Hard-Fi have decided to “kill off the record sleeve” with the artwork for their upcoming second album ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’.

Singer Richard Archer says the band decided to feature the band’s name and LP tuitle in small letters, whilst plastering the rest of the cover with the legend ‘No Cover Art’, as a response to a now digitally dominated music industry.

He explains to the Times, “The significance of album covers is becoming little more than a centimetre square on an iPod screen. The sleeve used to add another dimension to an album, but that seems to be disappearing, which is really sad."

"We had the Sleeve of the Year in 2005 and we looked at every way of trying to top it. But perhaps the best way is to kill off the sleeve altogether."

Noted sleeve designer Peter Saville, whose work has adorned New Order and Roxy Music albums, hailed Hard-Fi’s decision, calling the “White Album for the digital culture” a “bold and very intelligent gesture”.