Blimey, when did the Arctic Monkeys get so sultry? AM, their 5th studio album is definitely a grown up step from their usual brand of indie rock mischievousness. That said, AM is distinctly the Arctic Monkeys; from the laconic Sheffield drawl of frontman Alex Turner, the too clever by halves lyrics and that dependable, but nothing less than brilliant, rhythm section. Confidence is high in the band, and it’s absolutely understandable.
From the downright dirty opening riff to ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ to the perfect booty call tune ‘Why’d you Only Call me When you’re High?’, AM is utterly glorious. “One for the Road” offers a bit of Yorkshire hip hop that shouldn’t work but really does and the odd dip back into Queens of the Stone Age inspired rawk (“Arabella”) sounds far more convincing than it did during the “Humbug” era.
’I Wanna be Yours’ is gorgeous ending; a John Cooper Clarke poem set to music and sang with a real depth of emotion by Alex Turner. John Cooper Clarke turned him onto poetry at school; it’s nice to think the Arctic Monkeys may help turn a generation onto poetry with those consistently smart and warm lyrics. A welcome return from the Arctic Monkeys; AM is sexy and confident but more importantly has the musical goods to back it up.
