When the pop star Sabrina Carpenter dropped the cover art for her forthcoming album, “Man’s Best Friend,” this week, it became an instant conversation piece.

The cover art for Justin Timberlake’s 2018 lukewarm album Man of the Woods hinted at the concept of stepping away from the city and getting lost in nature. However, the jarring orange background and disjointed image of the singer leave us simultaneously wanting both more and less. The end result is too literal and feels overly self-serious.