2. The general costume seen on NME front covers is very similar
across all issues of NME. As can be seen in the issues above, all
bands share a look that the photographers have either
suggested, or the band has incorporated themselves, that
suggests that they exuded a minimal amount of effort in how they
present themselves as a band. essentially, this is illustrated in
the hair of all the bands shown above, which is mainly unkempt,
long, and minimally styled, which illustrates how the bands do
not focus on their appearance and are mainly concerned with the
music itself. This consequently conflicts with other genres, such
as pop, where the image of boybands is a huge contributor to the
success of their ‘music’. in doing this, NME epitomises the values
of indie rock through the image alone, suggesting that the genre
music wants to be judged by content as opposed to aesthetics,
and this also epitomises why the band members on the front
covers are not always stereotypically good-looking.
In terms of makeup and lighting, simplicity is key with both male
artists and female artists. Generally, there are more male
artists on the front covers of NME and therefore makeup is nonexistent, which again conflicts with magazines such as KERRANG!
Where male artists can often be seen exhibiting eyeliner or white
face makeup. Also, female artists – when they do appear – wear
minimal makeup, again to emulate that their appearance is
irrelevant when it comes to the music they create. Furthermore, in
terms of the costume itself, it is casual and loose-fitting
across the upper part of the body – seen in the arctic monkeys
and wombats issues – while often advocating skinny jeans on the
bottom half, displayed in the issue with muse on the front cover.
The simplicity of these outfits is reflective of the simplistic
nature of the music played, though the inclusion of leather
jackets, denim items, and chequered shirts (seen in all four of
the issues above) add the illusion of the music having an ‘edge’
that segregates it from the ‘easy listening’ genre into the rockorientated ‘indie’ genre. Moreover, the bands tend to wear similar
clothes to others in their band, to show a continuation of style
that emphasises the fixed nature of the music they play.
In accordance with this, the ‘thrown-together’ look that most of
the bands advertise coincides with the wilder nature of the indie
rock music they play. Despite this, it is not unusual to see bands
wearing smart/casual clothing, if they wish to appear more
styled and show their music as elaborate, and this is
subsequently displayed in how the Horrors have made themselves
appear in the third issue shown above. Proceeding on from this
point, the colours used in terms of costume are usually more
inclined to be dark and simple, and therefore manage to look like
clothes that anyone could buy; which is exactly the point. This
dark colouring shows how, despite the casual look, the band is

3. focused on guitar-centred rock music and are unafraid to
incorporate a rebellious edge into their music, and this is true of
the majority of indie rock bands. The band are attempting to
connect with the readers while simultaneously promoting their
music, and this is all partially achieved through how they decide
to present themselves in the costume department.