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Wall of Arms cover art!

April 2, 2009 at 4:50 pm 1 comment

Yep, The Maccabees have finally unveiled the cover for their second album “Wall of Arms” (released May 4th on Fiction Records). The painting and photograph are the work of British artist Boo Ritson, who is known for literally coating her subjects in paint, photographing them, and creating surreal portraits that the eye mistakes for paintings or sculptures at first glance.   

Orlando Weeks (vocals/guitar/wicked dance moves) has written a piece for The Guardian describing what the band wanted for their album art work and their experience working with Ritson:

Both the band and Boo are over the moon with the results. We put everything we had into making the new album and we’re really proud of it. To have the artwork that we set our hearts on is the icing on the cake. None of us Maccabees are comfortable in front of the camera but this was fine, it was an exercise in camouflage. If we had thought at the start of writing the album that not only would a photograph of us be our cover, but that we would be wearing sunglasses and what looks like lipstick, we would have run a mile. But we love it because it’s not really us, even though it is.

You can read the rest of the article here, where he describes what it was like to be coated in paint from head to toe. Personally, I like the artwork. I think it’s different in the sense that you don’t see your generic run-of-the-mill bands doing something like this, but it’s also different for The Maccabees themselves. In the past, their artwork has been the product of  Weeks or close friends and it’s been good and become representative of the band, but now they’re taking a step outside of themselves. This seems to be the recurring theme of the new album and with the artwork, “No Kind Words”, and “Love You Better,” The Maccabees are showing the world that they’ve grown and matured as artists, musicians, and as people. And you know what? They’re doing a damn good job of showing it. 

The band has put up “Love You Better” on their myspace page again this week. While it’s only a one minute preview for now, the band have promised to upload the full-lenght version of the song in the coming days. So keep an ear out for that!

I remember having seen Ritson’s work in the past and being blown away when I discovered that what I had believed to be paintings were actually photographs of models made to look like paintings. It sounds crazy, but it really is an interesting style that renders very cool and unexpected results. Definitely check out more of her work here!

Entry filed under: Music: News. Tags: announcement, music, The Maccabees.