Indie artists like to look at things in their album covers.

Whether or not they stole that tendency from the late dear leader Kim Jong-il is eternally up for debate, and to be fair, we all like vaguely looking at things—myself included. However, musicians are shockingly and consistently more opaque than even Kim Jong-un’s deceased father—at least his album covers showed what he was looking at. (Fish! Tights! Bottle!)

So let’s do a little detective work. We’re going to observe a sampling of artists observing God-knows-what off the edge of their album covers, and see if we can come to a conclusion about what is (sort of) captivating them.

Chairlift – Something

Well, they say expressions mirror the subjects they’re viewing. Okay, sorry, no they don’t, I just said that. Regardless, a wall. They have to be looking at a plain white wall. What else?

Noosa – Noosa

Hmm, she looks a little bit more intrigued. Let’s go with a yellow wall. That’s a tick more exciting.

The Hundred in the Hands – The Hundred in the Hands

Don’t let the overlaid text fool you. They’re looking at walls too.

Phantogram – Voices

Thanks to some even fancier photoshop work here, Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel of Phantogram appear to be looking at windows. Let’s not be naive though, the trend is obvious. Walls.

Haim – Days Are Gone

Everyone’s favorite indie darlings, the Haim sisters, are totally outside in this album cover so there’s no way they could be staring at a high wall right? WRONG. They’re in left field at Fenway Park. Nice try.

Generationals – Alix

At least they’re in a subway station, so the walls probably have ads on them. But a wall is still a wall.

Dan Croll – Sweet Disarray

I thought he was looking at me too. It’s actually the wall just over your right shoulder that’s got him so transfixed.

Tanlines – Highlights

Highlights is the not-yet-released follow up to Tanlines’s Mixed Emotions. This article’s featured image is the Mixed Emotions cover (full version here), and they’ve probably just switched the things they were looking at the first time around. One is small and unamusing and the other is average height and mildly disgusting. Kevin Hart and Justin Bieber. They’re at the taping for the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber this time around. Finally. Shit, just realized they took turns looking at the floor and the wall. So obvious.

Done any sleuthing of your own? Let us know what your favorite indie artists are looking at in the comments below!