Digipak Analysis: Bittersweet

Kitty In A CasketBy Russell Dewing

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.