Alternative

Album: CD Cover Meme
Artist: Various

What happens when you mix a random Wikipedia page with a random Flickr photo? You get the basis for an interesting CD cover and the brief for the ever expanding CD Cover Meme on Flickr.

Album: Be The Twilight
Artist: Faker
Cover Artist: David Homer & Aaron Hayward
Design Studio: Debaser

Sydney band Faker settled in to Los Angeles during the past northern hemisphere summer to record their second full-length album, Be The Twilight. It’s a collection of songs about the space between day and night and lead singer/songwriter Nathan Hudson’s own fixation with twilight and facing your fears.

Album: Under Giant Trees
Artist: Efterklang
Cover Artist: Nan Na Hvass
Design Studio: Hvass & Hannibal

I came across this album cover for ‘Efterklang’s’ mini-album ‘Under Giant Trees’ in the latest Communication Arts - Design Annual, a design publication that always publishes amazing and inspiring work, and this beautiful cover was a standout for me. So instead of me waffling on about it like a clueless idiot, i thought i’d let […]

Album: Kala
Artist: M.I.A.
Cover Artist: Cassette Playa, Steve Loveridge

Although M.I.A.’s music can easily stand on it’s own, it’s the artwork which really completes the picture. A collage of bright colours, retro patterns and heavily pixelated type can be found in a variety of media, from her music videos, website and fashion to the visuals at her live performances.

Album: The Alternative To Love
Artist: Brendan Benson
Cover Artist: David Calderley
Design Studio: Rehab/Graphic Therapy

I’ve loved this cover for the abundantly talented Brendan Benson’s 3rd album since i first saw it. Of course it ticks the retro box for me but it’s also so beautifully restrained and sophisticated. I was lucky enough to get in contact with the designer of the album artwork David Calderley at Graphic Therapy, […]

Album: Nixon
Artist: Lambchop
Cover Artist: Wayne White
Design Studio: Eric Bailey

I forgot how much i loved this cover, this album was a big favourite of mine around the time of it’s release but since then has been gathering dust in my semi-archived stack of CD’s.
The cover was painted by Wayne White, an artist i knew nothing about, which is not surprising as i know nothing […]

Album: Navy Blues
Artist: Sloan
Cover Artist: Lee Towndrow
Design Studio: Animus Media Design

Halifax 4-piece Sloan borrow from designer Saul Bass for the cover of their 1998 70’s rock pastiche NAVY BLUES. Largely known for movie title sequences (for Hitchcock, Otto Preminger and Scorcese - remember the start of CASINO?..damn right…) Bass often employed two tone contrast (or, more accurately, black and colour) for figures or moving fonts […]

Album: Chutes Too Narrow
Artist: The Shins
Cover Artist: Jesse LeDoux

I think Jesse LeDoux’s artwork was a great choice for Chutes Too Narrow, and I guess the band didn’t have to look too far considering Jesse worked as an art director and designer for Sub Pop Records. His playful, poppy and avant-garde style perfectly reflects the music on this album and the musical nature of […]

Album: Amnesiac
Artist: Radiohead
Cover Artist: Stanley Donwood

We would have posted this earlier but Rob had packed up the album in a box and we couldn’t find it.
This was the first album I remember seeing fancy packaging for and wanted to buy it for that reason alone. There must have been other before but this one sticks in my mind.

Album: Mirrored
Artist: Battles
Cover Artist: Timothy Saccenti

Some very nice photography by the amazing Timothy Saccenti for New York experimental band ‘Battles’. The art direction and design is supplied by one of the band members, Dave Konopka. These images are taken from the set of the band’s video for first single ‘Atlas’.

The yellow drum set reminds us of the one featured […]