We appear to be having girl group fever at the moment... well, we're not. It's just a coincidence. We promise. I guess maybe you can see this artwork-orientated post as being in honour of the fact that Sky1 are showing the Girls Aloud tour in glittering HD or something. Anyway, let's get on with the postulating, shall we?
Let's start with Destiny's Child... 3 line-ups, countless hits, and some pretty unexceptional artwork. We suppose the covers for Survivor and Destiny Fulfilled are borderline iconic, but they don't immediately catch the eye. It could be worse, but the bland colouring, horrendous styling, and lack of a powerhouse logo leave the whole thing tasting distinctly of 'meh'. Disappointing when you consider how fantastic and varied the Child's back catalogue is.
On we move to Girls Aloud, who, until their recent break were our favourite working girlband working today in the working industry. Their music is some of the oddest, most experimental and progressive in the history of girl group music... songs with about 7 different choruses, all so catchy there's basically no verse, minute long introductions, impromptu tempo halvings, cheerleader chants for bridges, choral intros and samples, and a marriage to a production house so intent on throwing (as Alexis Petridis so wisely put it) "wildly disparate musical styles" together that you literally never know what you're going to get. Ibiza house? Clumsy guitar-driven funk? Cheesey euro pop? All mixed together?! Anyway, this would suggest some truly great artwork to go with some truly great music. But, no. Girls Aloud's artwork hints at something a hell of a lot cheesier and cheaper than the truth. It's never quite been right, even during the Tangled Up era, which produced some beautiful single artwork. The covers are certainly memorable, though, just perhaps not for the right reasons.
Onto the Spice Girls, the most ubiquitous and successful girl group ever. Unlike Girls Aloud, the Girls of Spice's music has never held pretensions of critical acclaim, but has instead been content to ride a glorious wave of unbeatably brilliant commercial pop. And considering this, it befits us to declare their artwork satisfyingly consistent, fantastically suited to their style of music and spectacularly iconic, considering its simplicity. Fabby.
Sugababes back catalogue contains some consistently spectacular pop, with the odd dud, so you'd expect their artwork to follow a similar patter, and you'd be right. There's something incredibly satisfying about seeing the following six album covers all lined up and next to each other. The bold print 'SUGABABES' grabs you immediately, and for the most part, the photography and styling seems effortless and cool. Off-kilter, memorable and cohesive, it ties their varied musical forays and multiple line-ups together perfectly.
Last, but not least we come to TLC. We'd be lying if we said we knew a lot about TLC's music, because we don't, but we'are aware that it's often wacky, soulful, inventive, colourful and alternately menacholic and perky, just like their dated but still fabulous artwork. Brillo pads.
And that's your lot.
Let's start with Destiny's Child... 3 line-ups, countless hits, and some pretty unexceptional artwork. We suppose the covers for Survivor and Destiny Fulfilled are borderline iconic, but they don't immediately catch the eye. It could be worse, but the bland colouring, horrendous styling, and lack of a powerhouse logo leave the whole thing tasting distinctly of 'meh'. Disappointing when you consider how fantastic and varied the Child's back catalogue is.
On we move to Girls Aloud, who, until their recent break were our favourite working girlband working today in the working industry. Their music is some of the oddest, most experimental and progressive in the history of girl group music... songs with about 7 different choruses, all so catchy there's basically no verse, minute long introductions, impromptu tempo halvings, cheerleader chants for bridges, choral intros and samples, and a marriage to a production house so intent on throwing (as Alexis Petridis so wisely put it) "wildly disparate musical styles" together that you literally never know what you're going to get. Ibiza house? Clumsy guitar-driven funk? Cheesey euro pop? All mixed together?! Anyway, this would suggest some truly great artwork to go with some truly great music. But, no. Girls Aloud's artwork hints at something a hell of a lot cheesier and cheaper than the truth. It's never quite been right, even during the Tangled Up era, which produced some beautiful single artwork. The covers are certainly memorable, though, just perhaps not for the right reasons.
Onto the Spice Girls, the most ubiquitous and successful girl group ever. Unlike Girls Aloud, the Girls of Spice's music has never held pretensions of critical acclaim, but has instead been content to ride a glorious wave of unbeatably brilliant commercial pop. And considering this, it befits us to declare their artwork satisfyingly consistent, fantastically suited to their style of music and spectacularly iconic, considering its simplicity. Fabby.
Sugababes back catalogue contains some consistently spectacular pop, with the odd dud, so you'd expect their artwork to follow a similar patter, and you'd be right. There's something incredibly satisfying about seeing the following six album covers all lined up and next to each other. The bold print 'SUGABABES' grabs you immediately, and for the most part, the photography and styling seems effortless and cool. Off-kilter, memorable and cohesive, it ties their varied musical forays and multiple line-ups together perfectly.
Last, but not least we come to TLC. We'd be lying if we said we knew a lot about TLC's music, because we don't, but we'are aware that it's often wacky, soulful, inventive, colourful and alternately menacholic and perky, just like their dated but still fabulous artwork. Brillo pads.
And that's your lot.
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