Tiny Pictures is the second and final studio album by Canadian
rock band
Thornley. The album was released in Canada on February 10, 2009,[3] and in the U.S. on February 3, 2010. The first single, "Make Believe," was released to radio on December 12, 2008. Most of the songs on the album have been written for years but the five-year wait since Thornley's last release allowed
Ian Thornley to bring on
Nick Raskulinecz as producer, whose previous work includes albums with
Foo Fighters and
Velvet Revolver.
Though this is the band's release, frontman Ian Thornley plays nearly all of the instruments that appear on the record. The songs were written by Ian and former guitar player Tavis Stanley, with a few tracks bringing on writing collaborations including "Make Believe" with
Dave Genn (
54-40,
Matthew Good Band), "Your Song" with
Nickelback's
Chad Kroeger, and "Another Memory" with
Alain Johannes and
Natasha Shneider.
The album was recorded in 2008 in Toronto’s Phase 1 and
Alex Lifeson's Lerxst Sound studios. Thornley describes his wish to achieve a vintage rock sound embellished with subtle hooks and "fairy dust, bells and whistles," similar to
Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, where repeated listens reveal more and more enjoyment with new layers apparent each time.[citation needed]
The Tiny Pictures cover art was done by the graphic designer
Storm Thorgerson, who also did the art for Come Again, and who has designed album covers for
Pink Floyd,
Led Zeppelin,
Muse, and
The Mars Volta. The cover depicts a large pile of suitcases stacked to look like a man's face.
