The Joy of Motion and Parrhesia: Our Designs Explained

Animals as Leaders don't sing a word, so their artwork does a lot of talking. Every design in our store comes from one of their albums or from the band's own visual language. Here is what is printed, and why.

What comes from The Joy of Motion?

The Joy of Motion came out on Sumerian Records in 2014, and most of our designs live here:

• Joy of Motion Melt: a melting orange face, with all twelve song titles, from Kascade to Nephele, in the corner.
• Joy of Motion Blinds: a marbled image cut into pale blue bars, marked 10 Year Anniversary.
• Joy of Motion 2014-2024: a coral wordmark up front and a full anniversary poster on the back.
• Joy of Motion X: the cyan X in a ring of dashes, for the 2024 tour billed as The Joy of Motion X.
• Phys. Ed.: college-style letters for Physical Education, the album's fifth track.
• Tooth and Claw Riff: a riff spelled out as DA DUHN, NEH NEH, line after line, for the album's sixth track.

What comes from Parrhesia?

Parrhesia (2022) is the band's fifth studio album, nine songs from Conflict Cartography to Gordian Naught:

• Parrhesia Snake: a halftone snake curled around a pale, flower-like shape, next to the full track list.
• Parrhesia Cassette: the album laid out like an open cassette case, spine and all.

And the rest?

White Glyphs and Black Glyphs carry the angular wordmark with four round icons: a drop, a leaf, a snake and a ring. AAL Figure puts the band's short name inside a circle above a reaching figure. Spiral turns the name into a tunnel, and Linework Head spreads it letter by letter around a contour drawing.

Tip: two-sided designs, like the 2014-2024 poster and the big X, carry their main art on the back.

Pick your album

Start with the record you play most. Shop every Animals as Leaders design and wear it.