LogFAQs > #878476978

4. Radiohead- Kid A - Bane_Of_Despair
https://i.scdn.co/image/9ac59bbe069572073faf9e388f3282a06b7dc071


Originality: 8
Aesthetic: 6.75
Story: 5.75
Personal: 6.5
Average: 6.75

Fun Fact: Artist Stanley Donwood used actual knives and sticks to paint on canvasses when making this cover.

The cover is extremely unique, even by the standard of Radiohead albums, with a combination of painting and computer editing to create an image that feels natural and artificial all at once. The mountains look like literally nothing else done before, and that cool use of grey shading to create a sense of depth is difficult to even describe. Even the coloring is unusual and challenging, at times looking almost like a children’s coloring book (such as that lava eruption over the mountain), and other times seeming so precise as to have been done by a computer.

I can't go as high with the Aesthetic score as Originality, as it's intentionally an imperfect work that's not easy on the eyes in some respects. But due to the high level of technical skill that clearly went into creating what could easily be described as a work of art, it deserves a good score in this category.

As for Story, you might think there is none, and to be sure, it's vague, but it's there. It’s one of those images that gives you a sense of emotion when you look at it, even if it's hard to describe. To me, I see an almost apocalyptic atmosphere in it, with that hint of red beyond the mountains, and the pristine whiteness of the mountains being disturbed by the explosion of lava. It's as if nature is rebelling and the world is coming to an end, or something like that. But a hundred people could all come away from the cover seeing something different in it.

While it's not quite my favorite Radiohead cover (OK Computer), there's no denying this is fantastic cover art that's one of a kind.