Review Summary: Ambition and diversity combine to cement Arctic Monkeys as a great British band, with a decidedly un-British sound.
It’s been just over two years since the Sheffield quartet released their fourth album ‘Suck It and See’, which saw the monkeys try their hand at dappling in jangly, melodic pop songs. To many, it was a return to form following their divisive third album, ‘Humbug’, which saw the group abscond to the Mojave Desert with Josh Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age fame, taking the helm as producer and overseeing the band move from writing tunes about bouncers and taxi ranks, to indulging in a heavier, murkier sound, one which was light-years away from their trademark sound at the time.
‘AM’ sees the lads experiment once again, merging the heavier sounds of ‘Humbug’ with the more melodic styling’s of ‘Suck It and See’ and throwing a helping of R n’ B beats and soulful backing vocals into the mix. Sound like a mess? Well on paper it certainly seems like a musical quagmire, but in its execution, on record, it works, and at its best moments ‘AM’ works like a dream. As its title suggests, it’s a record about the small hours of the morning and all the love and lust which can accompany last calls and late nights. The Monkeys have never seemed so confident on record, and ‘AM’ is as magnetic as it is sexy, interesting even at its weak points and utterly brilliant at its best.
Opener ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ is perhaps the albums highlight, beginning with a sort of greasy, reptilian riff, one which makes you feel dirty ever before lead singer, Alex Turner, even begins to croon his brilliant one liners; “Crawling back to you, ever thought of calling when you've had a few? 'Cause I always do”. Last years ‘R U Mine?’ also deserves its inclusion on the album and fits in perfectly as the follow up to the opener, continuing the theme of after dark romance and musically ensuring that things remain fast and loose.
‘AM’ is also the bands most ‘American’ record, with the track ‘Arabella’ a perfect embodiment of how the band has abandoned its angular, Brit-pop style for a more groove centred approach. The songs verses come complete with a sultry, slithering bass line before giving way to the gargantuan chorus which sees the Sheffield lads do their best Black Sabbath impersonation whilst including falsetto backing vocals. ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’ is all hip-hop beats saunters along brilliantly effortlessly granting itself the status as another highlight.
It isn't a perfect album, however. Closer ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ is certainly worth a listen but means the album sort of fizzles to a close rather than continue the bands tradition of closing with a classic, and towards the middle the album starts to sag and one would have to question the wisdom of including such a bland a song as ‘Mad Sounds’ when the album is crying out for a belter to liven things up.
As it always seems to be the case with Arctic Monkeys albums, ‘AM’ leaves me eager to see where the band will take things next rather than completely satisfied with this particular release. I suppose that’s both a good and a bad thing.
