This is the kind of music your parents warned you about. At least in the 1950s they did.
The Arctic Monkeys’ appropriately-named album, AM, has brought back the hype-worthy music the band from Sheffield created five albums ago. However, their new sound has done a 180 from their former angst-filled, sex-driven, rough guitar music that led to their record-breaking sellout time.
The band’s front man Alex Turner has turned into a real James Dean by trading his Britpop mop-top ‘do for a more refined quiff. No longer singing lyrics such as “the boys a slag, the best you’ve ever had,” as he did in his song “Flourescent Adolescent,” Turner has become a lyric powerhouse. Now in a cool tone, he sings lyrics like “Arabella’s got some interstellar gator skin boots, and a Helter Skelter ’round her little finger and I ride it endlessly.” This beautiful line comes from the fourth track on the album, “Arabella,” which is a perfect embodiment of the essence of this album: a cacophony of sin-soaked debauchery and love-laced inquiries.
Influenced by West Coast hip hop performers such as Dr. Dre, the British boys, who recently moved to LA, have become true rockstars. Although the band’s new album is a far cry from their 2009 album Humbug, AM still maintains the signature tone and artistry that the Arctic Monkeys have always possessed, proving that maturity and hard work can result in a masterpiece, like the unique video of one of the album’s tracks, “Do I Wanna Know?”
I urge you to listen and enjoy, for although some may criticize the album as straying too far from their signature image, this change definitely appeals to the more modern masses on both sids of the pond and seems to be a step in the right direction.