Sqwink Album Art Blog

Wow. Now that’s a great word to start a review on the new Kings of Leon album Because of the Times. My opinions for the previous review for the Arctic Monkeys latest album were rather negative, so I’m glad to see album cover which is fantastic!

I’m writing this review on the 22nd March 2007 - and I’m aware that there seem to be three different versions of the cover in circulation. The ‘light-bulb Image’, ‘Light-bulb & Scull’ and a Brown/yellow montage. I don’t know for definite which ones are going to be released in which country, special editions, etc. However, the album cover I’m reviewing appears on Amazon.com and a few other major sites, so I’m presuming this is the main one…

The Kings of Leon’s 2nd album ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ (image 1) procured what came to be quite iconic album art. The white flower set on a black back-drop set Caleb Followill and the band into the mainstream (although, there was another Aha Shake Heartbreak ‘yellow’ version/alternate available).

The latest album, ‘Because of the Times’ (image 2) appears to carry on a theme of ‘images-of-impact’ - for respected musicians who’s music has impact. To cut a long-story-short, I love everything about this Kings of Leon sleeve. It’s visually-stimulating, almost provocative and importantly, conveys the notion of a musical progression. By this, I mean that the shattering light-bulb is almost a metaphor for the Kings of Leon discography: the music hasn’t just evolved - it’s moving in a whole new direction.

Yeah, I know, an image of a shattering light-bulb is nothing new, but used in this context - it’s original. From a graphic designer’s point of view, I’m scoring this album cover 9/10. If you agree/disagree with this blog or have any questions or comments for me on this review, please feel free to leave them below.

Review by Andrew Kelsall, Sqwink CD Design

Wow. Now that’s a great word to start a review on the new Kings of Leon album Because of the Times. My opinions for the previous review for the Arctic Monkeys latest album were rather negative, so I’m glad to see album cover which is fantastic!

I’m writing this review on the 22nd March 2007 - and I’m aware that there seem to be three different versions of the cover in circulation. The ‘light-bulb Image’, ‘Light-bulb & Scull’ and a Brown/yellow montage. I don’t know for definite which ones are going to be released in which country, special editions, etc. However, the album cover I’m reviewing appears on Amazon.com and a few other major sites, so I’m presuming this is the main one…

The Kings of Leon’s 2nd album ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ (image 1) procured what came to be quite iconic album art. The white flower set on a black back-drop set Caleb Followill and the band into the mainstream (although, there was another Aha Shake Heartbreak ‘yellow’ version/alternate available).

The latest album, ‘Because of the Times’ (image 2) appears to carry on a theme of ‘images-of-impact’ - for respected musicians who’s music has impact. To cut a long-story-short, I love everything about this Kings of Leon sleeve. It’s visually-stimulating, almost provocative and importantly, conveys the notion of a musical progression. By this, I mean that the shattering light-bulb is almost a metaphor for the Kings of Leon discography: the music hasn’t just evolved - it’s moving in a whole new direction.

Yeah, I know, an image of a shattering light-bulb is nothing new, but used in this context - it’s original. From a graphic designer’s point of view, I’m scoring this album cover 9/10. If you agree/disagree with this blog or have any questions or comments for me on this review, please feel free to leave them below.

Review by Andrew Kelsall, Sqwink CD Design