Shovels & Rope — Something Is Working Up Above My Head

Tangled tethers tie the cosmic to the mundane like a mysterious marionette


Art: Art Direction, Photography, Layout & Design

The seventh album from Shovels & Rope is raw, sharp, human, and cosmic.

“One night in the middle of the night there were a series of noises coming from up above my head. It sounded like something was working. Building something... a nest for its family? A trap for its prey? I started thinking about unseen things at work. A god? A voice in your head? It all feels kind of made up... until someone responds.”

From this cryptic description sent by the band at the start of the project, an image sprang to mind: a liminal place, somewhere between two worlds. And from somewhere up above came these tangled tethers (or maybe marionette strings) connecting the cosmic with the mundane.
Made Shop® Art Direction
Photography
Layout & Design
Additional Photography James Little
Anthony Scanga