Digipak Analysis

An Awesome Wave

alt-J’s album artwork on An Awesome Wave is a multi-layered radar image of the Ganges river delta in Bangladesh. The layers of multiple colours represent the background radiation occurring between the three acquisition times by the European Space Agency’s Encisat Earth-observing satellite. The psychedelic array of colours is suggestive of the musical content and could represent the moods it creates. It appears abstract initially and doesn’t present any text or titles to offer any information about the band or the genre. While most artists’ products are quick to recognise due to them including their names on the cover, alt-J leave only the artwork for the consumers to interpret what kind of band they are and the type of music they produce. When familiarised with the band, people can begin to associate this unique artwork with the album. 

The back cover also doesn't present the name of the band. However, the names of the tracks in the album are provided. The style and colour theme are quite minimalistic in comparison to the complex details and vibrancy on the front cover of the album. The track is presented with no definite order with only small hearts to separate some of the titles, coming away from the conventional layout of a number ordered track list. They seem to be placed somewhat thoughtlessly on the page seeing as they couldn't fit "Tesselate" on one line. At first glance, viewing this is uncomfortable but aesthetically everything sits in place. The back includes the name of the record label, along with their logo, credits of producers and a barcode, which is conventional of any album. 




For their deluxe version they used the same artwork and inverted the colours. For the loyal followers of the band, this will be quick to recognise as they have stayed true to the original artwork of their album.

The origami version of the album features a pop-up folded disk slot. As it opens, the pocket unfolds to reveal the disk which can then be removed. This version outsold the original standard casing.

Minimalism seems to be a conventional style within the indie rock genre. "Less is more" resonates from these album covers, letting the artwork themselves speak for the artists and their music. A noticeable trend in this genre is also the absence of any text or titles on the cover, leaving only artwork which is usually fairly minimal.

From left to right: The xx - xx, Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!, Arctic Monkeys, AM