Favorite Album Covers of 2020

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Holden
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Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Holden »

Not a poll, but just curious, what were your favorite album covers from 2020?
"The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
Jackson
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Jackson »

Nubya Garcia - Source
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song
Anna von Hauswolff - All Thoughts Fly
Beatrice Dillon - Workaround
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Rob
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Rob »

The absolute winner:


Nubya Garcia - Source

Also great, in no particular order:


Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher


Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas


King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Chunky Shrapnel


Khruangbin - Mordechai


Slift - Ummon


Ichiko Aoba - Adan no kaze


Phoxjaw - Royal Swan
I don't even know why I love this so much, but somehow it gets to me.


Nick Cave - Idiot Prayer


Havukruunu - Uinuos syömein sota


B.C. Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff

Honorable mention:

Dream Wife - So When You Gonna...
Not particularly beautiful or anything, but I love that the three band members are all in a different mood: aggressive, annoyed and cheerful.

Dishonorable mention:
Róisín Murphy: Roisin Machine
There are certainly worse album covers, but of all the major releases this one is surely the most off-putting. No, I'm not going to post it here.

Also:
Childish Gambino - 3.15.2020
I thought you were a creative guy, but somehow you made an album cover that's lamer than your album's title. Anti-art covers should die already, especially the who gimmick of just one color with or without the artist name. It was lame when The Beatles did it and it ain't getting better.
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BleuPanda
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by BleuPanda »

Just quickly scrolling through the MCCH chart, these have stuck with me:
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
Rina Sawayama - Sawayama
Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song/Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas - which I think have stuck out to me due to the juxtaposition they have had on the MCCH chart; both black and white photos of a woman with hair partially obscuring their faces. Yet they strike very different tones; there's something playful and joyous about Lianne La Havas, yet something otherworldly about Inner Song despite its simplicity
B.C. Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff

And I see Rob has commented in the time I took to type this - I actually kind of like the Róisín Murphy cover. It feels intentionally kitsch and camp, which fits the disco revival sound it represents. As in, I think the 'off-putting' aspect of the cover is the point; so I guess it all depends on tolerance for kitsch.
Nick
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Nick »

I’m also going to second the Ichiko Aoba, Kelly Lee Owens, and the Phoebe Bridgers covers. All great stuff. I’m also a big fan of the covers of Future Nostalgia and RTJ4.
Jackson
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Jackson »

Rob wrote: Thu Dec 17, 2020 6:04 pm Dishonorable mention:
Róisín Murphy: Roisin Machine
There are certainly worse album covers, but of all the major releases this one is surely the most off-putting. No, I'm not going to post it here.
Totally agree with you here! Several of my favorites this year have covers that are nothing special (Jessie Ware, Fiona Apple, Rina Sawayama, Laura Marling), but this one stands out as truly bad.
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Schüttelbirne
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

The best ones:

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Others from my EOY albums list (in no particular order):

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Others not from my EOY albums list:

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Forgetting a lot of course, these were the first that came to mind.
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mileswide
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by mileswide »

Inspiring!

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Euphoric!

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Mysterious!

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Rotoscopic!

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Strangely abrasive!

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All I got inside is vacancy!
Henry
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Re: Favorite Album Covers of 2020

Post by Henry »

More info on all-time cover art favorites is provided at https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/ ... EFJZZpMTCs

Some highlights for me (for music more than album art):

4: The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (design by Peter Blake)
16: Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run (design by Eric Meola)
22: The Who: Who’s Next (design by Ethan Russell)
24: Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick (design by Roy Eldridge)
26: Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (design by Mati Klarwein)
33: Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic (design by Raeanne Rubenstein)
42: Utopia: Swing to the Right (design by John Wagman)
43: Blondie: Parallel Lines (design by Ramey Communications)
46: Pink Floyd: Animals (design by Hipgnosis)
48: Dave Brubeck: Time Out (cover by Neil Fujita)
50: Elton John: Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (design by David Larkham and Michael Ross)
53: Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin II (design by David Juniper)
56: Madonna: Madonna (design by Carin Goldberg)
68: Joe Jackson: I’m the Man (design by Michael Ross)
70: The Beatles: Abbey Road (design by John Kosh)
79: King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King (design by Barry Godber)
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