Kitty In A Casket - Bittersweet Digipak analysis, Media A2 coursework, by Russell Dewing.

1. Digipak Analysis:
Bittersweet
Kitty In A Casket
By Russell Dewing

2. Background Info:
Kitty in a Casket are an Austrian punk-rock/rockabilly
band from Vienna formed in 2008. They are similar to
The Mojokings in the sense that they play music of the
Rockabilly/ Psychobilly genre. The band consists of
vocalist 'Kitty Casket', guitarists Billy 'the Bat' and 'Todd
Flash', bassist Tom 'Mooner' and drummer Mike 'Mean
Machine'.
The band have toured all round Europe playing in
clubs, pubs and major festivals such as the "WGT -
Wave Gotik Treffen" and "Back to Future" in Germany,
"Nova Rock" in Austria, "Psychobilly Meeting" in Spain
as well as "Club Sin" in Finland and "Pod Parou" in the
Czech Republic list a few, The band also went on a 5-
week US Tour in the summer of 2013 playing 27
concerts across the States.

3. The band have had quite a few albums brought out over the years which all relate back to the genre that they play and their
look. For example the name of the band it originated from their lead singer Katharina Langheiter and their genre which is
Psychobilly mixed with horror. In all of the albums the one thing that is the same is the feature of the singer 'Kitty' being the
main feature of all the covers. This is because she is the most iconic member of the band and those who are fans of them
will notice her on the cover of the CD/ EP and know who it is, she is the thing that will catch the audiences eye and
therefore is featured in the center or foreground of all of the bands albums.

4. Firstly the ideology behind this digipak is typical as most Psychobilly bands will feature either their lead singer or the band
members as the main thing on the front cover for example The Horrorpops who are of the same Psychobilly/ horror genre
as Kitty In A Casket have their lead singer Particia Day as the front for all their albums as again it draws fans back to the
cover and she with her iconic double bass gives the band their image. This is also true with Punk/ Psychobilly band The
Hellfreaks.

5. On the front cover of this CD the first thing we notice is the singer
‘Kitty Casket’ as she is in the centre of the cover and at the front (i.e.
she is not hidden behind and text). They use direct address in this
photo as to make it seem like she is looking directly as the person
who is viewing the cover this would therefore encourage them to
pickup the CD and pay it more attention. Also it is not a typical direct,
the singer is looking to the side giving a bit of a seductive look. This
would appeal to the main audience of the Psychobilly genre as well as
their fans whom the majority of which are male.
The costume which the singer Kitty is wearing is something which
would be typical of a 1950’s Rock ‘n’ Roll pinup model (a style which
heavily influences the Rockabilly & Psychobilly genre). Also this dress
links to the pose she is making in the sense it is like sailors outfit* and
it is made to seem that she is saluting to you. Alternatively it is very
similar to the kind of artwork you would often see on the side of
aircraft for WW2 bombers.
* The sailor/ nautical
theme is also a convention
found in many Psychobilly
albums such as ‘The
Monster Within’ album
released by The Brains.

6. The colours chosen for this cover are pretty basic and
dull, this is done on purpose to draw more attention to
the singer standing in the foreground.
The use of fire for the cover is a theme that
is used frequently and is typical of the
Psychobilly genre (e.g. The Nekromantix
What Happens In Hell Stays In Hell) as it
reflects elements of energy and danger
therefore it is heavily featured in albums
and other forms of promotion.
The colour of the costume that Kitty is wearing is a
dark/ navy blue which connotes loyalty, being pure
and interestingly authority which to some degree
she does have as it is like she is controlling you i.e.
the thing that catches your eye and might persuade
you to buy the CD. This colour also goes with the
1950’s sailor pinup look and compliments the red of
the bands logo which is red connotating fire, blood,
energy, war, danger, death and glamour; all things
which link to themes of the album and what you
would relate with both the singer and the band.
Examples of Psychobilly
albums featuring the fire
element (showing chaos
power and energy.

7. The title of this album plays a large part in digipak as it is
effectively one word or a short sentence which sums up the
entire album. For this Bittersweet work excellent with the
main graphic on the cover, it is the singer ‘Kitty Casket’
standing holding and axe. She is also wearing a halo and
angel wings which gives this mixture of good and band. We
see that she is giving off a mischievous smile which gives this
idea of being sweet, but if you look closely at the eyes they
are red which is maybe the bitter side.
The overall impassion of cover is ‘Bittersweet’ there is a
mixture of good and bad i.e. the axe is bitter but the halo and
wings are sweet; the flames are ‘the bitter’ but Kitty is ‘the
sweet’ it gives a sense of Binary Opposites (Levi Strauss)
possibly heaven vs hell with the wings and flames and good
vs evil.

8. The back of the digipak continues with the whole Bittersweet
theme, this side however is more simplistic as it’s main
feature is the track listings of the album, this is a typical
convention for all CD’s/ digipaks. They have continued with
the flames on the back and the pale background kind of
giving the effect of parchment paper as well as the fiery
colours red, orange and yellow all connotating warmth heat
energy and excitement.
Additionally this is where the barcode is feasted so that it can
scanned in shops, required for all CD’s.

9. A typical thing to feature on the inside of a digipak is images promoting the band or possibly quotes
from certain songs. In this one there are close-ups edited of guitars and the band members
including one of Kitty Casket’s iconic leopard print microphone which has made it on the digipak.
The CD itself quite often is just a copy of what is featured on the front cover, this is to make it
recognisable and unique to that specific album.
Another thing which is usual for a
digipak both Psychobilly is a booklet
which features endorsements,
promotional photos and lyrics to
accompany the songs.