Could AM end up being just OK or even BS?
 |
| Look me in the eye and tell me this artwork isn't exciting. Go on. Oh...you managed it. |
The Arctic Monkeys are a band arguably at the pinnacle of their powers. Headlining Glastonbury is no mean feat. At the time of their fifth album's release, we find
Elvis Alex Turner and his fellow Monkeys fully integrated into their new roles as slick-haired and leather-garbed desert rockers, thanks mostly to Josh Homme. I'm sure despondency with Sheffield life had an impact too, mind. The transition's been a fairly lengthy one, spanning 2009's Humbug and 2011's Suck It And See - both of which are genuinely two of my favourite albums of all time. No pressure then, chaps. AM (nomenclature inspired by The Velvet Underground's VU) supposedly bears the marks of influence from certain areas of hip-hop and r 'n' b, would you believe - with Alex Turner mentioning the likes of Dr Dre (with beats being a fitting emphasis) in his pre-release interviews. Interesting,
huh? Sort of. Much like a lot of the hype and marketing surrounding this album, I'm bored of the build-up - so let's just get going.
Opening with lead single proper, Do I Wanna Know, the outlook's mighty fine. I think I'm going to dub this track's genre as stomping hip-hop rock 'n' roll; or stomp rock 'n' hop for short.
Needs a bit of work, sure... It's punchy, the riff (and Alex's quiff) is excellent, and Alex Turner's lyrical licks are sounding crisper, smoother, and better than ever. "Been wonderin' if your heart's still open and if so I wanna know what time it shuts" and the way it effortlessly rolls of the tongue is an absolute classic of a line. However, the same can't be said for the rest of the record. There's a few real stinkers scattered across the 40mins approx of tunes. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but more lyrics fall flat than you'd expect from such an experienced modern song-writer on such a high profile release. Maybe we'll touch on that a little more later. The crucial thing is that AM delivers a brilliant opening track, but does it set the scene? Unfortunately, I can't help but feel as though Do I Wanna Know signals a painfully premature peak of all-round quality on AM. 2nd track and technical debut single, first released just after the Suck It And See sessions, R U Mine? is (pretty much) just as good as it ever was, so you could argue that the scene is indeed set by Do I Wanna Know - but only if you're particularly short sighted. The reason I say 'pretty much just as good' is because I'm sure this album version is different from the original in a couple of super subtle ways. I can't quite explain it, but I just seem to prefer the first recording. I'll look a right tit if they turn out to be totally identical.
Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? (why so many questions?) is the true second single, and it offers up another delectable beat to chow down on. There's not much else to eat here to be fair, as it's a pretty bare-bones track. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it displays some worryingly uninspired song-writing. Not lyrically, but musically. It's just a tad bland and shares uncomfortable similarities with other tracks on the album, which just so happens to be a recurring theme on AM. It's far from relentless, but there's a definite lack of ideas here. Bizarre really, considering the imaginative nature of the genre bending going on. While I'm on a bit of a moaning roll, I'd best get another negative point out of the way. For the most part I really enjoy Matt Helders' falsetto backing vocals, but boy do they begin to grate at times. It's an asset that the Arctic Monkeys undeniably possess, but which should have been used in more canny moderation. I must admit that this is only a minor gripe, but it's a gripe all the same.
I'm aware that my attentions have been mostly focussed on the singles thus far, but the simple reason is that AM's album tracks really aren't anything special. Bursting into quick-fire mode, One For The Road is a perfect example of guitar-work and vocal hooks coming across pretty drab and repetitive, rather than sounding edgy as was likely intended. Bluesy. Boring. The melody is also suspiciously familiar in places. Arabella's much the same, with some recycled lyrical themes. I Want It All (there's a lot of wanting going on on this record...which is rather fitting, because there's a lot left to be desired) has the band doing their very best impression of The Black Keys. It's got yet another cool beat, but their impression turns out to not be entirely convincing, and there's not much else to say.
Number One Party Anthem certainly isn't what you'd expect having read the title, and it's rather nice indeed. It's a basic love song, but the pleasant change of pace and style is positioned perfectly on the track-list. A much needed improvement. It really is refreshingly enjoyable, but before you know it it'll have already whistled by on the breeze, ready for the next track to be lined up to bore you. Let me assure you, the sounds found on Mad Sounds are in no way, shape or form anything approaching 'mad'. I'd say towards the end it's actually quite oddly reminiscent of Radiohead's classic No Surprises. We're not quite hitting those heights here, mind. Once more, the song's title is borderline ironic. Once more, it's a nice enough track. Once more, it'll be gone before you've even fully realised it was present. However, this time you'll be glad that its existence was fleeting. Mad Sounds warmly does very,
very little.
Time to re-engage quick-fire mode for one final song, I'm afraid. Fireside opens promisingly, but turns out to be yet another plain plod. 'Fineside' would have been more appropriate. Ha. Snap Out Of It is a definite high point on the album - not just because it's surprisingly upbeat. I was quite taken aback by its tone, in all honesty. It's just very satisfyingly chirpy and...ahem...plinky plonky. Bonus points are also earned for its good use of handclaps, but yet again it's not exactly anything special. Granted, not every track's got to be a barn-stormer, but the genius has got to come from somewhere if an album's going to be scored highly. You can see where this is going. Knee Socks is another album track that just about holds its head above the astonishing levels of mediocrity plaguing elsewhere. Josh Homme - new-found mentor and best bud of the band - supplies some distinctive backing vocals on this song, as well as on the aforementioned One For The Road. In both cases, his contribution is brief but predictably effective. Extra kudos goes to Turner for lyrical gems such as "you're kissing to cut through the gloom with a cough-drop coloured tongue."
11 down, 1 to go. It hurts me that I'm approaching an Arctic Monkeys review like this, but I can't hide my gut(ted) reaction. I'm a big fan of closing tracks defining an album and therefore lifting its overall score, which is why my disappointment has to bloody go on and bloody continue. Bloody bloody bloody. I Wanna Be Yours is frankly too close to being throwaway tripe for comfort. I totally get what it's trying to portray with its unorthodox analogies and desperate heartfelt pleas, but desperate really is the operative word here. You've got to feel sorry for whoever it is he's crooning to with the intention of persuading her to be his owner. "I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours". We get the picture. I'm just not feeling it, which is such a shame; or a sh
AMe, even, because it's not all that far off being a decent bookend. I'm sick of having to be so disappointed. Having begun with Do I Wanna Know's stylistic and extravagant motor racing imagery (in the official music video), AM chugs across the line with a misfiring whimper.
No prizes for guessing how I'm going to evaluate it, then. As alluded to earlier, AM is by no means a terrible effort. It's very self-assured in trying something new, but ultimately it just can't shake its slight whiff of vanilla. From a band that has consistently delivered time and time again, it couldn't be more of a system shock. It's fairly robust, it's coherent and cohesive, and it flows fine - but that's precisely the problem. AM would be (and is) a worryingly good album to stick on in the background and not pay too much attention to, and the band deserves better. The Arctic Monkeys are evidently talented, but here they've faltered quite badly when held up side by side against their previous works. Their streak of releasing increasingly high quality albums is over - this is undoubtedly their weakest LP to date. Be wary of the hype.
6.5/10
.png)
