Belle and Sebastian

Having seen this adorable group of Scots just last night at Constitution Hall, I was inspired to write about the design aesthetic that Belle and Sebastian have maintained throughout their album art choices over the span of their now 14-year career. 

Their most recent album, "Write About Love" just came out on Matador Records. 

Looking at it during the ride home last night, the design snob in me started coming out-"It's so boring...it's not exciting...what's with this one lower-cased word?...there's no typographical hierarchy-wtf?!"

However, upon thinking about these design choices in context of the Belle and Sebastian catalog it all made perfect sense.

 

I really like how Belle and Sebastian have maintained some basic similarities throughout their album covers over the years--a monochromatic theme, the use of one typeface in a singular weight, and a photograph showing people yet never the band members themselves.

The consistency of design gives these albums a familiarity with their audience-when you see a Belle and Sebastian album, you know that it's a Belle and Sebastian album just from looking at the visuals-it stands out in a crowd.  The understated quirk and sophistication is also illustrative of the Belle and Sebastian sound.