Arctic Monkeys have taken a swipe at the songwriting talents of The Ting Tings after the duo won an Ivor Novello award earlier this year for their album ‘We Started Nothing‘.
Drummer Matt Helders said: “The Ivor Novello Awards used to feel like the most meaningful ones but I think they’ve been cheapened. I don’t want to be horrible to The Ting Tings but they won it and it’s supposed to be for songwriting. There’s a lot better songwriting ability out there.” The Sheffield band have also announced they will stream live footage of a concert to showcase new album ‘Humbug‘ on the internet. The gig will take place at 9pm on Thursday July 30th. A trailer can be viewed at webtransmission.arcticmonkeys.com.
‘Humbug’ will be released on August 24th and was co-produced by Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, who also provides vocals on two tracks, ‘Dangerous Animals’ and ‘The Jeweller’s Hands‘.
Matt Helders and Arctic Monkeys at Rehearsal
Speaking in this month’s Q magazine, Helders revealed the influence Josh Homme had in the studio: “Josh can hear things in a song that we can’t. It’s like he’s aware of new frequencies, like a really tall bat.”
The new album is preceeded by first single ‘Crying Lightning‘, which is released in physical formats on August 17th.