So tell me what do you want when you’ve got it all? OK, I’m (badly) paraphrasing some equally iconic contemporaries of THE ARCTIC MONKEYS, but that line from The Libertines’ ‘Time for Heroes’ seems especially apt when considering t’Arctics’ continued existence circa 2011.
Because, on paper, it’s hard to see what more Alex Turner and his mates can achieve now their reputation is assured in Rock’n’Roll’s hallowed annals. Let’s begin by re-visiting their CV for a second, shall we? Widely renowned as The Beatles of the MySpace generation, they recorded one of the most-anticipated debut albums of all time (‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’), conquered the UK and got their teeth stuck into America. With the nearly as fine follow-up ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ came the transition to playing arenas, football stadiums (and the occasional cricket ground) and then there was Alex’s surprise turn for the left-field and the critically-acclaimed Last Shadow Puppets album with new collaborator Miles Kane.
The temptation must have been to go all ‘Be Here Now’ on us, but for their third album ‘Humbug’, t’Arctics raised a few eyebrows, heading to California to check in to the legendary Joshua Tree Motel and getting Josh Homme in to produce. Many may have feared a muscle-bound QOTS-style re-invention, but while some of the tracks (‘Crying Lightning’, ‘Pretty Visitors’) were perhaps more San Diego than Sheffield in spirit, the record also gazed out upon the widescreen vista of the Last Shadow Puppets album and displayed an admirable desire to stretch. A brave move when the world’s at your feet and simply doing more of the same would have sufficed.
Thus, it’s to their credit that The Arctic Monkeys still sound hungry for the road ahead. Album number four ‘Suck It And See’ again finds them back in California, but in the more urban environs of the legendary Sound City Studios (where ‘Nevermind’ was recorded) with producer James Ford and the good news is that for significant portions of it they seem to have ripped up the rule book and just plumped for the most bitchin’- yet wonderfully idiosyncratic - Rock’n’Roll sounds they can muster.
Despite its’ title, there’s nothing tentative about ‘Suck It And See.’ Yes, some of the harder-edged aspects of ‘Humbug’ remain – check out the looming, Nirvana-esque riff logic of the single ‘Don’t Sit Down, ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ for starters – and there are a couple of tracks (‘Brick By Brick’, the quixotic ‘Library Pictures’) which could easily be construed as ‘fillers’, but for the most part of this gear’s still enviably relevant and life-affirming.
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While he’s hardly morphed into Mark E Smith, some of Turner’s lyrics are rather more oblique these days. I haven’t the foggiest what ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalala’ is all about, while the fractured psych-pop of ‘Piledriver Waltz’ is also intriguingly ‘out there’. Both are hugely enjoyable, however, as is the taut and tense ‘All My Own Stunts’ where Turner paints a suitably underwhelmed lyrical portrait (“been watching cowboy films on gloomy afternoons”) of a young man who’s travelled around the world only to discover much of it’s essentially the same wherever you go.
Hearteningly, the sparky guitar pop married to razor sharp lyrical wisdom that attracted us to the Arctic Monkeys in the first place remains alive and in the rudest of health. Songs like ‘Black Treacle’ (“do you walk the walk or catch the train?”) and swaggering, love-struck ‘Reckless Serenade’ (“called up to listen to the voice of reason and got the answering machine”) are brilliant, quintessential Arctics, while the spangly, 60s swoosh of the title track and the grand-standing finale ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’ both find Alex falling foul of the most fatale of femmes, yet sounding utterly heroic as his heart’s repeatedly pierced by cupid’s arrows.
Whether we like it or not, the Arctic Monkeys are now an established, big league band and this album will be promoted by big shows in large venues which will probably sell out even in these precarious economic times. The days when buying their latest felt like winning one of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets may have faded into history, yet ‘Suck It And See’ should still come with a health warning for releasing some of the most addictive pop flavours around. One nibble and you’re nobbled yet again.
Arctic Monkeys online
Domino Records online
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