Deconstruction of Album Cover
Arctic Monkeys- Favourite Worst Nightmare
Jack Clark


The album cover suggests an indie rock genre with a very British sound. We can gather this by looking at the colours and images used. The colours suggest a non glamorous lifestyle which is a typical picture we get from indie rock artists.

There are many clever visual techniques used in this artwork to enhance the look of the cover. The rule of thirds is used very well as it has captured the two windows on the right which are filled with bright colour which is in contrast with the darker colours used for the rest of the artwork. Also it has captured the bottom right of the text which immediately attracts our attention. There is also a leading line used which runs along the roofs of the houses. This technique leads to the text in the top left corner. These techniques all show that the text is a very important aspect of the cover. The text is used to anchor the image. The linguistic device suggests ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’. This is reinforced by the image lacking cheerful colour which suggests a nightmare. Also the picture is dark suggesting that it is night time to reinforce the nightmare aspect of the text. The favourite part is shown through the interesting and fun colours used in one of the houses. By doing this we are able to understand the concept of a favourite worst nightmare. The dark council looking houses add grittiness to the feel of the art and it also adds emphasis to the fact that the band is very British with a very British sound. The graffiti style of the art inside the windows of the house is not very representative of the band themselves; however it does have connotations of the ‘favourite worst nightmare’ aspect as is used to reinforce the statement. The grittiness shown is very representative of British bands nowadays and the look which most of them aim towards.

The band is represented as a working class group who came from nothing. They are represented as a band that have a passion for what they do and are not just in it for the money. The album cover can portray many traits of the band such as youthfulness by using the bright colours in the windows in contrast to the dark colours. It also portrays creativity and talent because the houses shown indicate to us what they came from. This suggests that they did not have a very privileged upbringing and so talent is the key to their success to allow them to breakaway from this lifestyle. This album cover conforms to paradox 1 of Dyers theory that the artist is ordinary in the sense that they come from a working class background but extraordinary in the sense that they are able to produce a well recognised album and that they are recognised nationally. This helps the band sell their product because many people can form a parasocial relationship with the band as they feel as though they have something in common with them. Due to this happening the audience will want to find out more about the band therefore purchasing more merchandise.
The text can be consumed in various different ways. However I believe that the preferred reading of the text is a rags to riches tale. This adds authenticity to the band allowing them to appeal to a larger audience. Also it allows people to understand the concept of a ‘favourite worst nightmare’.