Five studio albums and recent career defining sets at the London Olympics and Glastonbury Festival have seen the Arctic Monkeys grow into a confident live act and indisputable headline quality billing on the back of a consistently high quality sonic output.
Adolescents, first introduced via 2006’s debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not‘, have followed the band’s path from late teens to mid-twenties – matching the trajectory of the group in a clear transition from youthful naivety to unabashed self-assurance, becoming a generation-defining band reflecting a sound tweaked and honed through sufficient life experience.
The addition of outside influences has seen the current incarnation of the group become almost unrecognisable from their initial guise. Indie rock tales of being unceremoniously turned away from Sheffield nightclubs and general twilight-themed inner city observations have been largely replaced on ‘AM’ by contemplative morning-after-musings, complete with West Coast inflections of desert rock, hip hop, and in some cases, R&B.
A mark of intent begins with a fuzz-drenched psychedelic groove riff courtesy of guitarist Jamie Cook on lead single ‘Do I Wanna Know?‘. Biting northern witticisms help the core charm of the Monkeys remain intact, with the line; ‘Been wondering if your heart’s still open and if so I wanna know what time it shuts’ one of many examples of Alex Turner’s knack for a cunning metaphor as a unique take on romance.
‘R U Mine?‘ was released as a Record Store Day single last spring, and still sounds as gratifyingly fresh and vibrant with life as the dawn of the season itself. Turner is in full lyrical flow, spitting out abstract rhyming couplets over the frenetic lead riff, acting as a fitting soundtrack to those in the early throes of romance.
If there’s a weak track on the album, then ‘One For The Road‘, with Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme helping out on backing vocals, would be it. Although not necessarily a terrible song, the increasing presence of harmonising vocals, which work to better effect on the remainder of the record, become nauseating and overused on a song which never really takes off.
The brief dip in quality is offset, however, by the sheer brilliance of 70’s metal rock inspired ‘Arabella‘. The band have clearly listened to a lot of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin in their dressing room downtime, with the addition of modern synthesised beats accompanying the verse lyrics, adding a car windows down playability edge to the hard rocking power chords.
A stomping, glam-rock tinged ‘I Want It All‘ sees Matt Helders’ soaring falsetto used to great effect, complimenting Turner’s more limited vocal range for a rounded sound reminiscent of sections of QOTSA’s ‘Lullabies To Paralyze‘, as a brash, whiskey swigging desert rock track.
These production values are a benefit of the work by long time collaborator James Ford, when the band again immersed themselves in the adopted home of Los Angeles, undertaking much of the recording in the desert studios of Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree.
Listening to ‘AM’ seems significant in this way, acting as a stamp of authority on this now established sound. The tongue in cheek irony in the track name ‘No. 1 Party Anthem‘ could have been left over from Alex Turner’s wistfully introspective acoustic soundtrack for the film Submarine, adding yet another string to the bow of a band at the peak of their talents.
‘Mad Sounds‘ continues the lullaby effect, with Turner in full contemporary romantic poet mode. A Lou Reed meets John Lennon pared down ballad, the track comes complete with ‘ooh ooh la la’ repetitions as a hazy tribute to the welcome distraction of music when romance is a continued source of confusion.
The esteemed guest slots continue with former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones offering his services on the galloping rhythms of ‘Fireside‘, while a Miles Kane sense of showmanship and urgency is displayed in the swaggering, 50’s ballroom jazz soul infused ‘Snap Out Of It‘.
The band haven’t entirely abandoned regaling in evening anecdotes, with ‘Why’d You Always Call Me When You’re High?‘ launching into a pounding Dr. Dre aping hip hop beat intro, fusing the genre with Turner’s northern intonation and a high-pitched R&B style vocal. The infectious track is layered with a sense of reinvention; with the album theme now clear in its post-midnight reflection as PM makes way for the AM.
‘AM’ is a near flawless, brazen, yet reflective dancefloor filling triumph of an album. A defiantly risk taking chemical blend in the myriad of past and contemporary genres on offer produces thrilling results, continuing the trend with each passing record of subtle changes to maintain the listener’s interest.
Turner’s initial modesty in his timid instruction to the nation to not ‘believe the hype’ now seems a lifetime away.
This band will be revered long after they decide to call it a day, having lived up to the hype, and exceeded it, in astronomical proportions.