Behind The Artworks: OVERHEAD, THE ALBATROSS - I Leave You This (2024)

The artwork for our new album, I Leave You This, is inspired by the themes we explore within the music itself. The cover image reflects the emotional journey we’ve taken and the messages embedded in the songs—capturing the essence of love, loss, resilience, and the fragile beauty of life. This visual representation invites listeners to connect with the experiences and reflections that fill our music.

Following the release of our first album, Learning to Growl, in 2016, we collectively decided to take a short break from band life. During this time away, each of us encountered some of life’s significant milestones. We experienced the joy of marriage, the wonder of childbirth, and, sadly, the pain of losing loved ones and close friends. These profound moments shaped us, deepening our perspective on life and leaving a lasting mark on us as individuals and as a band. These experiences are now distilled into the songs of I Leave You This, an album that delves into the themes of loss, love, alienation, and the fragile, often fleeting nature of life.

At its core, I Leave You This reflects our belief that life is a journey of sharing, learning, and growing. Through our own journeys, we’ve come to value the importance of the knowledge and wisdom passed down through generations. We are all shaped by the people who came before us, and we carry their lessons forward, adding our own experiences along the way. This album is a testament to that intergenerational legacy. We often hear that we should leave the world a better place for future generations, and with this album, we hope to contribute to that sentiment. We want to share what we’ve learned, the joys and pains we’ve encountered, and the hope that future generations can benefit from our reflections.

Our world is undeniably fraught with challenges—existential threats, social upheavals, and numerous forces beyond our control. Amid this turmoil, I Leave You This is our intimate message to our children and to future generations, a small yet heartfelt toolkit that they might use on their own paths. We recognize that life will present them with hardships and mistakes, but we also hope they’ll find moments of beauty, love, and connection along the way. The album’s title, I Leave You This, reflects that sentiment; it’s a phrase imbued with our collective experiences, our mistakes, and our aspirations.

The album cover image captures this sentiment through two figures locked in a close embrace. This embrace symbolizes the passing of knowledge, love, and experience between generations—a moment that contains the emotions of love, loss, joy, and pain, all encompassed in the phrase, I Leave You This. This album is both a reflection of our journey and a message for those who come after us. Through it, we hope listeners feel the weight and beauty of this legacy, as we leave it in their hands.