CD Cover Evaluation; The Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys Cover; Favourite Worst Nightmare

This album was released in 2007 on Domino Records. The album was a fantastic success and reached number one in the album charts in its first week of release. Not only this but the album won best british album in the 2008 brit awards.

The mise en scene aspect of this album creates a great enigma around the content of the album. The houses on the cover resemble houses that are seen on council estates and don't look as though there are lived in by the upper class. This could suggest that the targeted audience of those of working class or middle class. The positioning of the camera means that a depth of field is shown down the road, meaning we are given more of the setting. The camera seems to put the house with the interior visable in the centre of the frame and this enables us to focus on this immediately once we look at the album cover. Unlike other indie album covers i have looked at the band members are not on the album cover, this could suggest that the band want you to focus on the music more than the band members themselves. The hidden artists also increase the enigma and mystery surrounding the album. The copy on the album is written in a strange font, that seems to connote to me the idea of the 'late sixties flared trousers' this could be a relation to the way the music sounds, or where the band got their influences from. The yellow also contrasts well with the black background, improving presentational skills as well as the yellow connoting emotions such as happiness/joy. The genre is shown through the use of the council estate portraying the lower class life, 'not having everything but making the most of what you have' the idea of enjoying life. The secondary level of communication is portrayed through the use of mise en scene, the bright colours and strange shapes that can be seen through the windows. This idea suggests in this house something strange yet exciting is going on. The iconography of the satellites portrays the idea of the television/radio influence on this home, perhaps relating to the influence on the band or their music. The target audience for bands such as this is usually elder teens and adults, as the songs usually relate to things that occur in this time of peoples lives. The title of the album is unique and connotes strangeness and this title immediately creates an enigma. 'Favourite worst nightmare' suggests the idea of music that reaches certain emotions that effect you much like a nightmare/dream. The oxymoron of 'favourite' and 'worst' confuses the audience and makes them unclear and curious as to what to expect from the album. The working class seemed to represented on this album as they are the ones who stereotypically live in homes like this, a specific ethnicity is not represented meaning that all ethnic groups can relate to this album cover. The CD cover overall paints a good enigma for the audience and means that the album cover intrigues the targeted audience into purchasing the album.