If a music listener cued up some Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, lay on their bed, and closed their eyes, they might believe they had been transported back to a time when free love, peace, drugs, and rock 'n' roll were prevalent. The band of 10 or more is, for lack of a better term, a modern day hippie commune. All of the members live together in Los Angeles and make music that sounds like Motown meets the Beatles in their psychedelic days. In a world where mindless lyrics and simple melodies dominate the music scene, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros is transcendent. The album artwork on their debut album, Up From Below, seems to reflect all of this as well as some deeper meaning that might originate from Alexander Ebert's dark past.
Prior to Up From Below, Alexander Ebert was in a noise-pop band called Ima Robot. During that time, he struggled with drug addiction and anger. After checking himself into rehab and dealing with his toxic emotions, he was able to find peace in writing. He wrote about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe around whom he began to model and reinvent himself. Now, Alex's fans affectionately refer to him as Edward Sharpe due to his astounding optimism and spirituality.
Up From Below was Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros debut album in 2009, two years after Alexander Ebert met Jade Castrinos outside a Los Angeles cafe. Alex and Jade quickly became best friends, the loves of each other's lives, and a song-writing duo. The lovers' hit duet, "Home", from Up From Below tells the story of their romance, boasting catchy lyrics such as, "Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa/Not the way I do love you," and, "Home is wherever I'm with you." Toward the end of the song, the couple even uses spoken word to, together, tell the tale of the night they fell for each other - and Jade fell out of Alexander's window.
Having a brief knowledge of the band's history helps the music listener to gain a fuller understanding of the meaning behind the album artwork. The first thing the listener probably notices about the artwork is the group of people jumping up into the air with joined hands at what appears to be sunset in the desert. Though it is not known from simply viewing the album artwork, the listener likely infers that this shadowed group of people is the band. Though the posture of each individual is different, the listeners eyes see the band as a whole at first glance instead of focusing on each individual. The colors in the image are the golden tint that the sunset has turned the desert, the red and blue glare of the sun through the camera lens, and the black and shadowed figures of the band members. The bold, black font is playful and mismatched, which is likely chosen to add to the cheerful message that the artwork and album, as a whole, both send.
Because this album cover displays only jumping silhouettes of the band members with joined hands, the individuals are downplayed while the collaborative works of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros are emphasized. The different postures of each member may show that each member brings a unique element to the plate, but their joined hands again reinforce the works of the whole band. The image of them leaping off the ground also seems to be a reference to the title of the album because they are jumping "up from below." Additionally, the photograph appears to be reminiscent of a popular photograph of the Beatles jumping, which aids Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros in associating themselves with a similar genre of music and establishes their target audience. Overall, the image echoes the optimistic and carefree, yet meaningful lyrics of the songs on the album. Some of these lyrics - such as the following from the song "Up From Below" - even delve into Alexander's struggle with drug addiction and the pain of his past:
Heroin and rain blowing out my window pain
Drugs drugs drug me down, killin' light, killin' sound
But, now I've already suffered, I want you to know, God
I'm ridin' on hell's hot flames, comin' up from below
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros attracts the type of listener who would pull out their vinyl copy of Up From Below on a lazy summer afternoon and just vibe with it. When the insightful listener puts together Alexander Ebert's history, his tell-tale lyrics, and the title which foreshadows the contents of the album, the message of the album artwork becomes clear. The album artwork - a picture that invokes cheerful feelings and holds deeper meaning - wordlessly tells the story of how a troubled man was able to overcome the negativity in his life and find nirvana in his music. The band and its listeners are old souls - striving for world peace through positive lyrics and upbeat melodies.
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