CD Cover Analysis

Here is the CD cover to James Bay's Debut album 'Chaos And The Calm'. James Bay's music comes under many genres the main being folk rock/ blues genre. This cover is dominated by the large photograph of the artist him self which is quite dull looking with low lighting which creates a dull but also a calm atmosphere which reflects the album title. The photograph isn't particularly eye catching but would attract the fans of James Bay as it has a mid/long shot of the artist, therefore they would be drawn tot he album, also the general mood of the photo almost has a natural feel to it which could reflect the folk style within his music, but also creates a very modern feel to the album cover. The general style is very minimalistic but effective as it reflects the genre of music and also 'keeps things simple' which enables potential buyers to be drawn into the main photograph on the album and perhaps consider the hidden message behind the photograph. 

The text font style, colour and size also reflects the calm feel that the album cover is portraying. This is because the font itself is simple and contrasts against the darkness on the image which makes the important information (The artists name and album title) stand out and noticeable. Also, the change in colour of the font separates the name of the artist from the album name, but in a simple way that is not drastic.

Above is the back of the album. The key feature of the back cover is the track list as this shows what songs the album includes and in what order. Also another thing to mention would be the record company logo which features in the left hand corner, and also the barcode for the shops. Like the album cover for 'Years & Years' the CD spine has the name of the artist and also the record label logo on it. The large photo, which provides the background for the back cover, reflects the theme of the front photograph. The photograph could almost be said to reflect the title of the album as an armchair is somewhere to relax and provides a 'calm' atmosphere, however the tatty look of the chair could represent the 'chaos' in the album title 'Chaos And The Calm'.