This month British rock group Arctic Monkeys released their fifth studio album, “AM”, on Domino records.
“This new record is us raising the bar as recording artists, whereas over the last few years we’ve raised the bar as a live band,” said Alex Turner, the band’s front man, in an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph.
When Arctic Monkeys released their debut album “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” in 2006 it’s success elevated them from a Sheffield indie rock band to one of Britain’s and the world’s most prominent names in rock music. Their second album “Favorite Worst Nightmare”, released in 2007, quickly followed the success of the band’s debut album.
Seven years after the bands initial rise to fame Arctic Monkeys are still making high-energy rock music, only now they’ve traded their hoodie-wearing and underage-drinking style for pomaded hair and leather jackets. “AM”, Arctic Monkey’s sleekly self-titled new release, sounds like the band has worked out their new approach to harder rock that at times fell flat on previous LPs “Humbug” (2009) and “Suck It And See” (2011).
The opening track and second single from the new album “Do I Wanna Know?” synthesizes crunch guitar tones with layered harmonies that give the music both a sense of rough-and-tumble action as well as ethereal calm. The whole album carries itself with a sense of purpose and elegance, showing that Arctic Monkeys are still as relevant and cool in 2013 as they were in 2006.
I’d highly recommend checking out the new album and listening to older ones as well if you’re new to the band.