“Don’t get me wrong though, there’s boys in bands / And kids who like to scrap with pool cues in their hands / And just cause he’s had a coupla cans / He thinks it’s alright to act like a dickhead.”
I do not love the Arctic Monkeys. They have never properly clicked with me. I have never held the same euphoric passion for them that the rest of the country seems to hold with every release. I see a good guitar band who are inventive and experimental to a point, yet for myself, not truly exciting. This will no doubt be met with derision as they hold a fanatical group of followers who regard them as nothing but the greatest band in the world today with constantly evolving and broadening horizons, but it’s the impact they’ve had on me throughout the last 8 years. That is not to say I do not like the Arctic Monkeys. In fact some of their songs I have obsessed over, however with each passing album I have grown less interested in the music they have produced; the charm that did hold me in bursts has gone.
Their first LP will always be their most enjoyable full record, largely as a result of the lyrics. Now Turner has developed into what many see as a modern day poet. He is often lauded as todays’ great lyricist of British indie/rock music, yet within that transformation some of the Arctic Monkeys draw has been lost. Some of the lyrics in Whatever People Say were genuinely funny. They were literal and to a point, and a wonderful insight into a group of lads growing up in Sheffield. There was no metaphorically ambiguity in ‘Riot Van’, just purely Turner saying what happened and how it is. The conversation between the policeman and the band is the perfect illustration of the first AM album, illustrating the cheeky, humorous backbone of the band intertwined with an interesting insight into every day city life, “I’m sorry officer is there a certain age you’re supposed to be / Cause nobody told me / And up rolls the riot van and the lads just wind these coppers up / Asks why they don’t catch proper crooks / Get their address and their names took / But they couldn’t care less.”
Their first album deserved the popularity. Even though I never obsessed over it like others, I can still understand it as one of the great British debuts. They still churn out the same sort of reviews from critics with each release, but every album now feels less personal, more distant. Maybe it’s the fact they’ve relocated, that life in the States is such a different world that one cannot connect to the lyrics in the way you could to the first LP. Whatever the case, AM were most enjoyable when they were four young lads from Sheffield smashing out indie rock. ’I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor’ was the single that brought them to everyone’s attention but the hype had built long before the full record was actually delivered. When it was finally released, it did not disappoint. ‘The View from the Afternoon’, ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’, ‘Dancing Shoes’ and ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ are all exceptional indie songs. ‘Mardy Bum’ and ‘Certain Romance’ are all a class above of even that and should go in a hall of fame of great indie songs. They are catchy, funny and musically invigorating.
They followed this up with the EP Who the Fuck are the Arctic Monkeys?. It’s an EP that got released on the side to limited fanfare yet it holds some of the best music AM have created. ‘Despair in the Departure Lounge’, ‘No Buses’ and the closer ‘Who the Fuck are the Arctic Monkey?’ are all fantastic songs, lyrically coming off the back of Whatever People say…, with the same humorous and relatable charm. ‘Despair in the Departure Lounge’ especially had some of the best lyrics Turner had produced, “There might be telly in the back of the seats in front / but Rodney and Del won’t do / Although it might take your mind off the aches and the pains / Laugh when he falls through the bar / But you’re feeling the same.”
Since then AM have released 4 full records. Favourite Worst Nightmare followed which confirmed their popularity and status, cementing them as NME’s favourite band for the rest of eternity. ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ was the standout single but it was surrounded by some other classics: ‘Old Yellow Bricks’, ‘Do Me a Favour’ and ‘505’ are all great songs. This was also the point that my interest started to wain. In 2007 I saw them perform at Glastonbury, headlining the Friday night. Maybe I was too far away in the crowd, not in the right frame of mind or moment, but the music felt empty and sparse. They did not feel like they could command the vast crowd in front of them, and as a result I lost my connection. Watching their more recent Glastonbury performance online AM looked like they had grown as a live band to a more wholesome sound that could adapt to the size of the stage, something they did not hold in 2007. That’s not to say they were not a good live band before, just the size of the Glastonbury stage came too early in their career, yet in smaller venues around the country at that time they were undoubtedly the band to see.
From then on I can’t claim to be any expert on their music. With every release I get it, listen to it a few times and try to get a grasp of what is on offer, but I can never click with it like I did with some of their earlier stuff and as result never give it my fullest attention. But that in itself is reflective of what the band mean to me. A band should be able to grab you and not let go, yet that is not the case with AM.
Their most recent album AM showed a new direction with dance and hip hop influence in the music that was a welcome, interesting change. Before that Humbug and Suck it and See were released, both more influenced by their time in the States, which reached commercial and critical acclaim yet not quite like before. What the Arctic Monkeys must be lauded for though is their longevity. Whereas the majority of indie bands from the period have crumbled or are producing weak records, they continue to produce consistently lauded LP’s which deserves a huge amount of credit. Moreover their attitude towards the music industry has been consistently refreshing. Their appearances at the BRIT awards, from Wizard of Oz costumes to Alex Turner’s complete mockery of the whole event last year have always been amusing.
Now it is just waiting to see where they go next. They can continue to produce solid, good guitar albums, there is no doubt about that. They even can go down as one of the great, if not the most defining British bands of the last ten years. I once had a lengthy debate with a friend when he tried to claim the Arctic Monkeys as the modern day Beatles, the band of the decade who had the chance to hold that vital contribution to the music industry. I wholeheartedly disagreed and still do as they have not and can not have anywhere near the same kind of influence, however it does highlight the fact that they are at that juncture in their career. The Beatles had an early sound and by half way through their career had completely transformed it into something exciting, challenging and experimental. Now the Arctic Monkeys, with their solid basing, have the chance to do that too and push on to become something more. Whether they will remains to be seen. Though saying that, lingering away is the hope that they might touch upon some of their past in their future too, not forgetting what made them so special in the first place. Time will tell; Alex Turner et al, your move…
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