Alberta Cross Get Futuristic With 'Augmented Reality' Album Art

In the iTunes age, the importance of album artwork has basically been relegated to the obsessive fans and CD purists. Any feature of a physical copy certainly won't be the focal point of a band's marketing push -- unless, of course, the album's booklet includes never-before-used technology, like the debut full-length of bluesy rockers Alberta Cross.

Released in September on ATO Records, 'Broken Side of Time' uses "augmented reality" technology in its artwork that allows fans to unlock secret content on the band's website. The album's booklet contains different images that, when held up in front of a webcam, can be used to unlock exclusive videos from director/photographer Brantley Gutierrez, who has worked with R.E.M. and Incubus.

"The opportunity came up and no one had ever done it before, and we knew that if we could connect what Brantley does with his videos to our music, that would be f---ing awesome," guitarist-vocalist Petter Ericson Stakee, who says that the band could update the secret clips with new tour blogs and music videos, tells Spinner. "People seem into it, as if it feels like the future or something."

The album's high-concept packaging nicely contrasts with the disc's straightforward alt-rock anthems, which have garnered Alberta Cross comparisons to My Morning Jacket and Neil Young. The album was recorded last winter with producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Heartless Bastards) in Austin, Texas. The locale offered the New York-based group a much-needed escape from the pitfalls of their city's nightlife.

"The band was in a weird place. We had left our label, we were broke and struggling, and we were never staying home, just giving in to temptations," says Stakee. "We needed to get away from the big city, from the madness and the winter."

Alberta Cross followed the recording session with stops at Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza last summer. After wrapping up a European trek with the Dead Confederate in December, the band will embark on a US headlining tour kicking off in San Diego on Jan. 11.