2010: Year of the Awesome Animal Album Cover

Unemployment, wars, oil spills, Mel Gibson: 2010 hasn't been so great for the human race. Maybe this explains why so many musicians have turned to the animal kingdom when coming up with art for their new albums. At least, we keep noticing that they do. Below are five ridiculous but genius bestial CD covers from this year… five makes a trend, right?

Klaxons, Surfing the Void


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Grinderman, Grinderman 2



The secret to the successful animal imagery may be to put the animals in places where they shouldn't be, like fancy living rooms. Nick Cave's sludgy side project's 2007 debut made use of the somewhat-played-out monkey, but the follow-up is more successful for its menace. Another plus: Wolves get used a lot in band names but not in band art. We bet it's a metaphor, too.
T.I., T.I. Uncaged


This cover asks us to contemplate the artist's relationship to the creature. Is T.I friends with this lion? Is it T.I.'s attack animal? Is it T.I. in another form? Does he ride it in the streets while hustling coke? Sure, the exotic-animal-owned-by-mogul thing is a cliché, but if T.I. doesn't give a fuck about being mauled by the king of the jungle, he surely doesn't give a fuck about clichés.

Black Mountain, Wilderness Heart

Again, a fierce animal in a place where it doesn't belong. Great white sharks are terrifying enough when confined to the sea; by envisioning Jaws flying, Black Mountain may have provided Tom Six with his next film plot.
Jeff Beck, Emotion & Commotion

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