c/o arcticmonkeys.com
Seven years have passed since Arctic Monkeys released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. In that time, they have shifted from scathing critiques of the local nightlife to the bolder and more mature Favourite Worst Nightmare, the moody desert rock on Humbug, and on to jangly love songs for Suck It And See. They’ve even covered the Beatles at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The lads from Sheffield appear to have tried their hand at everything on the rock music spectrum.
So what’s left for the band’s fifth LP? AM finds a seductive Alex Turner and company exploring the night under the influence of everything from early ’70s metal to performance poet John Cooper Clarke. Drummer Matt Helders shows off his singing abilities with an ever-present falsetto, but it is the lead singer who gives the most memorable performances. It seems that the trials and tribulations of Turner’s relationships from Suck It And See have left him cynical about love. He advocates an almost callous attitude toward romance, extolling sex while issuing caveats about the dangers of love.
The opening track, “Do I Wanna Know?” has Turner acknowledging “that the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can’t say tomorrow day,” in this case confessing his feelings for someone who may not share the sentiment. Rather than risk rejection, Turner opts for the ups and downs of sexual pursuits, all the while trying (and failing) to avoid growing too attached.
The album’s standout track, “Arabella,” skulks its way into a riff straight out of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and doesn’t let up until the song’s namesake has you under the same lusty spell as Turner. Helders’ falsetto makes its most dominant appearance on “I Want It All,” which descends into shoo-wops by the song’s end.
Turner finds himself enchanted once again on the pleasantly Lennon-esque, misleadingly titled “No. 1 Party Anthem.” This time Turner nervously locks eyes with a woman at a party, and details “The look of love/The rush of blood” he experiences when he sees her. The Lou Reed-inspired “Mad Sounds” follows “Anthem,” implying that the party did not go as planned, with Turner acknowledging that “You sit and try sometimes/But you just can’t figure out what went wrong,” before cascading ooh-la-la-las take over the song.
“Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” observes our narrator’s intoxicated attempt to arrange a booty call over a G-funk beat that’s guaranteed to get the Dr. Dre seal of approval. Don’t worry: the hip hop influences won’t have you confusing the Monkeys for Limp Bizkit. Instead, the band has crafted a funky tune that will have you feeling contentedly tipsy, stumbling around in the streets, drunk texting, and looking for someone else’s bed to sleep in.
Despite the fresh aspects of the album, AM was co-produced by James Ford, who has been with Arctic Monkeys since their sophomore record, Favourite Worst Nightmare. It also features an appearance from Queens of the Stone Age frontman and co-producer of Humbug Josh Homme, who provides ghoulish guest vocals on “Knee Socks.” On the other hand, the group has acknowledged that AM is more of a studio album than previous records, with features like a drum machine on the closing track, “I Wanna Be Yours.”
Yet another brilliant record from Arctic Monkeys makes it obvious why the band is so cherished in Britain, and prompts the listener to wonder if this could be the record that results in the same sort of adoration in the United States.
Dr. Dre? Falsetto? The same group that gave us “Fluorescent Adolescent?” Shoo-wops? “Old dogs, new tricks/Can you feel it?” Turner asks on “I Want It All.” Yes we can, and it feels great.