20 Best Album Covers Of 2021
19. Bright Green Field - Squid
Warp Records is one of the most eclectic independent labels out there, with the current roster including everything from experimental rapper Danny Brown to pioneering composer Brian Eno. With the signing of Squid, it seems they got themselves another winning ticket, as the Brighton post-punk band looks set to play a major part in the evolution of British rock through the 2020s.
The title is one we’ll place in the contrastive category. Indeed, whether it’s the reference to J. G. Ballard’s novel Concrete Island on “G.S.K.”, the cheerless and half-animated urban landscape on the “Narrator” videoclip or the admission from the band that the setting for some of the songs was a “dystopian cityscape”, one thing Bright Green Field does not evoke is, precisely, a bright green field.
As such, the cover would’ve worked as an ironic anti-illustration of the music even without the bleak humanoid shape lying on the grass. But it’s even better with it though, as it adds a mysterious layer of symbolism, and keeps the cover open to interpretation.