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I am featuring the cover for Black Light, the sixth studio album by London electronic music duo Groove Armada, because I feat it may represent a trend in minimal album art design. The cover features simple block typography and Photoshop effects that do work with the album title.

However, I have to compare the cover to that of the recent self-titled album by Mudvayne that actually featured blacklight-reactive ink (right). While the Groove Armada cover does convey the concept of a blacklight, it certainly isn't anywhere close to being as cool and artistic as the Mudvayne cover.

Groove Armada collaborated with Bryan Ferry, Fenech-Soler, Jess Larrabee, Nick Littlemore, SaintSaviour and Will Young on the album. It would have nice to have seen a bit more creativity go into designing the album cover.

Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi (a.k.a Jón Thor Birgisson) is scheduled to release a solo album called Go on April 6, 2010. The album will be available as a standard single CD and will be released as a special edition CD and DVD combo on April 13. The DVD contains a film featuring Jónsi performing the entire album acoustically. The film was shot at Birgisson's home in Reykjavík, Iceland early this year by Canadian and animator director Dean DeBlois.

The cover art for both the standard and special editions appears to be identical. The cover features a photographic illustration of the artist, who seems to be dressed as the mythical Icarus and about to take flight. I assume it is a metaphor for going solo. Let's just hope this project doesn't have the result seen in myth.

Comic and actress Sarah Silverman has just released an album of songs from the last three seasons of her Television show, The Sarah Silverman Program. Songs of the Sarah Silverman Program: From Our Rears to Your Ears contains 99 tracks with songs with titles like Cookie Party, Poop Song, Humanitarian and Baby Penis In Your Mind, and excerpts from the show most memorable scenes.

The album cover is very colorful. It features the cast of the show sitting in what looks like the set of Pee Wee's Playhouse. The funniest thing about the cover is the little dog playing a banjo.

The new self-titled EP by New York City glam band Semi Precious Weapons is currently available on iTunes and Amazon.com. The band is on tour with Lady Gaga and has been getting a lot of attention.

I wanted to write about the cover art for the EP for two reasons. The first is that I find how the photograph used for the cover (right) was cropped to be very annoying. There is a lot going on in the photo and the photographer used some talent to get that frozen in mid-air effect just right. Probably the most shocking thing about it is what frontman Justin Tranter is wearing. The silver ankle boots and grafitti-covered nylons are just too much!

For some reason, the bottom of the image has been cropped off for the cover and the result is somewhat ordinary. Why bother to hire a talented photographer if the best part of the photograph ends up in the recycle bin?

The second thing that I think is worth noting about the cover is that it used a 3D effect for the typography. This is about the third time I have seen this done in recent mopths. I doubt that many people have 3D glasses sitting around the house. I just happen to have a pair and the 3D effect is kind of cool. The image of the band floats in front of the type.

Personally, I would have rather seen the entire photo on the cover. The 3D type just looks like a printing error without the glasses. As it is, the cover is just kinda cool and not nearly as outrageous as the band.

In October 2009, Danish pop group Alphabeat released The Spell (right), their second studio album. Fans outside of Denmark have been waiting for the album for months. AlbumArtExchange user henZ uploaded the album cover to the gallery last November and I've been looking for it to appear in U.S. and U.K. online stores ever since.

The album art is pretty good. It features a color photograph of the group with the focus on female singer Stine Bramsen. The typography appears above the group in white lettering on a dark blue sky.

The U.K. version of the album is now scheduled to be released tomorrow. Bramsen tweeted about is a few hours ago, "Our album is out tmrw!? Wow!! What a big day, didn't even realize until now that it's the 1st of March tmrw! Go get it and do enjoy!"

For some reason, the title of the album was changed from The Spell to The Beat Is... (probably some record label craziness involved in that). Unfortunately, they did more than just change the title on the album cover. They changed the color of typography to a nauseous pink.

Just comparing the two covers is a lesson is why chosing the right color for typography is an important aspect of album cover design. The pink color ruins the whole look of this cover. The eye is drawn away from the image of the group and to the harsh shade that is hovering above their heads.

When I finally download this album, I am going to change the name and use the Danish artwork instead. Thank goodness it was uploaded to the gallery. Thanks, henZ!

I've been meaning to write about Broken Bells for a few weeks now. The self-titled debut album recorded by James Mercer of indie rock band The Shins and producer Brian Burton (AKA Danger Mouse) is scheduled to be released on March 9, 2010.

The artwork for the album and the first single, The High Road (right), is very cool. Both feature illustrations with shocking Pepto Bismol pink-colored shapes on green backgrounds.

The music video for The High Road was directed by the legendary Sophie Muller (who also photographed the cover for the amazing Sade Soldier of Love album). I think Muller does her best work with female artists like Annie Lennox and Gwen Stefani, but the Broken Bells video isn't bad.

What is lacking in this project is cohesiveness between the graphic design and the video. It just doesn't pull together as a package. This is fairly typical these days. I'm not sure if the idea was to create covers that look kind of like what Muse is doing or what.

I am featuring the new EP by electro hip hop duo Chiddy Bang because it is an excellent example of why quality cover art is important. The Opposite of Adults EP is being marketed in a generic sleeve (below). This is being done even though a very cool promo video has been made for the title track.

The video features the duo with their heads enlarged by special effects. It amazes me that their record label didn't just use a still image from the video for the cover as I did to create my own mock up (right). There are dozens of images in the video that would make great cover art.

Instead, the EP is being sold without any art at all. Even if the physical product must be sold in a generic sleeve, there's no reason why art for the digital version can't be created. It took me about 10 minutes to create my mock up. Which image would you prefer to see on your iPod?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the music video. It is very creative and the song is pretty catchy.

The soundtrack for the first season of the Showtime drama Nurse Jackie is scheduled to be released on March 2, 2010. The TV score was composed by L.A. duo Wendy & Lisa (Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman).

Following their career in rock music, Wendy & Lisa began composing for feature films and television, beginning with 1995's Dangerous Minds. Since then, they have scored several television series including Heroes, Crossing Jordan, and Mercy.

The cover art for the album features a portrait of series star Edie Falco. It a a very nice photograph, with Falco shown holding a needle and wearing a white nurse uniform. The background is an unusual teal color.

The cover art for the sophomore album by Dallas musical duo Smile Smile is a good example what a clever and professioanlly executed concept can do for a recording artist. When I came across the album Truth On Tape while browsing Amazon.com, I had to click for more information.

The cover features singer/guitarist Ryan Hamilton and singer/pianist Jencey Hirunrusme nude and with grafitti all over their bodies. The photograph is mildly erotic, yet very compelling. I just hope they didn't use permanent markers!

Peter Gabriel's forthcoming album Scratch My Back is an interesting project. The singer and songwriter has recorded an album of covers and made deals with the original artists for them to record one of his songs in return. That is why the album is called "Scratch My Back" -- the other artists are supposed to scratch his in return.

In addition to having a rather unique concept, the album has a stunning cover. It features microphotography of what I assume are two red blood cells clinging together. It is simply a gorgeous image. I have seen other examples of this type of photography used on album covers. This is my favorite.

Scratch My Back featured covers of songs by David Bowie, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Randy Newman and several other notable artists.It is scheduled to be released on March 2, 2010.

Recently, I wrote about a couple of very good covers for mixtapes by hip hop artist Nicki Minaj. One of the covers is for a mixtape called Barbie World (right). The cover features an illustration that depicts Minaj as a Barbie doll encased in pink packaging.

Apparently, Mariah Carey was impressed with both the concept and Minaj's performing abilities. Not only is Minaj featured on Mariah's latest single Up Out My Face, the cover art for the single and the music video both attempt to use Barbie theme.

On the cover for the single, Carey appears as a doll in a box. Unfortunately, the execution of the concept is not as good as that of the Nicki Minaj Barbie World mixape. The packaging used on the Mariah Carey cover is all wrong. Mariah has been placed in a box that is red, rather than pink. Also, the typography on the package doesn't resemble that used on those for dolls. It is somewhat difficult to figure out that is what Carey is supposed to be.

The original Nicki Minaj cover is vastly superior. I wonder why Carey simply did not use the same talented artist. This is something that is common with Mariah Carey's projects. They always seem to be stunted on a creative level. I am not surprised to see butterflies on the "Mimi" doll package.

Over the last year, more than 20 of American music's most exciting artists traveled to Preservation Hall in New Orleans to collaborate with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Preservation: An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach-Program. Proceeds from the sale of the album will benefit Preservation Hall and The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program. The album was released today, Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2010, in standard CD, deluxe edition and double-LP collectible formats.

Artists appearing on the album include Louis Armstrong, Pete Seeger, Blind Boys of Alabama, Brandi Carlile, Ani DiFranco, Merle Haggard, Bobby McFerrin, Paolo Nutini, and Tom Waits.

Preservation Hall is located in the French Quarter just three blocks from the Mississippi River. The album features a photograph of the hall as it appears today, much as it originally was when it opened in 1961. Originally erected as a Spanish Tavern in the 1750s, Preservation Hall is a modest French Quarter structure, without running water or air conditioning.

The 13th studio album by American poet and soul musician Gil Scott-Heron was released last week. I'm New Here is Scott-Heron's first original album in 16 years. The music video for Scott-Heron's version of the legendary Robert Johnson's Me and the Devil was released on YouTube by XL Recordings yesterday and it is simply amazing.

The album art for I'm New Here features and tightly cropped black and white photograph of the artist smoking a cigarette. I am not wild about the green and pink colors used for the typography. They remind me of that 1980s "preppy handbook" era. Otherwise, it is a decent cover.

The Now That's What I Call Music! (Now!) series began in the United Kingdom in 1983 with the release of a double album (right) by Virgin Records executives Stephen Navin, John Webster and Simon Draper. The album was a compilation that featured 30 hit songs by artists such as Culture Club, Simple Minds, Duran Duran and Rod Stewart.

The album went to number one on the U.K. charts and sold over 900,000 copies and resulted in the most successful compilation series of all time. The series has resulted in over 75 million record sales in the U.K. and spin offs in 24 counties, including the United States.

The most recent numbered release in the U.S. series is Now That's What I Call Music! 32. The U.K. series is currently up to number 74. The most recent U.S. Now! special release is Now That's What I Call Love!

This being Valentine's Day, I felt it was very appropriate to feature Now That's What I Call Love! as a new and notable album. It is certain to be a popular gift along with red roses and chocolates.

The album cover art for the various Now! series has evolved to become a template. Most of the covers feature 3D "Now" typography and the series number along with a brightly colored or seasonal background. Because of the overlap of numbers between the various series, there is often confusion regarding with cover is which (U.S. #32 vs U.K. #32, etc.) A future project for an AlbumArtExchange gallery admin could be to sort through the discographies and label the covers by country.

QUAKE-HAITI/, originally uploaded by Disasters Emergency Committee.

I found this heartbreaking photograph on the Flickr photostream for Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), a UK registered charity benefiting from the Helping Haiti Everybody Hurts single.

The proceeds will be split 50/50 between DEC and The Sun newspaper's "Helping Haiti" appeal. Everybody Hurts is one of several singles produced to raise funds for the earthquake victims in Haiti.