A more ‘art’ than ‘design’ album cover is Death Cab For Cutie’s 2003 release ‘Transatlanticism’. It’s by artist Adde Russell, who created everything for this cover from a dusty, spider-infested basement in Seattle. Apparently she was a tad embarrassed when the band came round to check out her work in progress.

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It’s been a while since Oscar & Ewan have emailed us and I was pleased to see they hadn’t forgotten us when they sent through Roots Manuva’s latest album “Slime and Reason”. Probably the only thing I dislike about the album is the title :)
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I think this would be the first “Christian” band we have featured here on Sleevage. But this isn’t the usual WWJD type band. If you’re a christian this is probably the funkiest Sunday church music you can find :)

(Note: My knowledge of Christian music is very limited. So if there is a funkier Christian band then please comment and I’ll investigate.
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Australia is falling in love with Empire Of The Sun, Luke Steele (The Sleepy Jackson) & Nick Littlemore (PNAU). Their track Walking On A Dream has been storming the airwaves here and to our excitement on a slow wet Friday, Empire Of the Sun have given us a look at their new artwork, we just had to share it with you. We will follow this up with a more detailed report shortly. But for now, we like what we see!
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Here’s a first. The artwork for an album that hasn’t even hit the shelves (yep, that makes this a premiere). You Am I’s eighth studio album “Dilettantes” has some stunning high contrast illustrated artwork courtesy of Ken Taylor, who has previously worked on artwork for Tim Rogers, amongst a long prestigious list of other international and local rock icons. But more on that later.
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It’s been a while since i’ve seen any album covers that spins my wheels enough that i feel like talking about it. But when Jason Noto, from the very talented and creative Morning Breath Inc sent us the latest QOSTA cover and all the accompanying artwork, i decided i oughta pull my finger out.

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As a huge fan of the original, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Stones Throw have just released a reworking of the classic hip-hop album Madvillainy (2004) with a special box of goodies, or as they much more eloquently put it:

“a big ass box full of cool ass shit that you won’t be able to get anywhere else.”

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Paul Kelly’s Stolen Apples cover might not instantly grab you by the short and curleys and say “BUY ME!” it does compliment the album perfectly and the work that has gone into the rest of the pack is a testiment to the hard work Debaser put into all their projects.
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Sharks = cool
Zombies = cooler
Zombie Sharks: off the cool radar

That’s how I would have pitched this single artwork to the band. Normally I’d feature the album and then the single artwork but it was this Zombie shark I saw on Neatorama that caught my attention.
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Wow another Beck album so soon. I’ve been so busy lately a street poster had to alert me to the fact this was released.

Initially I thought they had forgotten to commission a cover for the album and just used what was lying around for the cover of Modern Guilt. It’s boring, uninspired and so generic. If I knew the emoticon for yawn I’d insert it here.

But then I stumbled upon an artist’s site who was commissioned to develop multiple visual concepts for the cover all of which went unused! Why spend the money (I hope Mario was paid) and then not use it?

Below are four distinct visual directions for the album that no one, well maybe not now, will ever see. Two “verbal” and two “non-verbal”. This begs the question, were other artists asked to waste their time too? If you were please contact us we love to share.
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The smaller the budget the bigger the restrictions, and the smarter you have to be to solve the client’s problem. This design solution for Murmur Records from Bunch is just that. Iconic, visually arresting and cheap to produce. These debut releases from Murmur are bound to be collectors items.
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I always feel the urge to fake the fact I haven’t heard of these artists in a feeble attempt to sound knowledgeable and up to date. But sadly all I can say is I really like the cover art. It fits perfect with the music while being original and visually striking. It’s also campaignable. I can see this style being explored further with posters, albums, singles and other medium without having to repeat the same exact visual.
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The simplicity and humor of this albums cover reminds me of XTC’s Ten Feet Tall. The brief must have come in with the album name and then it would have been “You know what let’s whack a sandwhich on the cover” then they went out and got wasted.
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Rocking Tunes: Check
Kicking type treatment: Check
Iconic Characters: Check
Merchandise coming out of their asses: Check
Band members not dead: Check
Business Savvy: Check

No, it’s not KISS it’s Iron Maiden. Up the Irons!

You have to hand it to Iron Maiden and their dedication to their mascot Eddie. He’s gotta be second to McDonald’s Ronald McDonald in terms of mascot power and if they met in the Thunderdome you know the ginger clown wouldn’t be coming out.

With their 2008 tour coming to a close, a new DVD and best of album out there is no better time to do an Iron Maiden feature.
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I initially though the packaging for ALB’s album was of a retro sandwhich iron. Yum! I love toasted sandwhiches but Charlie from Discograph informed me it was actually a retro 45 record player called a “Univox Mange-Disque” manufactured from 1975-1980. This made a lot more sense than having the CD package based of a toaster.

Note: Understanding the French language will help you get the most out of this post.
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