CD Cover Evaluation; The Maccabees

The Maccabees Album Cover;

Wall of Arms

This album cover is the one for The Maccabees second album 'Wall of Arms' that was released in 2009.

When looking at the mise en scene of this album cover we see very little iconography. Most of the album cover is taken up by the band members themselves. Similarly to other indie album covers, this could portray the importance of the band members and their influence on their fans. However the characters are all wearing sunglasses, this use of iconography creates an atmosphere of mystery around the band and the album content, creating an enigma.

The colours used in this album are important and particularly noticeable. The clothing of each band member is very different to one another, suggesting the band has a diverse set of band members and fans. The use of primary colours such as red, yellow and blue create a strong contrast in colour that grabs the attention of the audience, this is particularly important within the music shops, and would allow the album to stand out to its competitors. The band members are all looking away from the camera, again creating a mystery and portraying an attitude of 'not bothered'.

The text on the album cover is clear and direct to the audience. The writing is in capitals similar to other indie album covers i have looked at. This creates a dominant and the look of 'declaring' the title to the audience of the CD. The font is basic an again allows the writing to be read easily and quickly. It is clear the title is type therefore it looks professional and modern, it is also central allowing it to act as a dominant title. The genre is demonstrated through the use of the iconic characters that the band members look like.
The secondary level of communication is the idea of making the band members look iconic and it then enables them to become role models to the listeners/fans of their album. Their clothing influence could dramatically affect the way their fans act, for example these unique brightly coloured jackets could appeal to the target audience of elder teens and young adults because they could be similarly aged or slightly younger and aspire to get where the band members have made it.
The overall mood of the album cover is fairly serious due to the stern facial expressions of the band members. This 'serious' persona portrays the attitude that the band are putting on a dramatic and mysterious act, or they are genuinely like this.
The lack of tagline suggests that the album is perhaps simple, or the band intend to keep your guessing (enigma) about what the album will consist of. The title 'wall of arms' suggests a bond between the band, the 'arms' part could connote the idea of hugging one another, and the closeness of the band members on the front cover reinforces this idea.
The album cover to the left is one which i stumbled across by an extremely influential band 'Kraftwerk'. In my opinion the creator of this album cover has seen this album cover and decided to use the same idea with The Maccabees. None of the band members are looking at the screen, suggesting something is hidden or that the members are posing. They also seem to have a 'robotic' look to them making the situation look contrived and perhaps suggesting that the music industry is contrived. Throughout the indie scene we notice that the band members are usually included in the album cover, and are mostly the main focus.