On the more provocative end of the spectrum, Drake made headlines with his album Certified Lover Boy in the summer. The cover art, designed by Damien Hirst, features rows of multiracial pregnant emojis, drawing parallels with Hirst’s spot artworks – and much derision online. In typical 2021 fashion, Hirst recently reimagined the cover design as a series of artworks and minted them as NFTs.

Though Steely Dan was long associated with Los Angeles, the cover for Pretzel Logic (actually shot at Fifth Avenue and 79th Street) looks, feels, and tastes like New York. It may be a more glamorous cover after her first two, but this photo of PJ Harvey – in which she could easily be mistaken for Shakespeare’s Ophelia – implied that a newer, softer image comes at a cost.Discourse around the relevance of the album format and physical records have waxed and waned in the streaming era. MemoryBoxUKisthecompanybehindArtVinylandin2008forthreeyearscuratedthefirsteverUK gallery solely dedicated to record cover design, the Art Vinyl Gallery on East London's Broadway Market. Following on from his extraordinary debut Psychodrama, Dave’s sophomore album We’re all Alone in this Together bolstered the artist’s reputation for grappling serious themes with flair and compassion, this time prying open everything from domestic abuse to hostile immigration policies. Brighton band Squid released their debut album Bright Green Field to wide acclaim, wrapped up in a campaign that placed an emphasis on striking visuals from the outset. 3D visual artist and director Felix Geen was brought in to work on the cover artwork, designed by Lanning Sally, which shows a large figure outstretched on grass. The body almost appears skewered with arrows, but is in fact made up of 3D scans of urban environments. (Geen also created the music video for one of the singles, Narrator, in which worlds are being built in real time, also using some of these scans.)

Why in the world did Humble Pie get a bunch of policemen to form a human pyramid? Because they could, of course. 39: The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream (design by Dino Danelli) The Harilela Group was established in 1959 and is still wholly owned by the Harilela family. The Harilela Group is the parent company of Harilela Hotels which owns 15 properties across Hong Kong, China, the Far East, Europe, andthe US. https://www.thehari.com/ PiL’s follow-up to their famous Metal Box album cover was even cooler, showing non-performing bandmember Jeanette Lee with a rose in her teeth, a weapon in her hand, and a murderous look in her eyes. 87: The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico (design by Andy Warhol)One of the greatest joke album covers, the boxer was already a perfect image for the Pogues, but don’t miss the subtle bit of play here. (The word “peace” of course has five letters.) 71: Rush: Moving Pictures (design by Hugh Syme)