This has been growing for a while. I decided to split the usual roundup of current/recent album covers using animals as iconic images, by putting birds into their own category. Actually, there turned out to be so many that they're not all here, so at least one might appear in the next lot. It's been a good year for birds in music, kicking off with Kate Bush's Aerial, featuring a clever soundscape as landscape cover, built out of a blackbird's song.

My usual principle for selecting these images is that the animal/bird has to be the featured icon, not just a minor accessory to a picture of the artist. I decided to relax that a bit this time, so the last three do include people (one even the artist herself).

(Click on pic for closeup - list and short reviews below)




Top row

Patricia Barber - Mythologies - jazz at the frontier, an inspired song cycle based on Ovid

The Morning Birds - Lay - Melbourne trio, trip-hop, blues-roots featuring guitars and cello

Lisa Germano - In the Maybe World - Musings on death from powerful singer/musician

Bert Jansch - The Black Swan - timeless wistful acoustic magic from Scottish folk-singer

2nd Row

The Melvins - Houdini Live: a Live History of Gluttony and Lust - 12 years of Washington sludge remade live in studio with guests

Erase Errata - Nightlife - A timely best yet from regrouped indie rock band of female musicians

Andrew Morris - Valleys - second country/folk/rock album from Brisbane singer/songwriter

The Red Eyes - Rudeworld - New album from huge 11-piece Australian dub reggae group

3rd Row

LABJACD - Vote With Your Feet - Melbourne 9 piece with big sounding hiphop/salsa/jazz

The Watson Twins - Southern Manners - acoustic rock featuring dreamy melodic harmonies from twin sisters

Because of Ghosts - The Tomorrow We Were Promised Yesterday - evocative moody debut from Melbourne instrumental trio of brothers

Joanna Newson - Ys- 5 songs, 55 minutes, a lush, ambitious journey

Labels: Animal album covers, Bird album covers