One republic native digipak analysis
- 1. Amy Fogarty Character On the front cover there are five different animals present which represent each member of the band, which could indicate contribution to the music along with their personalities. The main cover image has intertextual links with Queens album cover , as the animals which represent the band members are positioned in a similar style to Queens album cover. The main cover image is directly parallel to the albums name Native. The artwork for the album was brought up on the idea of how different, each member of the group is from each other and that each one of the band members is like a different animal. Frontman Ryan Tedder is represented by a fox, drummer Eddie Fisher is represented by a mountain lion, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown is an owl, bassist Brent Kutzle is a gazelle, and lead guitarist Zach Filkins is the bison. Brent Kutzle came up with the idea of calling the album Native. According to Kutzle, it means indigenous to every country and how different they are as individuals. Iconography - Animals have been used instead photos of the band themselves, in order to create a more meaningful and powerful image. This also suggests that the band is focusing more prominently on promoting their music rather than promoting themselves in order to sell the album. Narrative - The front cover of the album is a conceptual piece of artwork. The digipak consists of soft pale colours that create a desert and smoke like effect which is a parallel image with the albums title NATIVE. The main covers 'spiritual animals also suggest a different style of music that they are producing in comparison to their previous albums. For example these all go with the album title which is 'native' the cover suggests that their music has become more adventurous with the cover and title relating to American history such as Native Americans. The album has a running theme throughout of dry deserts and wild animals, suggesting they are more connected with their music and it suggests they are going back to basics, original and un-processed music. The five-headed beast is comprised of a Bison, a Gazelle, a Mountain Lion, a Fox and an Owl with each head representing a member of the band.
- 2. Amy Fogarty The back cover of the album features tracking listing to the album. The layout and use of colours creates a neutral and simple effect, in result drawing attention to the cover more. The band has chosen to use earthy colours along with 'tribe' like symbols which again reinforce and supports the idea of native concept and album title. The animals featured on the front cover have been used to create a double exposure with members of the band behind them. Each animal represents each member of the band, the band are suggesting that each animal is the bands spiritual animals, each animal represents the different personalities of the bands members. The animals used are all very different and are also animals that you wouldn't usually associate with each other suggesting that although they are all different they are strong and work well together. A lot of colour has been used throughout the digipak suggesting that the bands music is quite diverse and that each song is different to another one of the album. Although a lot of colours have been used they aren't bright, quite mute and connote elements of the earth colours have been used to reflect the albums name and overall effect the band want to project through the album and the songs.