The Hard-Fi camp have announced that their new album - 'Once Upon A Time in the West' - will, shock horror, shun the traditional cover artwork concept instead featuring just a plain white background with the album title at the top and "NO COVER ART" written in large lettering below it. New single 'Suburban Knights' follows a similar remit, with a plain black background being adorned with the following slogan: "EXPENSIVE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO OF BAND NOT AVAILABLE". And, most shocking of all, the press copy will include the highly politicised warning: "RARE PROMO COPY. NOT TO BE SOLD TO MUSIC AND VIDEO EXCHANGE BY PRIVELEDGED RECORD COMPANY WORKERS". So, that's my weekend pocket money out.
Speaking of their decision, Hard-Fi lead singer Rich Archer explained: "We wanted to break the rules. We don't need some airbrushed band shot just because it might be expected. Fuck that. This is about the music". Unfortunately, Hard-Fi might be surprised to learn that a host of artists have already released a plain covered album, devoid of expensive black and white band photography. Perhaps most notable for this was the (just) marginally successful 'White Album' from those The Beatles chaps, while, as previously reported, Beck recently offered fans the opportunity to design their own cover art, which all seems a lot more fun that this. And if it's the cost of black and white photography that Archer is objecting to, I can be quite nifty with my phone camera when I want to be.