4 stars out of 5

The Arctic Monkeys have moved from the slick easy listening rock of AM to a more intelligent world in which Alex Turner is always sniggering

“I just wanted to be one of the strokes” sings Alex Turner at the opening of the Arctic Monkey’s sixth studio album. “Now look at the mess you made me make”. With their first album heavily influenced by The Strokes, it is almost as if he is blaming them for the Monkey’s subsequent rise to rock stardom, a level of stardom which is unequalled by any of their peers.

One of the reasons for this may be the evolution the band have made, an evolution that has travelled a much greater distance than any other bands in recent history. If a non-listener heard the debut album and the newest release they would seem unrecognisable. Their image has followed this trend, their overcoats resemble film characters and look completely different from the stylised theme of AM, let alone the scrappy polo shirts of 2006.

Although a completely different sound from any other Monkey’s record, some of the lyrics are strangely reminiscent of Turner’s early songwriting. Not necessarily in content but in brashness and simplicity. “I’m so full of shite” recalls memories of the songs about nights out from the early records and the Sheffield accent seems much more prominent than other recent albums whilst “Dance as if somebody’s watching because they are” uses simple structure a – and is perhaps hinting at social media in modern society?

Mind you, the lyrics are hardly simple throughout. With many technological and outer space references being made that almost sound Bowie like. The romantic delicacy of Golden Trunks sounds like an old classic. The move from guitar heavy tunes to piano work allows Turner to deliver his one liners with more potency: “what do you mean you’ve never seen Bladerunner”. Although, solos in One Point Perspective and She Looks Like Fun show the band are still capable of outstanding guitar work.

The Ultracheese closes the album perfectly, a ballad that twists and turns and sees Turner break the 4th wall with lyrics about writing the song: “What a death I died writing that song”. An aspect that is not limited to one song as Science Fiction sees him sing “I want to make a simple point about peace and love but in a sexy way where it’s not obvious”. The soft but shattering acapella scream that closes album begs the question of whether the introduction of or the conclusion of the record is better.

Many are disappointed with the album, the fan pleasing stadium album AM seems long gone despite it only being one album ago. Despite the album being labelled as gloomy by some, Turner’s evolution as a songwriter and the band’s overall progress since thrashing tunes like A Certain Romance perhaps show why they are in a league of their own in the indie world.

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