Achtung, maybe? The album is dead: all hail the rise of the ‘era’

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all great stories need a strong opening. Like, “It is a truth universally acknowledged”, in fact. Or – in the case of easy-to-prejudge Pride (In the Name of Love) hitmakers U2 – a recent letter sent to fans. The missive consisted of text banging on about William Blake, employed the blackout poetry technique to tease something on u2.com, and promised “U2 will announce [REDACTED] on [REDACTED]”.

Bono handing the Edge some Sharpies would seem to mark the start of a new album campaign. Except that we don’t call them “album campaigns” any more; this is the era of the “era”. The album format is not dead yet but fans and now even artists have pre-emptively shifted their vocabulary, with eras representing something solid while traditional albums become ever more nebulous. Headlining Latitude this year, the 1975’s Matty Healy said of the band’s last album: “Tonight is the end of that era. Tonight is the start of an era called Music for Cars.”

Some artists signify eras more subtly (thedaftclub.com offers a history of Daft Punk’s era-specific helmet progression). Others offer a clear visual ringfence that runs through their artwork, videos and stage design; Madonna, Bowie and Pet Shop Boys have all offered multiple iconic moodboards, each tied to an album release. Social media makes it even simpler to herald the dawn of a new era. Frank Ocean went down to Wickes and made a staircase; last month, Taylor Swift (whose new video is a celebration of multiple Swift eras) opted for a blackout across her social channels, the online equivalent of that lose-your-shit moment when the house lights go off before an arena show.

In 2013, Swift’s great showbiz pal Katy Perry established herself as the queen of era division when she posted footage of a burning blue wig, signifying the end of the Teenage Dream era as Roar approached.

But working as an era artist can bring problems: if it starts badly you have no option but to ride it out. Perry has found this during her current album era, but only has herself to blame. The era rulebook is brief – consistent typography, a distinct colour palette and so on – but one law must be followed: never change your hairstyle mid-era.

That, future pop historians will note, was where Perry’s Witness era stumbled. Let’s hope Bono is happy with his current barnet: for guaranteed success he’ll be stuck with it for at least two years.