Arctic Monkeys | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Arctic Monkeys arrived in 2005 with a blast. Assisted by rave reviews and online word of mouth (they were one of the first bands to benefit from the tangled web of social media), the band quickly became a sensation in the United Kingdom, where they were seen as the heir apparent to the throne left vacant by Oasis, or perhaps the Libertines. (Their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not briefly grabbed the title of fastest-selling album in British history.) What set the group apart was Alex Turner, a singer/songwriter with a biting wit and grasp of English vernacular (not dissimilar to Paul Weller, the godfather of modern British rock). While that particular style often fails to translate to a worldwide audience, Arctic Monkeys broke this tradition, cracking the American market not by sacrificing Turners trademark storytelling but by beefing up their guitars (sometimes in association with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age). Eventually, Arctic Monkeys laced in some of the louche lounge aspects of Turners swinging side project the Last Shadow Puppets, but by that point, the band were a staple throughout the world: a respected, adventurous, and successful group who could easily be called Britains biggest band of the early 21st century. Alex Turner and guitarist Jamie Cook began their music careers in 2001, when the friends both received guitars for Christmas. Two years later, they began performing shows around their native Sheffield with drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson, two fellow students at Stocksbridge High School. A series of demo recordings followed, and Arctic Monkeys audience swelled as fans circulated those recordings via the Internet. The musicians soon found themselves at the center of a growing media circus, with such outlets as BBC Radio examining the bands music and mounting hype. By distributing their homemade material on the Internet, Arctic Monkeys were able to build a sizable fan base without the help of a record label, effectively circumventing the usual road to superstardom. They continued to buck tradition by signing with Domino Records in 2005, eschewing a major-labels budget for Dominos D.I.Y. cred and hip roster (which also included Franz Ferdinand, a touchstone for the bands sound). The smart moves paid off as Arctic Monkeys first two singles -- "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down" -- both topped the U.K. charts. Critical reception was similarly favorable, but few could have predicted the whirlwind success of the bands debut album, which ousted Oasis Definitely Maybe as the fastest-selling debut in British history (a record that was broken one year later by Leona Lewis Spirit). Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not sold 363,735 copies during its first week alone, transforming Arctic Monkeys from underground stars into mainstream figures. Arctic Monkeys debut sold approximately 300,000 total copies in America -- enough to warrant more media coverage, but notably less than the albums British sales during its first week alone. Nevertheless, their success continued as they released a spring EP, Who the F**k Are Arctic Monkeys, and prepared for a stateside tour. Temporary bassist Nick OMalley was brought aboard for the bands American shows, while a fatigued Nicholson stayed at home. Nicholson then announced his official departure when the band returned home in June 2006, and OMalley remained with Arctic Monkeys as a permanent member. That fall, the guys received the 2006 Mercury Prize and donated the accompanying money to an undisclosed charity. Additional accolades included Best British Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards and Best New Band at the NME Awards. NME also made a bold assertion by deeming the bands debut one of the Top Five British albums ever released. Released in April 2007, Favourite Worst Nightmare updated Arctic Monkeys sound with louder instruments and faster tempos. The bandmates had recorded the sophomore album quickly, wishing to return to the road as soon as possible, and the speedy turnaround between records helped maintain the bands popularity at home. Favourite Worst Nightmare sold 85,000 copies during its first day of release, and all 12 tracks entered the Top 200 of the U.K. singles charts. As Alex Turner briefly turned his attention to a side project, the Last Shadow Puppets, Arctic Monkeys received another Mercury Prize nomination and took home two titles at the 2008 Brit Awards. Recording sessions for a third album commenced in early 2008 and lasted throughout the year, with producers James Ford (who previously worked with Turner on the Last Shadow Puppets album) and Josh Homme (frontman of Queens of the Stone Age) adding some newfound heft to the bands sound. Meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys released a concert album entitled At the Apollo -- with accompanying video footage captured on 35mm film -- before unveiling Humbug in August 2009. Humbug went platinum in the U.K. but failed to produce a Top Ten hit, with "Crying Lightning" peaking at number 12 and "Cornerstone" topping out at 94. The band hit the road that February, kicking off a multi-leg tour that ran through the rest of the year. After playing another handful of shows in early 2010, the guys took a short hiatus before reconvening with James Ford for their fourth album. Sessions began that fall, and the resulting Suck It and See arrived in spring 2011. Meanwhile, Turner also wrote music for a Richard Ayoade film, Submarine, whose soundtrack doubled as the frontmans first solo release. In February 2012, Arctic Monkeys released a song entitled "R U Mine?" on their YouTube channel, which indicated that a new album was on the way. A few months later, the band played at the London Summer Olympics opening ceremony, performing "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and the Beatles "Come Together," but it wasnt until the summer of 2013 that a new album was to be revealed. Entitled AM, the fifth album was released in September, a few months after a triumphant headlining performance at Glastonbury 2013, which was opened with the new song "Do I Wanna Know?" Following the supporting tour for AM, the band entered an extended hiatus, during which time the individual members pursued solo projects. Arctic Monkeys resurfaced in April of 2018 with the loungey Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, a softer affair than their previous albums. Later that they year the band issued the TBH&C B-side "Anyways" as a single. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 15 Title: Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts Released: 2006 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:20:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts (02:52) 2 On the Run From the MI5 (01:45) 3 Fake Tales of San Francisco (03:06) 4 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (02:53) 5 Choo Choo (03:08) 6 Ravey Ravey Ravey Club (02:21) 7 Mardy Bum (02:55) 8 Curtains Close (02:39) 9 Stickin to the Floor (01:52) 10 A Certain Romance (05:26) 11 Dancing Shoes (02:26) 12 I Predict That You Look Good in a Riot (03:22) 13 Still Take You Home (03:10) 14 Riot Van (02:13) 15 No Buses (acoustic) (live) (03:16) 16 Wavin Bye to the Train or the Bus (03:04) 17 Knock a Door Run (04:25) 18 Ravey Ravey Ravey Club (live, 2003-06-13: Sheffield) (02:20) 19 Space Invaders (02:45) 20 When the Sun Goes Down (03:25) 21 Cigarette Smoke (02:56) 22 Love Machine (03:21) 23 Scummy Justice (Drum n Bass remix) (14:24) |
 | Album: 2 of 15 Title: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not Released: 2006-01-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 41:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The View From the Afternoon (03:38) 2 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (02:53) 3 Fake Tales of San Francisco (02:57) 4 Dancing Shoes (02:21) 5 You Probably Couldn’t See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me (02:10) 6 Still Take You Home (02:53) 7 Riot Van (02:14) 8 Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured (02:23) 9 Mardy Bum (02:55) 10 Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But… (04:28) 11 When the Sun Goes Down (03:20) 12 From the Ritz to the Rubble (03:13) 13 A Certain Romance (05:31) |
| Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not : Allmusic album Review : Breathless, hyperbolic praise was piled upon the Arctic Monkeys and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not, an instant phenomenon without peer. Within the course of a year, the band rose from the ranks of an Internet phenomenon to the biggest band in the U.K., all on the strength of early demos circulated on the web as MP3s. Those demos built the band a rabid fan base before the Monkeys had released a record, even before they played more than a handful of gigs. In effect, the group performed a complete run around the industry, avoiding conventional routes toward stardom, which paid off in spades. When Whatever People Say I Am hit the streets in January 2006, it sold a gob-smacking 118,501 copies within its first week of release, which not only made it the fastest-selling U.K. debut ever, but sold more than the rest of the Top 20 combined -- a remarkable achievement by any measure. Last time such excitement surrounded a new British guitar band it was a decade earlier, as Brit-pop hit overdrive with the release of Oasis 1994 debut, Definitely Maybe. All four members of the Arctic Monkeys were a little bit shy of their tenth birthday at the time, a bit young to be sure, but old enough to have Oasis be their first favorite band. So, its little surprise that the Gallaghers laddism -- celebrating nights out fueled by lager and loud guitars -- is the bedrock foundation of the Arctic Monkeys, just the way as it has been for most British rock bands since the mid-90s. Their true ground zero though, is 2001, the year the Strokes stormed British consciousness with their debut, Is This It. The Arctic Monkeys borrow heavily from the Strokes stylized ennui, adding an equal element of the Libertines shambolic neo-classicist punk, undercut by a hint of dance-punk learned from Franz Ferdinand. But where the Strokes, the Libertines, and Franz all knowingly reference the past, this Sheffield quartet is only concerned with the now, piecing together elements of their favorite bands as lead singer/songwriter Alex Turner tells stories from their lives, mainly hookups on the dancefloor and underage drinking, balanced by the occasional imagined tragic tales of prostitution and the music industry. Whatever People Say I Am captures the band mashing up the Strokes and the Libertines at will, jamming too many angular riffs into too short a space, tearing through the songs as quickly as possible. But where the Strokes camouflaged their songwriting skills with a laconic, take-it-or-leave-it sexiness, and where the Libertines mythologized England with a junkie poeticism, the Arctic Monkeys at their heart are simple, everyday lads, lacking any sense of sex appeal or romanticism, or even the desire for either. Nor do they harbor much menace, either in their tightly wound music or in how Turner spits out his words. Also, the dry production, sounding for all the world like an homage to Is This It -- all clanking guitars and clattering drums, with most of the energy coming from the groups sloppy call-and-response backing vocals -- keeps things ever immediate. In a way, Whatever People Say I Am is an ideal album for the age of Information Overload: nearly every track here is stuffed with riffs and words, and just when its about to sort itself out, it stops short. Instead of relying on a digital cut-and-paste clamor, lead singer and lyricist Alex Turner is a natural storyteller, chronicling a very specific time and place. Like Weller or Ian Dury before him, hes captured his era in stark, vivid terms; he may not transcend his time, but he embodies it fully. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 15 Title: Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? Released: 2006-04-23 Tracks: 5 Duration: 18:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The View From the Afternoon (03:38) 2 Cigarette Smoker Fiona (02:56) 3 Despair in the Departure Lounge (03:22) 4 No Buses (03:17) 5 Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? (05:36) |
 | Album: 4 of 15 Title: Live in Texas: 7 June 2006 Released: 2006-11-23 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Riot Van (03:57) 2 The View From the Afternoon (03:55) 3 Still Take You Home (02:33) 4 You Probably Couldnt See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me (02:21) 5 Cigarette Smoker Fiona (02:58) 6 Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But... (03:55) 7 Dancing Shoes (02:50) 8 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (03:07) 9 When the Sun Goes Down (03:37) 10 A Certain Romance (06:46) |
 | Album: 5 of 15 Title: Brianstorm Released: 2007-04-15 Tracks: 4 Duration: 10:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 If You Found This Its Probably Too Late (01:34) 2 Brianstorm (02:52) 3 Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend (03:29) 4 What If You Were Right the First Time? (03:02) |
 | Album: 6 of 15 Title: Favourite Worst Nightmare Released: 2007-04-18 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Brianstorm (02:50) 2 Teddy Picker (02:43) 3 D Is for Dangerous (02:16) 4 Balaclava (02:49) 5 Fluorescent Adolescent (02:57) 6 Only Ones Who Know (03:02) 7 Do Me a Favour (03:27) 8 This House Is a Circus (03:09) 9 If You Were There, Beware (04:34) 10 The Bad Thing (02:23) 11 Old Yellow Bricks (03:11) 12 505 (04:13) |
| Favourite Worst Nightmare : Allmusic album Review : Breathless praise is a time-honored tradition in British pop music, but even so, the whole brouhaha surrounding the 2006 debut of the Arctic Monkeys bordered on the absurd. It wasnt enough for the Arctic Monkeys to be the best new band of 2006; they had to be the saviors of rock & roll. Lead singer/songwriter Alex Turner had to be the best songwriter since Noel Gallagher or perhaps even Paul Weller, and their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not, at first was hailed as one of the most important albums of the decade, and then, just months after its release, NME called it one of the Top Five British albums ever. Heady stuff for a group just out of their teens, and they weathered the storm with minimal damage, losing their bassist but not their sense of purpose as they coped in the time-honored method for young bands riding the wave of enormous success: they kept on working. All year long they toured, rapidly writing and recording their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, getting it out just a little over a year after their debut, a speedy turnaround by any measure. Some may call it striking when the iron is hot, cashing in while theres still interest, but Favourite Worst Nightmare is the opposite of opportunism: its the vibrant, thrilling sound of a band coming into its own. The Arctic Monkeys surely showed potential on Whatever People Say I Am, but their youthful vigor often camouflaged their debt to other bands. Here, theyre absorbing their influences, turning their liberal borrowings from the Libertines, the Strokes, and the Jam into something thats their own distinct identity. Unlike any of those three bands, however, the Arctic Monkeys havent stumbled on their second album; they havent choked on hubris, they havent overthought their sophomore salvo, nor have they cranked it out too quickly. That constant year of work resulted in startling growth as the band is testing the limits of what they can do and where they can go. Favourite Worst Nightmare hardly abandons the pleasures of their debut but instead frantically expands upon them. They still have a kinetic nervous energy, but this isnt a quartet that bashes out simply three-chord rock & roll. The Monkeys may start with an infectious riff, but then theyll violently burst into jagged yet tightly controlled blasts of post-punk squalls, or theyll dress a verse with circular harmonies as they do at the end of "Fluorescent Adolescent." Their signature is precision, evident in their concise songs, deftly executed instrumental interplay, and the details within Turners wry wordplay, which is clever but never condescending. Indeed, the remarkable thing about the Arctic Monkeys -- which Favourite Worst Nightmare brings into sharp relief -- is their genuine guilelessness, how they restructure classic rock clichés in a way that pays little mind to how things were done in the past, and that all goes back to their youth. Born in the 80s and raised on the Strokes and the Libertines, they treat all rock as a level playing field, loving its traditions but not seeing musical barriers between generations, since the band learned all of rock history at once and now spit it all out in a giddy, cacophonous blend of post-punk and classic rock that sounds fresh, partially because they jam each of their very songs with a surplus of ideas. Some of this was true on their debut album, but its the restlessness of Favourite Worst Nightmare that impresses -- theyre discovering themselves as they go and, unlike so many modern bands, theyre interested in the discovery and not appearances. Theyll venture into darker territory, theyll slow things down on "Only Ones Who Know," theyll play art punk riffs without pretension. Here, they sound like theyll try anything, which makes this a rougher album in some ways than their debut, which indeed was more cohesive. All the songs on Whatever shared a similar viewpoint, whereas the excitement here is that theres a multitude of viewpoints, all suggesting different tantalizing directions they could go. On that debut, it was possible hear all the ways they were similar to their predecessors, but here its possible to hear all the ways the Arctic Monkeys are a unique, vibrant band and thats why Favourite Worst Nightmare is in its own way more exciting than the debut: it reveals the depth and ambition of the band and, in doing so, it will turn skeptics into believers. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 15 Title: LateNightTales: Matt Helders Released: 2008-10-13 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:09:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Connexion (03:13) 2 Vaudeville Villain (02:31) 3 Yama Yama (02:10) 4 Play the Drum (03:26) 5 Charity Shop Soundclash (03:43) 6 Free Salute (03:44) 7 Thickfreakness (03:35) 8 Dreamer (03:49) 9 Dirt (02:08) 10 Sheba (02:21) 11 The Dark Side of the Sun (03:33) 12 Ms. Fat Booty (04:03) 13 I Got 5 on It (04:01) 14 Grey Harpoon (02:10) 15 Reasons (03:19) 16 Dreamy Days (04:18) 17 Break the Lock (03:44) 18 I Believe (03:18) 19 Olio (06:54) 20 A Choice of Three (03:16) |
 | Album: 8 of 15 Title: At the Apollo Released: 2008-11-03 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Riot Van (03:57) 2 The View From the Afternoon (03:55) 3 Still Take You Home (02:33) 4 You Probably Couldnt See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me (02:21) 5 Cigarette Smoker Fiona (02:58) 6 Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But... (03:55) 7 Dancing Shoes (02:50) 8 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (03:07) 9 When the Sun Goes Down (03:37) 10 A Certain Romance (06:46) |
| At the Apollo : Allmusic album Review : At the Apollo is a standard new millennium live album: its a multimedia experience containing a DVD and a CD, but unlike so many of these sets, this doesnt replicate the show on video and audio. Instead, the DVD has the titular At the Apollo -- the Manchester Apollo, not the one in Harlem -- and the CD contains a live set recorded that same tour in Austin, TX. Whether this is an attractive package to you depends entirely on your level of devotion to Arctic Monkeys: both are good energetic sets but theyre not exceptional, theyre merely two of the better nights on tour, nights where the band was conscious of the recording equipment so they turned in a show thats professional but not necessarily memorable. Its a good memento, an entertaining listen, and enjoyable viewing, but it can only be called essential to those who notice whether or not these concerts were performed with the groups new bassist or not (for the record, they are). | ||
 | Album: 9 of 15 Title: Humbug Released: 2009-08-19 Tracks: 12 Duration: 45:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 My Propeller (03:27) 2 Crying Lightning (03:43) 3 Dangerous Animals (03:30) 4 Secret Door (03:43) 5 Potion Approaching (03:32) 6 Fire and the Thud (03:57) 7 Cornerstone (03:17) 8 Dance Little Liar (04:43) 9 Pretty Visitors (03:40) 10 The Jeweller’s Hands (05:42) 11 I Haven’t Got My Strange (01:29) 12 Red Right Hand (04:19) |
| Humbug : Allmusic album Review : Facing the third album blues, the Arctic Monkeys turned to Josh Homme, the Queens of the Stone Age mastermind renowned for his collaborations but heretofore untested as a producer. On first glance, its a peculiar pair -- the heirs of Paul Weller meet the heavy desert mystic -- but this isnt a team of equals, its a big brother helping his little siblings go wayward and get weird. Homme doesnt imprint his own views on the Monkeys but encourages them to follow their strange instincts, whether its a Nick Cave obsession or the inclination to emphasize atmosphere over energy. Wading into the murk of Humbug it becomes clear that the common ground between the Monkeys and Homme is the actual act of making music, the pleasure of not knowing what comes next when an entire band is drifting inside a zone. Since so much of Humbug is about its process, its not always immediately accessible or pleasurable to an outside listener, nor is it quite the thickly colored freakout Hommes presence suggests. The Monkeys still favor angular riffs and clenched rhythms, constructing tightly framed vignettes not widescreen epics, but theyre working with a darker palette and creating vaguely abstract compositions, sensibilities that extend to Alex Turners words too, as he trades keen detail for vivid scrawled impressions. Every element of the album reflects a band testing its limits, seeing where they could -- not necessarily will -- go next; its a voyage through territory thats new to them as musicians (which doesnt necessarily mean that its also new to their audience), offering at a peek at what lies beyond via three songs cut after the desert sessions, songs informed by what they learned during their sojourn with Homme. This trio of tunes, highlighted by "Cornerstone," arent as darkly as evocative as the rest of the dense, gnarled Humbug but theyre among the best songs the album has to offer suggesting that the record may mean more in the long-term that it does on its own. Nevertheless, Humbug makes two things clear: Arctic Monkeys are serious about being in a band, about making music, and they are the first major British band in generations unencumbered by fear or spite for America. Humbug was not done with hopes of breaking the American market or reacting spitefully against it, it is solely about big, loud, dark noise. No wonder Josh Homme sensed he had a band of little brothers in Arctic Monkeys. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 15 Title: Suck It and See Sampler Released: 2011 Tracks: 4 Duration: 11:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Don’t Sit Down ’Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair (03:03) 2 The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala (03:00) 3 Reckless Serenade (02:42) 4 Brick by Brick (02:59) |
 | Album: 11 of 15 Title: Suck It and See Released: 2011-06-01 Tracks: 13 Duration: 43:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 She’s Thunderstorms (03:54) 2 Black Treacle (03:35) 3 Brick by Brick (02:59) 4 The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala (03:00) 5 Don’t Sit Down ’cause I’ve Moved Your Chair (03:03) 6 Library Pictures (02:22) 7 All My Own Stunts (03:52) 8 Reckless Serenade (02:42) 9 Piledriver Waltz (03:23) 10 Love Is a Laserquest (03:11) 11 Suck It and See (03:46) 12 That’s Where You’re Wrong (04:16) 13 The Blond-O-Sonic Shimmer Trap (03:24) |
| Suck It and See : Allmusic album Review : Returning home after their Josh Homme-directed voyage into the desert, Arctic Monkeys get back to basics on their fourth album, Suck It and See. The journey is figurative: Suck It was recorded not in Sheffield, but in Los Angeles, with their longtime producer James Ford, who conjures a sound not unlike the one he captured on the band’s 2007 sophomore set Your Favourite Worst Nightmare. Homme may be gone but he’s not forgotten, not when the group regularly trades in fuzztones and heavy-booted stomps, accentuating their choruses with single-note guitar runs lifted from the Pixies. Ultimately, all these thick tones provide color on a set of songs trimmed of fatty excess and reliant on sturdy melodicism, arriving via the guitar hooks and sung melodies. Naturally, in a setting without frills, Alex Turners lyrics are also pushed to the forefront, more so than they were on Humbug, and he shows no signs of slack, still displaying an uncanny ear for conversational rhythms and quick-witted puns. If Suck It and See is missing anything, it’s a powerhouse single. “Brick by Brick” contains a crushing riff and “Don’t Sit Down Because I Moved Your Chair” pulses with an insinuating menace, but neither are knockouts, they’re growers that get stronger with repeated spins. And in that sense, they’re quite representative of the album as a whole: Suck It and See may be at the opposite end of the spectrum from Humbug -- it’s concentrated and purposeful where its predecessor sprawled -- yet it still demands attention from the listener, delivering its rewards according to just how much time you’re willing to devote. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 15 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2011 Released: 2011-07-08 Tracks: 6 Duration: 20:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Brianstorm (03:12) 2 Dont Sit Down Cause Ive Moved Your Chair (03:05) 3 Crying Lightning (03:36) 4 The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala (02:47) 5 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (02:50) 6 505 (05:01) |
 | Album: 13 of 15 Title: AM Released: 2013-09-06 Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Do I Wanna Know? (04:32) 2 R U Mine? (03:21) 3 One for the Road (03:26) 4 Arabella (03:27) 5 I Want It All (03:04) 6 No.1 Party Anthem (04:03) 7 Mad Sounds (03:35) 8 Fireside (03:01) 9 Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? (02:41) 10 Snap Out of It (03:12) 11 Knee Socks (04:17) 12 I Wanna Be Yours (03:04) |
| AM : Allmusic album Review : If Arctic Monkeys launched a tentative retreat on Suck It & See, their first effort after being seduced by Josh Homme, the group once again forge ahead into bold new territory on AM, their fifth album. Neatly splitting the difference between the bands two personalities -- the devotees of barbed British pop and disciples of curdled heavy rock -- AM consolidates Arctic Monkeys strengths, a tricky task in and of itself, but the band pushes further, incorporating unapologetic glam stomps, fuzzy guitars, and a decidedly strong rhythmic undercurrent. At times, AM pulses to a distinctly danceable rhythm -- "Fireplace" percolates while "Why Do You Only Call Me When Youre High" simmers and "Knee Socks" nearly rivals Franz Ferdinand in disco rock -- but this isnt an album made for nights out; its a soundtrack for nights in. Too much of Alex Turners mind is preoccupied with love gone wrong, jealousy, and general misanthropy, so even when hes singing about a "No. 1 Party Anthem," hes doing so with a nearly visible sneer. Such an undercurrent of cynicism makes AM an ideal album to listen to under the cover of darkness, but due to the Arctic Monkeys muscular wallop and musical restlessness, it never feels like the band is wallowing in bleakness. Instead, this is vibrant, moody music that showcases a band growing ever stronger with each risk and dare they take. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 15 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2013 Released: 2013-12-16 Tracks: 5 Duration: 17:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Do I Wanna Know? (04:27) 2 Fireside (02:59) 3 Arabella (03:27) 4 One for the Road (03:28) 5 R U Mine? (03:23) |
 | Album: 15 of 15 Title: Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino Released: 2018-05-11 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Star Treatment (05:54) 2 One Point Perspective (03:28) 3 American Sports (02:38) 4 Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino (03:31) 5 Golden Trunks (02:53) 6 Four Out of Five (05:12) 7 The World’s First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip (03:00) 8 Science Fiction (03:05) 9 She Looks Like Fun (03:02) 10 Batphone (04:31) 11 The Ultracheese (03:37) |
| Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino : Allmusic album Review : It was inevitable that Alex Turner would incorporate the loungey swagger of his busmans holiday the Last Shadow Puppets into his main gig of the Arctic Monkeys, yet the soft louche touch of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino comes as something of a shock. Chalk it up, perhaps, to the fact that Turner was a mere 32 years old when he unleashed Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino onto the world, a young age that seems older because Arctic Monkeys released their debut when he was just 19. Throughout Tranquility Base, Turner comes across as if he were much, much older than his actual age, cocking an eyebrow to a potential paramour who has the audacity to have never seen Blade Runner, and reminiscing about the 70s -- a decade he never saw. He may have been born at the height of Brothers in Arms, but Turner fetishes the swinging sci-fi 60s, winking at futurism while acknowledging that its starry potential has curdled in the digital age. Tranquility Base hints at these dashed dreams in its stylish soft contours, which are neither retro nor modern: theyre hung suspended between these two extremes, sounding precisely like Alex Turner while never touching upon the frenzied, heavy roar of the Monkeys. Perhaps its easy to miss that youthful punchiness, but the expansive aural horizons of Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino suggest there are plenty of avenues for Turner to steer Arctic Monkeys into a fruitful middle age. So, its an accomplished, slyly snappy, and admirable affair, and yet there still seems to be something lacking -- namely, songs that stick. Turner nails the concept, wallowing in warped dreams and painting widescreen soundscapes, but the foundation is wobbly; at a glance, its impressive, but the slipshod details reveal themselves upon close inspection. | ||