| Arctic Monkeys Humbug | 2.5 |
I love Whatever People Say and think Favourite Worst Nightmare was even better and that the pair really defined and exemplified a particular sound and period of British Music and will be remembered as classics.
Humbug feels like a third album by a totally different band. Lyrically and in vocal delivery, Turner has, not to put too finer point on it, disappeared up his own arse. It all sounds a lot cleverer than it is. The fantastic imagery, turn of phrase and storytelling has, for the most part, been replaced by the sixth form style poetry heard on The Last Shadow Puppets side project (where it worked well with the music).
Most of the songs are huge clashes of rythm and melody; the drums often feeling like a caricature of the fantastic beats on FWN. This is an album intentionally devoid of hooks and therefore takes some listens to get used to.
It's not awful, but its by no means great. It's okay. The vast majority of Arctic Monkeys fans will be disappointed and the sad thing is, there's a lot of people out there who could love the album but wont give it a listen because 'it's that band who got famous through myspace'.
It's not a step forward or backward, it's a step sideways into the shoes of the band they want to be but, for me, it's not a great listen.
Best Track: Cornerstone
|
| Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends | 5.0 |
| Coldplay Prospekt's March | 3.5 |
| Radiohead My Iron Lung | 3.5 |
| Radiohead Pablo Honey | 2.0 |
| Radiohead Amnesiac | 4.0 |
| Radiohead Hail to the Thief | 4.0 |
| Radiohead Airbag/How Am I Driving? | 3.5 |
| Radiohead In Rainbows | 4.5 |
| Radiohead Kid A | 5.0 |
| The Kooks Inside In/Inside Out | 4.0 |
| The Beatles The Beatles | 5.0 |
| The Beatles Abbey Road | 5.0 |
| The Beatles Let It Be | 3.5 |
| The Beatles 1 | 5.0 |
| The Beatles Love | 4.0 |
| Stereophonics Performance and Cocktails | 3.5 |
| The Beatles Revolver | 5.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Live in Hyde Park | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers The Uplift Mofo Party Plan | 3.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers | 2.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers The Abbey Road E.P. | 2.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way | 2.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Freaky Styley | 3.0 |
| Coldplay X&Y | 3.0 |
| Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction | 3.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers What Hits!? | 3.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Mother's Milk | 3.5 |
| U2 All That You Can't Leave Behind | 3.5 |
| U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd Pulse | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Wall | 3.5 |
| Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better | 3.5 |
| Arctic Monkeys Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? | 3.5 |
| Rage Against the Machine The Battle of Los Angeles | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV | 4.0 |
| The Beatles Rubber Soul | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd Meddle | 4.0 |
| Green Day American Idiot | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd Echoes | 4.0 |
| Oasis Be Here Now | 4.0 |
| Oasis Don't Believe the Truth | 4.0 |
| The Stone Roses The Stone Roses | 4.0 |
| Oasis Familiar To Millions | 4.0 |
| The Magic Numbers The Magic Numbers | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Off the Map | 4.0 |
| Stereophonics Just Enough Education to Perform | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium | 4.0 |
| Muse Black Holes & Revelations | 4.0 |
| An interesting twist on the epic sound of Absolution, mixing some interesting musical moments (my favourites being a surprising Mexican trumpet section in the second half) with the classic Muse sound of powerful vocals with a band sounding like a curious mix of both Heaven and Hell's house bands. Some absolutely stunning songs, my favourites being 'Supermassive' and 'Problematique', it does occassionally border on being ridiculous (the sublime 'Knights of Cydonia') but Muse seem to be in on the joke so they get away with it. Arguably not as essential or vital as Absolution, but I fail to see how fans of the genre couldn't like it. |
| U2 The Joshua Tree | 4.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication | 4.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Live at Slane Castle | 4.5 |
| Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand | 4.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits | 4.5 |
| Gorillaz Gorillaz | 4.5 |
| The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour | 4.5 |
| Thom Yorke The Eraser | 4.5 |
| The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 4.5 |
| The White Stripes Icky Thump | 4.5 |
| Muse Absolution | 5.0 |
| You really can't fault this album, Muse's clear cut best album. Perfect songs all the way through, a truly orginal sounding band in my opinion, perfect musicianship and stunning vocals. The most powerful album I've heard in a long long time, a true modern classic |
| Radiohead The Bends | 5.0 |
| Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon | 5.0 |
| Pink Floyd Animals | 5.0 |
| Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine | 5.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers One Hot Minute | 5.0 |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here | 5.0 |
| Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head | 5.0 |
| Coldplay Parachutes | 5.0 |
| Radiohead OK Computer | 5.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik | 5.0 |
| Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | 5.0 |
| Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare | 5.0 |
