CH - Analysis of an indie text (1)

This is the cover for the album Antidotes by the indie pop band The Foals. The Foals are a prominent indie influence, with many hits inlcuding Cassius and Balloons that gathered unusual recognition for an independant band.

This text is a perfect example of indie culture and has in itself become an indie cultural icon; the contrast of pastel colours (beige, grey and green) with the bright, vibrant graphic design is a technique used to draw attention; here, the very archaic style of drawing of the face is in juxtaposition to the imprinted pattern of the mouth; old and new, traditional and technologically advanced. This is playing on ideas of postmodernism, where there is no boundaries and no real reason behind actions, after the Modernist revolution of the late 1900s where art lost all reason and strayed from the traditional masters to a new, free art and the rise of movements such as Pop Art and Art Deco, after both World Wars and the Spanish Civil War. This album would be considered postmodern because there seems to be little actual link between the imagery and the product; there is nothing identifying this as an album. Like Warhols work turning advertisements into artwork, here there is no iconography that would be recognisable as an advertisement, rather it resembles a piece of artwork. By not having a photograph of the band, they are adhering to indie stereotypes by trying to be different and against the mark, therefore actually being similar to other indie bands as they were trying to prevent. However, it could also be construed that by putting an image of what could be medical pills in a mouth, the artists are trying to convey that the Foals are an antidote to whatever ill they consider. This could be a rather odd piece of evidence for a theory portrayed by Theo Adorno, who believed that capitalist society is false, using popular cultrue (art, music, etc) to control the masses in believing they should be content with their life yet still crave the mass-produced goods of the media conglomerates. Using Adorno's theory we could read that The Foals are trying to sooth the audience from whatever ill they may be suffering from, may it be poor economy or being overworked under a capitalist governments regime, therefore by purchasing their CD they will be cured by the Foals Antidote.