The digipak found in this album is very appropriate for the band and the indie genre. The handprints, as seen in the picture above combined with the "about me" information below it adds a very personal and authentic touch to the bands image. Also included in the digipack are live pictures of the band performing at a gig as well as recording the album. This mise-en-scene again adds an authenticity with a focus on playing their own instruments and writing their own material, something that is important to fans of the indie genre. The font used on the front and back of the cover is just plain, block lettering, which combined with the simple, dark clothing being worn by the band creates an image that suggests they are not flashy or flamboyant and dont need to hide behind anything. The album artwork and its digipak could suggest that the album is about them, the music and the fans.
2. The Enemy - We'll Live And Die In These Towns - 2007
3. Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads - 2008
This album cover from the Kaiser Chiefs is a much brighter and more colourful artwork compared to the two previous examples. This was the Kaiser Chiefs third studio album and their first two album covers were fairly dark and plain. The second album "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" featured all five band members in black and white, much like way The Enemy have photographed their lead singer in their digipak in the previous example. During that time, Kaiser Chiefs music changed, with more focus on electronic sounds, which has connotations of brighter colours, something you could argue is reflected in their artwork here. This makes the brighter artwork appropriate for the genre and the shift in Kaiser Chiefs' music. In terms of the mise-en-scene, the front cover design is almost like a logo or crest. This could connote Kaiser Chiefs have established themselves as a popular band with their previous two albums and they therefore are represented as an establishment with the use of this symbol. The back cover has almost sticker like logos that resemble anything from food stickers, to barcodes to sports team logos. Each sticker corresponds to a track on the album, making it look a bit like a collection of tracks and all the stickers have been collected. The font is pretty standard, with block letter being used throughout. In the digipack, the lyrics of each song is featured, as well as black and white photos of the band in the studio, similar to those seen in the Razorlight album. It seems black and white photographs are very typical of the indie genre and are frequently featured on artwork and in digipacks.
4. Keane - Hopes And Fears - 2004
Again, this artwork from Keane's first album features a dark background ( a black/green colour) and light text to contrast it (a white/beige colour). Like many of the digipacks I have looked at, it features the lyrics to the songs. This seems to be very important to the indie genre, as lyrics are often the heart on soul of their songs. Also in this digipack, we see an image that is very typical of the indie genre. We see firstly, that the photo (above) is in black and white. We know from previous examples that black and white photographs are frequently used in the indie genre to add an almost dark and drab feel. This combined with the industrial and working class location where the subject is walking is also very typical and the black and white adds to the bleakness of the place. The man appears to be lonely, holding a fooball but with no one to play with. Maybe this man has "Hopes and Fears" (the name of the album) and that also fits in with the theme of the bands music. It sells the band as a serious band who aren't intending to make jolly, jokey music, but they're taking it seriously.
5. The Fratellis - Costello Music - 2006
This artwork, unlike the others contains sexualised images, even if these women are cartoons not real people, they are dressed provocatively and their body language is too. The three of them are sat listening to a record player as well as drinking and smoking. The albums and drinks bottles featured on the cover have 'The Fratellis' or and 'F' (the same one that is on the actual CD), which suggests the girls are listening to The Fratellis. It promotes an almost rebellious image, something that could appeal to indie fans as they don't like to 'follow the crowd' or be mainstream. It is also an instantly recognisable album cover and artwork, which makes it memorable. These types of artwork and videos etc sell the band, as fans of the indie genre like something different. It may also encourage music fans to pick up the CD in a music shop or click on the album online, because as this is the bands first album, the name 'The Fratellis' will be fairly new to most people. The digipack also contains the lyrics to the songs, and the beige and brown colour scheme adds a nostalgic touch to the images, which fits in with the old style record player.
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