Ranking Underworld's album cover art

[holden]

Well, with the announcement of the new album "Strawberry Hotel" and some debate about the album artwork being unusual, or perhaps just unexpected given the aesthetic of the recent singles, I thought it would be fun to look back and rank the Underworld album covers. (Don't think we've done this for a long while...and it's UW-related so putting it in this forum).
Just Mk II-III (Dubno to present), just the main releases, not getting into singles, EPs, boxes/re-releases, live albums or rarities...

As a trained professional artist, my opinion...matters no more than anyone elses! Art is subjective after all. Here's my ranking (1 is tops, 9 is bottom), and a few words why i felt that why:

1. Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994): Iconic handprint. Layered text and splatters. Mechanical and organic. UW.
2. Beaucoup Fish (1999): Sometimes clean, simple and well-executed holds up well. Plus, the blue color and italic type works for me.
3. Second Toughest in the Infants (1996): Abstract and bold without being overdone.
4. Oblivion With Bells (2007): Kind of a retread of the Dubno aesthetic, all that layered text and black/white. But it's elegant and makes me want to look closely into the images.
5. Strawberry Hotel (2024): While some might be bothered by the saturated colors and all the items going on in the scene, for me it's a) bold, b) no doubt all the items mean something in context of the album as tracks are like glimpes into funky different hotel rooms, c) UW art is not always subtle, so no worries with this, and d) It'll be cool to decipher, find clues, or just look at a decidedly non-boring tableau.
6. A Hundred Days Off (2002): Ok, a blurry photo of a held balloon-man. Not high concept, but it has an identity. Often wondered if a brighter image would work better than the greytone.
7. Barking (2010): Going back to the abstract, layered, "scribbles" again (see # 1, 3, 4). Fine for being vivid and reflecting a scattershot collection of tracks with various guest producers - neither the music nor art really coheres for me.
8. Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future (2016): Paint effect over photo: yeah, i can do this in PowerPoint. Tomato, c'mon, you're better than that.
9. Drift Series 1 (Sampler) (2019): Just feels tossed together. Random dog with the weird missing shoulder behind the "R", alternating slant lettering. Hill is red for some edgy reason. It's in your face, but not in a good way. (So i have the box set which replaces the dog with a white area between the lettering. Less offensive but even less interesting, especially for such a packed project).

Ok, your turn! No wrong answers, but plenty to debate!

p.s. said i wouldn't rank non-albums, but a couple extra thoughts: I really don't like the recoloration of the box sets (icky yellow, orange and pink). RiverRun-era singles with typographic patterns were delightful.There's a lot to like about the graphics amid the Drift weekly singles (and lots of em). Best single art: i dunno, maybe "Dark and Long" or "Dirty Epic/Cowgirl"? Worst: "Moaner" (Yuck, Batman and Robin!)

[StrangeLastName]

Alright, let's go! Same disclaimer here... I've been a full-time graphic designer for 20 years now, so all that means is that I know WHY I like what I like... not that my opinions are objectively correct.

1. Oblivion with Bells - A more detailed, refined, and timeless version of the aesthetic first seen on Dubnobass. Trying to get my head around the time it took to create that cover, the layers, the handmade vs computer-generated pieces... Outstanding. (This entire era is fantastic, with the singles and Riverrun-related singles all using the same language... what I would give to have copies of Warwicker's design books from this period)

2. Barking - Again, SO much going on here. 95% of designers would bail long before this artwork was completed. Some fun typographic play, and the insane color burst captures the collaborative nature of the album. So grateful for the deluxe edition.

3. Beaucoup Fish - What is that? A contact lens? A prism? All we knew is that it looked so cool, and so confident. To let the color sing, to lean into that simple italic type... Very cool. Hard to consider this outside of the context of the accompanying singles.

4. Dubnobasswithmyheadman - Iconic, but possibly the most dated, of all the pieces. I like this era but as I said, I think the concept was done better with Oblivion. Having said that - this fits the music very well, maybe the best of all of these. A very good representation of the sounds and themes of the songs themselves.

5. Second Toughest In The Infants - Cool, abstract, but ultimately kind of one note. If I think about how much time did I spend looking at the artwork compared to others, it explains why this is so low.

6. Strawberry Hotel - Not the most original idea (a photographic tableau of hints and references to the songs on the album), but the execution is cool, and the garish colors really set it apart. It feels like the typography is a bit random, and not as creative as previous releases... it makes perfect sense that Warwicker/Tomato aren't involved.

7. Barbara, Barbara, We Face A Shining Future - Couldn't agree more. This was the first time I thought... "Hmmm, well I could do that... hell I think I HAVE done that on projects before." The type is uninspired, and the design just feels too simple. Nothing to chew on really. (I might have a different opinion if I had a copy of the deluxe version and could see all of the art included... some of the dot/line elements are pretty cool)

8. A Hundred Days Off - Personally I find the imagery to be boring (the balloon face) or ugly (the potatoes and steel wool on the singles), but the type is passable.

9. Drift - The typography is bad. The photos are bad and inconsitent. The layouts are forced and uninteresting.

::: Non-album artwork opinions :::

• As I said earlier, the RiverRun singles are the GOAT of the Underworld discography for my tastes.
• Teatime Dub Encounters is pretty good, love the handmade masking tape lettering
• The Pearl's Girl singles seem so gritty, so cool, so tactile... love that aesthetic.
• Always loved the artwork for 1992-2002 and the update for 1992-2012. The Rorshach paint drops of A Collection seem a little phoned-in.
• I'm kind of 50/50 on the updated colors/designs on the special editions of Dubnobass and Beaucoup Fish... but Second Toughest is too much for me.
• Of the recent special single releases, I was super happy with And I Will Kiss/Caliban's Dream... and very underwhelmed with Juanita 2022

[dubman]

As a FORMER graphic designer, I have a VAGUE idea of why I like what I like, but just enough that I'm going to be more ARROGANT about it.

Dubnobass - the blueprint of type treatments for me. So much "chaos" in type today is a contrivance because it doesn't feel like it has any real energy underneath it. it's all "vibe" and it's not enough! you need a city under your work. the repetitions, the builds, the stretched text fire escape structures. the flavors of type clashing. huge, HUGE inspiration.

Second Toughest - my favorite album covers go against the feel of the music, but complement it so well that it makes you realize those characteristics in the music as well. the music itself is sculpted, polished, and smooth, but the artwork kicks with life, pure dynamism your eye tries to make shapes of, but it's all energy. brilliant.

Beaucoup Fish - Perfect Blues across the board. immediately evocative, so exact. and that light taupe for the Franklin type! What decision tree took that route? It is... so fucking cool. ugh.

Oblivion with Bells - The cover itself is a mess imo. I wanted it to zoom in on a particularly good section (there are many!), but the way it is now is too much, too hairy. the artwork inside and the accompanying books of jam are absolutely marvelous though. Love the Garamond(?)

Strawberry Hotel - first impressions are that it's a bit left-handed, but good. I like the sentimental tchotchke angle. Kind of like Barking but in real space, and as I said in the album thread it feels like a big bouquet incoming. A work made whole by the long road behind it. That color scheme vibrates a little too hard for me, and for as good as their logo is (seriously, the best since OWB), I'm sad that it's sectioned off like that, but it's good. It's a good cover, Jim.

Barking - This is the most confounding one of them all for me. I look at it and I wonder why it's contained in white, but it wouldn't work if all that bright beautiful chaos took up the whole space. I don't know how to solve this issue unless, again, you zoom in! Opening the special edition up, the first two pages feel immediately more coherent, more beautiful. Overall it's always been a bit awkward, but I still respect it.

Drift - I liked the inconsistency of the photo choices throughout. this isn't a complete package, it's (spiritually) an endless scroll, a re-purposing of a photo diary. I liked the typeface too even if the arrangements were a bit searching. Unfortunately the final package that the offline world saw was ROUGH. I tried to go into the spirit of things with that dog, but it's a dog. You slapped a dog on there. What does that say?

A Hundred Days Off - You know what. Like. Fuck this thing. I think I can say that after 20 years. It also doesn't matter after that long, it's iconic in its own way, but what an absolute goof. what a flat, dumb little photo. Maybe it reflects the more domestic, cozy, less remote type of aesthetic that blue-cool BF had going, but ehhhh... I think it's a copout. Good type though. Big, bold, and tight.

Barbara Barbara - I really like the type, actually. it's modern for a serif, it's broad but packed. feels solid, feels right. like picking up a good rock or stick. The artwork itself was a horror to behold. I got The Fear.

[dubman]

Originally Posted by StrangeLastName

? I'm kind of 50/50 on the updated colors/designs on the special editions of Dubnobass and Beaucoup Fish... but Second Toughest is too much for me.

Second Toughest STUNK. I really tried to go along with it too, tried to incorporate it in the feel of the music. Adding dimensions never has drawbacks! The floral prints in green are rich and gorgeous! but it does not work, and it's not what I remember of it. I remember these ugly oranges on pinks. I remember feeling ugly, sick. Like the most forgotten board game in the closet, the one about banking.
My fave was dubnobass, just because I like it a bit rude and illegible. neon on silver. fuck yes. I will salute that.

[purlieu]

1. Pearl's Girl. I adore this. The warped text, the weird layering, the out of focus photos, the entire structure of the whole thing. It's up there with my favourite record art ever, just totally unlike anything else I know.

2. Dubnobass era. Just the whole lot. All the single art from this era feels part of the same package. Just a wonderful patchwork. I'd say my favourites are the Dark & Long singles, especially the green tint on the April Records CD.

3. Born Slippy. My introduction to Underworld was through seeing the 1996 NUXX single in Woolworths as a kid and being blown away by the cover. Plain murky grey and green sleeves with all the text - tracklist, credits, everything - stuck at the top in weird broken text and absolutely nothing else. I bought the single based on the cover. I love the fact that it's completely functional and yet has such a brilliantly subtle aesthetic too.

5. Beaucoup Fish & singles. Took me by surprise at first, because of how different it is to the intentionally messy earlier covers. It's such a wonderful range of images, though, feels like it has a very distinct purpose despite being completely abstract. Feels like it still has some of the Pearl's Girl murk but done in a very polished way at the same time.

6. Second Toughest. Has elements of the murkiness of Born Slippy and Pearl's Girl, but its own identity too. The text inside makes it feel like a more stripped back, lo-fi version of Dubno to me. It's good but not especially iconic.

7. Oblivion With Bells & singles. It's obviously an intentional return to the earlier style, and it's not done quite as well, but it's still a style I like a lot. I'm not bothered about all the inner art, though.

8. Strawberry Hotel. I think what jars about it is that it looks like an album cover. A photograph of something easily identifiable that's been especially made to go on the cover of an album, which is so at odds with the abstract Tomato style. I like the colours a lot. Will take a bit of getting used to, I suppose.

9. Barking & singles. I think it suits its purpose very well, a vibrant, dayglo, euphoric version of the messy style. I'm not sure just how good it actually looks, though.

10. A Hundred Days Off & singles. I prefer the random objects of the singles to the face balloon of the album. Overall the era has its idiosyncrasies, and I like the continued use of the comma, but otherwise it's not especially memorable.

11. Drift. I don't mind the dog. I don't think it's great but it's fine, it has a weird non-specific nature to it. As with most of the pictures. But the whole thing is merely... ok. It doesn't feel especially Underworldy.

12. Barbara Barbara. I mean this could be anyone. Indie band, techno act, ambient record. Feels so low-effort and anonymous for a group whose art is normally so striking.

I've never spent time looking at the various compilations and other bits, so don't really have much of an emotional response to them. I don't like the 1992-2002 stuff at all. The 2012 ones are ok I suppose. I quite like the Frankenstein cover.