California indie rockers Cold War Kids get design help from a close source: Their bassist, Matt Maust, has designed all of the band’s album covers. And he can count at least one member of our panel as a fan. “He has an incredible aesthetic, and he plays with type in a really cool way,” Carney says. “There’s a lot of detailed stuff, little hand-writing, small stamps. This is one of those covers that makes me excited to see the rest of the packaging.”
Storey says the fact that the album art comes from someone so close to the project really shows. “You can tell that they really care about the art, and there’s something about this cover that feels intellectual, and there’s a style that goes through it.”
If the typography of the album, due April 2, looks familiar, that’s because Philip Schiffman says it appears to be Bodoni, a typeface whose style seems to be a favorite among pop divas like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey.
(Downtown Records)