Memorable LGBTQ Album Covers of 2018

1. Memorable LGBTQ Album Covers of 2018 David J. Deal http://superhypeblog.com December 2018
2. Blood Orange, Negro Swan
3. Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer
4. Ah Mer Ah Su, Star
5. Lotic, Power
6. Hayley Kiyoko, Expectations
7. Years & Years, Palo Santo
8. Nakhane, You Will Not Die
9. Sophie, Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides
10. King Princess, Make My Bed
11. Jake Shears, Jake Shears
12. Courtney Barnett, Tell Me How You Really Feel
13. Troye Sivan, Bloom
14. MNEK, Language
15. Brandi Carlile, By the Way, I Forgive You
16. teddy<3, LillyAnna
17. Serpentwithfeet, Soil
18. Shea Diamond, Seen It All (EP)
19. Kim Petras, Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 (EP)
20. Tommy Genesis, Tommy Genesis
21. Kodie Shane, Young HeartThrob
22. Big Freedia, Third World Bounce
23. Thank You David Deal davidjdeal@gmail.com

Record albums refuse to die even though sales are no longer what they used to be. Musicians continue to rely on long-form collections of songs to tell personal stories, and the album cover art remains a crucial aspect of the storytelling. In 2018, as I’ve done for many years, I explored music released during the year to identify the most memorable album cover art. Memorable album covers in 2018 did what effective album cover art has always done:

Capture your attention.

Express the essence of the artist.

Say something about the musical content of the album itself.

This year, I was struck by the number of album covers that expressed what it means for an artist to be the Other, especially to be LGBTQ. The year witnessed a bumper crop of works created by LGBTQ musicians, perhaps most notably by Janelle Monáe, whose Grammy-nominated Dirty Computer created a public forum for Monáe to announce her pansexuality. The album cover art of LGBTQ artists was as intensely personal as their music. This SlideShare contains some notable examples.
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What are your favorite album covers of the year, and why? Drop me a line at davidjdeal@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

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