In popland, the ruling class continues to make album covers at sea. The artwork for SZA’s Longtail blockbuster, 2022’s “SOS,” features the singer sitting flopped on a board, a vast ocean meant to represent our alienating and agnostic world. It is depicted looking at him. The cover of Billie Eilish’s upcoming “Hit Me Hard and Soft” finds the pop star submerged in dark water, submerged in a liquid dream. The cover of Dua Lipa’s latest album, Radical Optimism, was shot at the water’s edge, with the dorsal fin of a shark slicing towards her, 28-year-old Dua Lipa in golden eveningwear, above her shoulders. He is depicted looking at the. This image isn’t trying to evoke a scene from an old James Bond movie, but rather a comment on optimism in a time of discontent and paranoia, right? The glass is half full of water, but the water is still full of substances that are trying to kill you.