Cursive's Domestica

For this assignment, we were told to dissect almost all forms of still visual advertisement of art, from book covers to movie posters. Of course the one thing missing is the one thing I'm well versed in: album covers. While this isn't on the list, album covers are sometimes just as important as the music itself in stirring up attention and creating a buzz. It also helps put a face on the music, which is why the artists carefully craft album covers that reflect exactly the direction the music will head the listener towards.

Cursive's Domestica, while being one of my favorite albums of all time, features some of my favorite album art. It is a concept album about a fictional relationship's trials and tribulations. and the artwork captures the music's pained and ominous tone perfectly. The cover has a jet black background. It features a guy and a girl (presumably the the couple which the album is focused on). They are placed from the left to the middle of the cover. They guy is wearing black, and his body blends in exactly with the scenery. You cannot tell where his body ends, but you can assume he's skinny because his face is slim. His hair is brown, but at the shadows he it too blends in with the black of the background. His dreary face is looking off into the distance, and it looks like he is not hugging back the person who is hugging him. The girl has her head nestled on the shoulder of the guy, with her eyes closed. The girl has short hair, and like the guy she is hugging intently, it is dark and blends into the background. she is wearing a red turtleneck with short sleeves. The red is ridiculously bright and there is a stark contrast between her sweater and the rest of the cover. It's fiery in a bleak scene. Just like there seems to be a great contrast with the deeply emotional output of the girl and the guy's apathy. Both character's heads, while being the focus, are the neutral colors of the piece.

Below the girl's head is the title of the album. "Cursive's" is written in a small. white font. "Domestica" is written in a much bigger font directly underneath. It has casts a red shadow. Below that, written in a minuscule white font, are the lyrics for the first track in the album "The Casualty." It's read across the entire piece and spans 5 lines.

To the right of the couple are four tiny pictures. All four are heavily red-based photos. They are seemingly taken of scenes of a day in the life of the fictional couple. With each photo becoming more and more red with every photo, until the last, which looks like a close-up of the guy with a completely red filter.

The album art is perfectly crafted. When you see it, you know what you're in for when you listen to the album...at least with the mood, if not musically.