8/10 Clinton 15 May 2018

Internet outrage! Band makes album that doesn't sound like their other records. Damn them! Unfollow them! Get exceedingly angry at them because you know what? They owe us. They've given us hours of pleasure over 12 years and so they owe us more of the same. Imagine being '70's David Bowie in the age of Twitter? Actually don't.

So whereas everyone is perfectly happy with retread albums by reformed bands and by-numbers discs from the terminally bored then the band that moves forward gets the dogs abuse but you know what? You are wrong. I am not saying that 'Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino' is the best album of this year or that it's their 'Kid A' but it's very interesting indeed. I simply can't see the issues people seem to be having with it having no tunes. It's full of tune and melody they are just not as immediately obvious as looking good on the dancefloor or whatever. It's often intoxicating.. there's bits of Scott Walker, bits of Bowie, Beach Boys, Prefab Sprout (especially 'Jordan: the Comeback') Pulp maybe and yes Arctic Monkeys.

I stuck the album on this morning intent on laughing my way through it but once I started on the brilliant Lambchop meets Prefab Sprout 'Star Treatment' I only lost interest on the final overboard, schmaltzy 'The Ultracheese'. In between you get several unusual tracks that don't dispense with their guitar led sound completely but dial them down in lieu of pianos and 70's cosmic synths that provide a bedrock for a tour de force of lyrical dexterity from Alex Turner. This more stretched out freeform sound gives him carte blanch to go off on all kinds of tangents - many which are hard to grasp on first few listens - just certain lines shine through, other words obscured in a way that you want to go back and hear more to find out where he's actually going with it.

I'm on today's third listen of the record and I still can't wholly figure it out but I know one thing and that's I like it a lot.