Analysing a CD cover- Noah and the whale

Analysing a CD cover-

Noah and the whale – first days of spring

Image-

• Immediate sense of youth by the bands faces and their actions- there is almost a sense of freedom from the way in which three of the members aren’t looking at the camera. This connotes that the fact that only one member is looking at the camera that maybe he is the lead singer.
• The colours used throughout the cover are all natural which connotes that the music which the band creates also has a natural/organic feel to it.
• The grass and the natural surroundings also help to elevate the youthfulness of the band.
• The band members are all wearing everyday clothes, which suggests that there music is simply and ordinary in the sense of no special effects or added extras.
• The lead singers eyes are blacked out due to the light therefore the audience can’t see them, this immediately creates and enigma for the audience, because a person’s eyes is what helps someone recognise them, therefore, the fact that the audience can’t see his eyes creates a mystery which is effective.
• The band is positioned in different ways. Three of the members are further away from the other member. The difference helps to show the audience the particular roles that certain members of the band play.
• The camera is mid shot of the band which is effective because it enables the audience to see the bands faces, but it doesn’t show us the whole picture, therefore adding to the mystery behind the band. This could persuade the audience to delve deeper into the band, via their music.

Copy-

·         The font used on the cover is pretty simple, which is effective because it doesn’t detract the audience attention away from the image of the band.

·         The colour of the font is black, which helps it standout against the blue sky. The fact that the font is such a dark colour compared to the majority of the image, could suggest a sense of seriousness in regards to the band’s music and the album.

Genre-

• The genre of the album isn’t really elevated throughout the cover, but due to certain aspects of it such as: the band and the natural surrounds, could suggest an indie feel and that sense of freedom and youth.

Target audience-

• Like the genre of the album, the target audience is really a central aspect of the album. There is a sense of youth, which could connote that maybe the target audience could be teens to young adults, also the members of the band don’t look very old, therefore, like most indie bands nowadays, they usually make music for people who are of a similar age to them.

Mode of address-

• There is a very calm mode that is created by the image on he album cover. The colours and the bands faces immediately connote a sense of peacefulness; therefore this could help to persuade the target audience that this is the music that they like to listen to.
• Also, the fact that one of the members of the band is holding a olden style camera which is pointing at the actual camera, makes the audience feel that they are also involved in the image and the album itself.- this could also suggest that the music in which the band create has a vintage feel to it.

Title/name-

·         The title of the album- first days of spring is elevated by the image on the cover. The fact that the surroundings are naturally bright and greenery is used, helps the audience make an important connection between the image and the album name.

·         The name itself suggests that the album is going to more than likely surround songs that make the audience feel happy and alive- just like the ways in which they may feel on the first day of spring.

Blub/inlay-

• The inside of the album cover consists of images of the band playing music. This has a different feel to it compared to the front cover image for different reasons. Firstly, the images are much darker, which connotes a sense of seriousness and mystery.
• Also, the bands faces are much more serious, which connotes that when it comes to music, they take a very serious approach to it.

Representation-

·         The male gender is represented in a very stereotypical way- that sense of men controlling everything and a patriarchal society is elevated by the fact that there aren’t any women on the cover or inside the album.

·         Class isn’t really made obvious through the album cover, this could show that the band feel as though class may not be a very important aspect of their music.

·         In regards to ethnicity, the fact that the men are all white is elevating the dominant ideology of the specific genre. Mainly indie band nowadays are white, male orientated, this could suggest that other ethnicities tend to create music in other genre such as: pop or RnB.