Album artwork of the week: Bell X1's Chop Chop

The music business may be mainly about downloads these days, but a decent album cover design remains vital to the success of a new release, and a recent revival in vinyl has guaranteed a future for the discipline. Every week we'll be picking our favourite new album artwork, and today we take a look at 'Chop Chop' from Bell X1, Ireland's second biggest band (U2 being number one).

The band enlisted the help of illustrator Alexis Deacon to design to front cover. "Alexis Deacon's story and illustrations really struck a chord," they explain. "He's really added to the record with the resonance of the world that he has created."

In what's surely a first for the music industry, the band took the title of their new album quite literally and created a gorgeous oak chopping board to encase their new release. The super-limited edition sold out almost instantly and it's easy to see why. Let's hope more bands focus on their physical releases and create similarly inventive, inspiring and beautiful presentations for their music.

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Have you spotted some inspiring album artwork? Let us know in the comments box below!