Looking at the small version posted above I thought it was a coffee mug at first.

The larger version on Amazon is much better looking, still a bit of a surprise but I quite like it. It has interesting texture and yes - I get a pleasing '30s cinema / Metropolis vibe from it.

It will be interesting to see how Cerise adapts it for an EV theme.

Well I like it- I bet the 3D question mark will be a strong motif carried forward to merhandise. The letter was also reminiscent of the Quartet styling - which IMHO had the best artwork of any Ultravox album.

Exactly! Very different to many expectations I guess.

Here it is at higher resolution (1400x1400)...

Don't care what the cover looks like (even though I like this), it's the songs that matter. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am by this new album!!!

Not the UVox album then, Becca!!??!

Quite a special cover. Love it, actually!

Agree with you, Frisian. Makes a pretty cool desktop background, too!

It has the slightly retro feel to it, but up to date with the way that the A is crossed. Simple, yet elegant.

I also liked the other artworks that were placed on here earlier - spacemen and lightbulbs, all cool stuff.

Don't know about you, but seeing things like covers and Amazon pre-order charts is making it all real, isn't it? Think we need to have a countdown timer somewhere in the website header for the number of days left till release. Really REALLY looking forward to this new record and upcoming gigs!

Absolutely LOVE it!!!! Really hope it's the 'real thing'. The light shining the through the cut-out BRILLIANT with the up and down "i's" is fab!! Also agree with the comments on the font - very Quartet - which is good! I can imagine the t-shirt already.......

M

I agree - it's great although part of me keeps seeing a Mr Whippy.

I keep wondering where the 99 is . . .

[non UK readers are now completely stumped . . . ]

Got it - it's Fred Gambino and is called "Titan's Sky". It was part of a series Fred did for the US Postal Service to feature on stamps celebrating the space program.
But yes - it does resemble Angus McKie - another of my favourite artists. These Ultravox fans have good taste

Agree! It's a great design! Very stylish and it works well! My initial impression was of a 'question mark' but then it also conjured up a scroll that seemed to represent the story that the music will tell us.....and if the first brilliant song is anything to go by it's going to be one heckuva brilliant story!

I try to avoid making any negative comments on here, because as a fan, you definitely want to be supportive of the band and everyone associated with it (including the other fans), but I'm afraid I am really disappointed in this artwork.

Presumably, this has been agreed by all four members of Ultravox as what they perceive as being the representation of the music or theme(s) they are trying to convey with this album? If so, I just don't get it. To me, this image is dull and lifeless amd lacks the aesthetics of previous designs for albums and singles. I appreciate that there has been quite some distance between 'then and now', but even so, we still have the same people involved here, eh?

As I said, I would like to be encouraging and supportive of this, but I just don't like it at all ... sorry. I can't believe that this is the best they could come up with (the designer(s) with approval from the band).

Try lining this up next to Vienna, Rage In Eden, Quartet, Lament and U-Vox (which, apart from the unimaginative title, I actually quite like the designs of - singles included) and see which one just looks totally out of place.

Again, sorry guys, it just doesn't look right. I know what I like when I see it, but this certainly isn't it.

Cheers ...

I see where you are going with this Rodney- but you have to remember that Brilliant has been created with a different design ethic to its predacessors- all of which were products of their time. U-Vox especially (IMHO) looks very dated now. If you look at Brilliant's cover compared to say Coldplay's art then I think you'll see that it fits in with contemporary design.

I must admit that I was disheartened when I first saw it too but most of the comments on the forum were positive so I kept my opinion to myself. It's an interesting design but not very inspiring and doesn't express for me the vibrancy of Ultravox's work. Personally I'd prefer the 'lightbulb' design from this forum over this- at least that would stand out better on the shelves and perhaps engage the curiosity of newcomers to the group.

The chosen one for me is just too bland and as Rodney points out it doesn't hold its own alongside the likes of Systems of Romance, Rage in Eden, Quartet, Lament and U-Vox.

I like the artwork but the designer has to do some fine tuning: take a look at the T of brilliant which does not fit to the perspective of the "mug" (sorry).
Perhaps this is just a promo while the final is being done now.

I'm not taking any prisoners on this. New cover - meh.
Uninspired, uninspiring. Grey imagery can work if its a clever design. And it's badly photoshopped too. If the letters are supposedly cut out of the material (as the projected letters imply) then they would have more depth.
If there's a clever message, I don't get it. It isn't enticing.
Please let this be placeholder artwork....UV are so much better than this, I like to think we're in a golden age of clever design (please see Behance.net for great examples), and UV always had quite timeless designs.

When looking at the cover art, I'm trying to remember previous comments about the nature of the music on the forthcoming album. I think I remember Midge mentioning somewhere that the music will be "Classic Ultravox, with a modern twist".

Looking at the art, the black and white photography is a nod to Vienna, the fonts to Rage in Eden, Monument and Quartet (the fonts of which are similar) and the background colour suggests Lament. Does this mean that the back insert will be shocking pink?!

The question mark (Midge previously said that the title should perhaps have one) doubles as the modern 'twist' and the superimposed 'brilliant' (with an inverted 'i' suggesting irony - and replacing the quotation marks) onto the band's name, which represents modesty.

The metallic shape may represent industrial music, which is not something associated with Ultravox. I wonder if this is a portent of material on the album? We'll have to wait and see!

Another take on the metallic shape may be allusion to a term used by film production companies (Ultravox has produced several cinematic videos!) to denote completion of a project: "In the can". In this case, this picture is a lid to said can (peeled from opening), which will be removed for most UV fans on May 28. I know my can opener will be primed!

For all of the conceptual intelligence of the album cover, I think the aesthetics haven't been fully developed. Perhaps time constraints prevented a fully realised concept?

I'm with Rodney and co on this one. Ultravox have been known for excellent album covers that are works of art in themselves. Often they have been part of a concept tied in with single releases and live presentation eg Quartet. I expected the latest album cover to be as inspiring as those passed. Unfortunately I find the Brilliant cover distinctly average and disappointing. The band have always taken a hands on approach with the way they have been presented visually. I just wonder how much involvment, if any, they've had with the new album artwork. I don't want to sound negative but I wanted to express my feelings on the subject. Hopefully the music will make up for the cover!

Sorry, do not like it at all. Has no aesthetic that I can see and does not convey any message or theme that relates to the band.

Really hope it is just a temporary design, it won't however, stop me from enjoying the contents......

This cannot be the final version. No way! I am not commenting on the idea itself because I simply... do not understand it.
However, the execution of the computer graphic is plain amateurish. Especially when you zoom on the letters. It would have looked much better if it were a real photograph of real scrolled sheet-metal with laser-cut letters and the right lighting. This must be a 'work in progress' version. Surely!

What do you guys think of the "One small day" single design? I think that it´s not that beautiful. Otherwise, they have always done wonderful recordsleeves.

'One Small Day' is ancient history, Let's be more contemporary: let's compare this 'Brilliant' question mark (or mug, or whatever it is) with the 'Moments From Eden' sleeve. And?
Maybe it has something to do with the forthcoming video clip? Who knows?

Just looking at this again and was thinking to myself it would look better as the inside cover on the CD rather then the front as part of a deeper, more diminsional theme but how many times have groups released albums with '' bland '' covers only for this to be forgtten when they hear the music ? As long as the music stands up allowences can be made for the art work .

I love it, can't really elaborate on that!!

I'm just uploading some images to spur more thought about what could've been possible with the cover, - there's so much material out there, you can spend an eternity browsing them all, - some of these give the impression of melting fusing lightbulbs, maybe too obvious a link to the album/single title, but interesting images all the same. The last one just screams "Quartet - the remix album"

I still love the cover. It's unique, stylish and mysterious. Things which suit Ultravox best.