Will Sheff may have lost Jonathan Meiburg to the "Talk Talk" covering Shearwater. He's the guy second to the right in the accompany photo. More fries for everyone else. But the show must go on. In this case, literally: Okkervil River's new album, The Stand In is being described as narrative continuation of The Stage Names. We haven't heard any of the 11 tracks, so we'll just have to take their word for it. We do know, though, that "Lost Coastlines" is a duet with Sheff and Meiburg, that NJ Hall Of Fame contributor Charles Bissell adds guitar to the album, and that the cover features a drunken skeleton.

Yesterday guest blogger Chris Walla posted up the Hold Steady's new Ben Nichols-backed track "Sequestered In Memphis." The song has a different vibe (and more horns) than the live take of Stay Positive's 7 Seconds and Youth Of Today-referencing title track, but we've seen the tracklist, and know there are nine more to unpack, so it's all still a crap shoot. For now, we do know what the album cover looks like, at least.

While you were waiting for the Strokes to get bored of looking cool with no place to go, Albert Hammond, Jr. has put together his second solo record. It was recorded in a studio you will never afford (Electric Lady) with friends more privileged than you will ever have (Sean Lennon) and if it's anywhere near as good as his surprisingly sturdy debut, we'll welcome it with open ears. All of that said, when it's come to the album art, he's surprisingly camera shy.

Call it a ritual, call it whatever you will: when an album we're frothy for first yields cover art, we like to call in the graphic designers. But first to clarify the album title: Meet At Mount Zoomer (yes At Mount Zoomer -- Kissing The Beehive will just have to settle for being a track title), so named because it was recorded at Mount Zoomer, the studio owned and operated by drummer Arlen Thompson. (It's also a reference to the B.C. nickname for magic mushrooms and "a nod to Thee Silver Mt. Zion" and maybe even more things Wiki hasn't sussed out yet.)

OK so about that album art ... feeling devilish?

The wait's over. We spent quite a bit of time this past last week nibbling "Pork And Beans" and wondering where the single's minimalist cover scheme (look to the right to partially jog your memory) would fit into the overall album design. For starters, turns out they both have red on them. Also, as you might have noticed from our headline, they have, in fact, gone the Weezer route, which means pretty soon we'll all be calling this puppy The Red Album. And, speaking of the color albums: Keep those in mind for Red's overall look. Albeit, with a Western flair.

Recently we've spotted Rivers playing soccer and otherwise Alone, but a new Weezer LP's on the horizon, starting with a serving of "Pork And Beans." The snippet portion over at Amazon is small, but it gives you an idea -- crunchy, bouncy, classic-sounding Weezer. And, judging from the single's cover art, album six just might end up being called the Red Album (not to step on your toes, Baroness)...

Because as album art goes this is pretty out there, team. We're talking about Islands' forthcoming Arm's Way, which has inspired a few gushes here and there. And by the LP's newly revealed artistic rendering, the way of the arm is a trippy and quasi-Biblical one. There are arms, at least. It's best expressed pithily, so the one word review: Whoa.

Seeing Jim James with M. Ward at St. Mark's Church was one of our SXSW highlights (and watching My Morning Jacket showcase new material in Houston via video, another boon for the state of Texas). Now we get to see the cover art for MMJ's forthcoming fifth studio album Evil Urges. It involves a shadowy figure inside some sort of upscale theater. Let's hope he isn't succumbing to any of those evil urges...

The jammy, eight-minute "I Will Possess Your Heart" was the first step along Narrow Stairs; graphic designers, we have the second. We've obscured the cover art via rectangular collage for that thumbnail to heighten the suspense, but the proper and pristine cover obviously features more surprising and discrete images.

Hall Of Famer Madonna's new single "4 Minutes" officially "debuted" (or something) in a Unilever Sunsilk hair commercial today. Part of the company's statement via DailySwarm:

Madonna continues to be such an inspiration for young girls by continuously reinventing her looks, and we expect the new commercial will also encourage girls to evolve by changing their looks and making their hair and lives happen in a variety of exciting ways.

Would like to see Uniliver's thoughts on how the commercial's other stars, Marilyn and Shakira, fit into the equation.

Hopefully "young girls" aren't inspired by Hard Candy's album art...