Bah! Humbug?

BFF member Jericho takes a look at the latest Arctic Monkeys album.

"Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment..." were the first words from Alex Turner on the much-anticipated Arctic Monkeys debut album, Whatever People Say, That's What I'm Not released four years ago. Fortunately, the debut did not disappoint but it set a trend for anticipation for Arctic Monkeys records that would continue to their follow-up effort Favourite Worst Nightmare released two years ago. That record also pulled of the trick and success of their debut.

Two years later the question is can they repeat the trick at the third time of asking? The short answer is no. They've gone for a completely different trick altogether. The fast, furious pounding of guitars and catchy, loud and abrasive sound that characterised the first two records is gone. It's a risky move. After all, they could have come up with pretty much the same album as either one of the last two and the music media and fans would have lapped it all up. Sure, there would've been a small contingent asking for change. Well, now there's going to be a large contingent asking "who the f**k are (these) Arctic Monkeys?"

Let's get straight to it. If you loved the previous Arctic Monkeys, your love is going to be tested to the limit. This is a heavier, less lyrical and more produced album than you could have imagined. The question though is, is it any good? Well let's take a look, shall we?

The album is relatively short (just 10 songs) so it's easy to do a track by track review.

My Propeller - There's a heavy isolated bass line in the background with Alex Turner's vocals all dark and brooding. This is pretty much what Humbug is. Dark and brooding and heavy bass. For an opening song, this never takes really off and is a limp start for the record... what it does is tell you that the old Monkeys sound is gone. There is no frenetic pounding of guitars or sneering vocals. It also feels weirdly tongue in cheek.

Crying Lightning - This song hints at how good this new Arctic Monkeys sound could be if done well. It's also pretty pedestrian until the second chorus when it comes to life but just as it took off, it dies down and then something like a solo (which have never been a major feature on previous Monkeys' records) creeps in before the song is bridged and then rouses joyously back to life. One of the more obvious singles on the album.

Dangerous Animals - This is the last time I'm going to use the word heavy (yes, this one also sounds heavy. I also noticed the drumming is also a lot heavier than I've heard from them before). For a number of reasons, this is the worst song on the album. Alex Turner is far too good a song-writer to use such cheap tricks as to spell lyrics and here he does it twice (he spells D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S and A-N-I-M-A-L-S) Seriously. Nothing says we couldn't be arsed quite like spelling your lyrics. It is not excusable.

Secret Door - A slower song than the previous lot and a more conventional drum and bass pattern. In the background there's what sounds like more solos from either Jamie or Alex. It's also the best song so far. Things are starting to look up.

Potion Approaching - The intro and verse sounds more like the Arctics than any other song. By now I've started to notice how often Alex is using the first person singular and plural form (there's a lot of "I", "me" "we"). Is it self-indulgence? I can't quite tell as he's never been as obnoxious as other rock frontmen but I'm surprised that I've noticed that. I can't quite shake the feeling that is a filler track. It's also a bit dull and overwrought with guitar effects.

Fire and Thud - This is a bit like the opener, My Propeller. There's a chugging percussive effect to the song that again is unexpected for the Arctic Monkeys. There's a nice melody here but it's being buried by the background guitar which seems very loud. Another guitar solo/effect comes in towards the end but does little to pick up the pace or bring in any spark.

Cornerstone - There's an instant familiarity about this tune. It's very produced and effects laden but it is the most interesting song by far. It's my favourite song on the album although I can't quite shake the feeling this song was left over from the Favourite Worst Nightmare recording sessions. Yeah, I like this a lot.

Dance Little Liar - Another guitar driven intro with someone picking out the same note repetitively which carries on into the song. The thing with the previous Arctic Monkeys song is that they tried to make every song different whether it was in length or tempo but this record is all pretty much one paced (slow) with occasional kick-ups in tempo. There's a welcome upping of the tempo towards the end of the song. This is one of the better songs on the album.

Pretty Visitors - There's bell, horn or whatever intro (weird) and BEHOLD...the Arctic Monkeys! (well, for all of 30 seconds). I think this is the kind of song they wanted this album to sound like. And for a while there they have it. And it is good but here's a quick and constant change of tempo. There are moments here that suggest this could have been a great album but there's just so much emphasis on mood and atmosphere and heavy bass and drumming that at times it just lacks spark and bite (I never thought I would say that about the Arctic Monkeys but there you go).

The Jeweller's Hands - The final song. Another slow song. Not terribly memorable for a closer. Well, when you consider that their previous album closers were 505 and A Certain Romance. As the album is winding down I noticed the tracks seem to be more or less the same length.

So there we are. It's definitely not I would have expected but I suppose its natural that musicians grow tired of doing the same thing all the time. Well, some grow tired. Others stick to a successful formula for all its worth. Not so Alex Turner and his friends. They've ditched the local stories and immediacy of past efforts for a more studied sound. In a way its too be expected. It happens to all rock bands. At first, they write about their friends and towns. They make it big, get rich, move to a bigger town and find it hard to write songs like they used to. Older fans get turned off, band makes more money by appealing to a broader audience and the cycle is repeated again after a few years.

I'm not saying that's what happened here but if you look back, Whatever People Say was a casual and at times funny observation of average small town life. It was engaging and unassuming and was accompanied by sharp lyrics and punky guitars. Favourite Worst Nightmare was more of the same except there was a noticeable change in the sound and lyrics which were both more menacing and much faster than before. Whereas before we'd been told of "kids who like to scrap with pool cues in their hands" and asking "can't we just laugh and joke around" Alex's words were more scathing "Already thick and you're getting thicker" and "perhaps f**k off might be too kind" The Monkeys seemed to be having less fun and life wasn't just full of fake tales of San Francisco. It was about failure, lost love, longing for the past and bleak outlook for the future. You could almost see them not ever going back to the jaunty innocence of View From The Afternoon or A Certain Romance.

The first two records were punchy, and easily digestible. This record is neither of those. It seems like it was written with express intention to fore-go all previous Arctic Monkeys material. It's a pity but it was bound to happen. It'll be interesting to see how this is received but I can see quite a few people being put off by it. I've seen them play this new material live and I can not say it came off particularly well. Others disagreed but I was not overly impressed but I'm not worried about them in the long-term. I think Humbug will be a once off indulgence that will unshackle them from people's expectations and allow them to be a better band for it. This is a band that pulled off one of the catchiest, punchiest and most memorable songs in recent history (Fluorescent Adolescent) out of their asses like they have a million songs like that they could write if they felt like it. I'm all in favour of the new and exotic but Humbug doesn't quite reach the heights it could have done but there's plenty to admire even if the heavy sound bogs everything down too often.

My final thought is that this album would be more acceptable and celebrated as a side project but as an Arctic Monkeys record it just falls short of their previous (very high) mark. Maybe it was what they wanted.

6.5/10