CD Cover Evaluation; The Kooks

The Kooks; Konk Album Cover

The image on the left is the cover that appears on the front cover of their album released in 2008.

The majority of the cover is the black, this is anchored to many different connotations. The colour first being the idea of night time, considering the males are under a door which usually means a night club, then we can assume this is set in the evening. This could portray that the music on the album would be suitable to be played in these circumstances. The black could also portray a feeling of mystery, intriguing the listener as to what the album sounds like, and what it includes.

The text on the album is also important as the similar type of text appears on the other albums released by the band. The capitals suggest a sort of male appearance, this seems appropriate due to the male band members. The text being the colour white means that the title largely compares to the background colour. This could not only help with presentational skills, so we can easily distinguish the band name but it could also suggest that this band 'stand out from the crowd' making them more appealing.

In particular this could be an important factor to the target audience of this band, the target audience is usually elder teens, young adults. This could be because of the 'student lifestyle' that the band portray within their music videos, image and music itself. When it comes to the target audience, i think that both genders are targeted however because of a great dominance of males within the bands and the solo artists i think males are more influenced by the way the artists dress and act. However the 'cool' attitude portrayed by the males in the bands, attract the women and therefore attract fans.

The band are all stood together in the doorway of the nightclub, this portrays a feeling of togetherness and a friendly bond between the characters within the band. The band members are looking at each other and their body language suggests a relaxed and 'at ease' environment for the band. This use of gestures suggests the band are comfortable doing what they are doing and makes them seem professional. It also suggests that their music will be good due to this.

The use of the neon sign above their heads on the door of the club means that the idea of a party/nighttime atmosphere is given off. This could be important due to the 'rebellious' idea of youth which is reinforced within this genre and in particular this band.

The costume of each of the band members gives the audience a preconceived idea about each of the band members. The clothing plays on the stereotypes given to the youth wearing that particular clothing. The hats suggest a care about the way that the band members appear, this attitude gives the avid listeners an idea of how to dress and they can dramatically influence their listeners. Representation plays a key part in the use of this album cover, the 'scruffy' look that the characters have means that they seem to appear as working class students. They give the impression that they are not particularly bothered about the way they are looked down upon by those of a higher authority/social status. Commonly within the genre of indie, the band are the main focus of the album cover, this could suggest that the genre of indie is largely influenced by the liking of the actual characters within the band. This could suggest that maybe the music within the genre is important yet not as important as the image aspect of the band or artist that has released the music.