorillaz are easily recongniseable and it is therefore easier to use their image than name to sell the album. The art is very Asian in design and could come from somewhere such as Japan or China. The colours used are also very bright and vibrant, which helps grab the audience attention, as well as linking in to the cartoony image of the band.

Above is the Calvin Harris album art for the album – Ready for the Weekend
The art is showing Calvin Harris’ signature “fly eye” sunglasses. This catches the attention easily and also helps to show that it is his album. The use of desaturation helps to make the album standout as the contrast created on the girls face against the background is eye catching. The way his name is shown sideways is also quite eyecatching as it is unusual. The font that has been used is Calvin Harris' signature font that is used for his logos. This helps create continuity amongst his work.

Above is the Jamie T album art for the album – Kings & Queens
The art is extremely eye catching and vibrant due to the colours and strange perspective that the photo is taken at. It is as though the audience is in a hole looking up at the two people and the surrounding buildings. As Jamie T is relatively unknown, the strange but brilliant artwork helps to sell his music as it gives and idea of what he sounds like, which is indie hip hop. The colours are very well chosen, as the orange walls contrast brilliantly against the black and orange in the rest of the art. The way the album name and artist name are displayed is also good. It flows round the main art in a circle, repeating itself. This helps to get across Jamie T's name as he is a relatively unknown artist.