Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (Domino)

After easily dealing with that so-called difficult second album, the decade's most exciting British band must now tackle what's proved recently to be the much harder third album for many bands. At the exact same point of their career (3 albums, 3 years) Oasis hit the buffers, in a haze of over-indulgence and no tunes.

All's well at the start where you can almost smell the sweat and cigarettes of the saloon as the album arrives like a bunch of Sheffield lads walking into a Western film set. 'My Propeller' twangs away over heavy drums with the innuendo ("have a spin on my propeller") matching the dirty sounding music.

First single 'Crying Lightning' follows with its thumping bass and drum intro and there again is that twanging guitar over a story of someone eating pick n mix and having "pastimes of the strange, twisted and de-ranged". 'Cornerstone' is a delicious stroll around a series of bars, with a cute lyrical twist. Not too dissimilar is 'Dance Little Liar', which is one of a few tracks closely related to The Last Shadow Puppets material.

Those are the positives. But thereafter there's a lack of ideas. 'Dangerous Animals' sounds like a 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' B-side at best. 'Potion Approaching' and 'Pretty Visitors' aren't even that good. They are loud but not very attractive. Slower tracks 'Fire And The Thud' and 'The Jeweller's Hand' are OK but just a little uninteresting.

The mark of Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age is clearly evident, and he co-produces with James Ford. But the music has a muddy feel and while 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' was almost too polished, this is the antithesis. The life's been squeezed out of the music.

There are still some lovely lyrics ("You should have racing stripes/The way you keep me in pursuit") and Alex Turner's voice has matured, sounding more soulful. But the excitement has gone. It's almost too predictable. Three minute songs used to pass by in a flash of brilliance, now they drag.

So while 'Humbug' is no 'Be Here Now', it falls well short of the standards Turner has set himself. It's like Manchester United losing two of three Premier League matches mid-season. The chasing pack can suddenly see a glimmer of hope. Let's see if any of them can close the gap.

Rating: 3/5

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Artist: Arctic Monkeys Title: Humbug Released: 25/08/2009 Buy Now \| View Details	Artist: Arctic Monkeys Title: Whatever People Say.. Released: 21/02/2006 Buy Now \| View Details

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YOUR COMMENTS

Ryan in Salisbury writes...
Be Here Now is a quality album!

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STORY DETAILS

Published: 04/08/2009 at 12:40
Author: David Spencer
Links: Permanent Link