AM
There’s an audacity to the way the Arctic Monkeys\' fifth album gathers disparate musical threads—West Coast hip-hop, heavy ’70s rock—into something that feels so assured, inevitable and outrageously enjoyable. From biker-gang stomp of “Do I Wanna Know?” to the bouncing G-funk of “Why’d You Only Call…”, they turn the sounds of their adopted Californian home into a set of can’t-miss instant classics. Seductive, slinky and brimming with nocturnal attitude, *AM* is the sound of a band locating a sonic sweet spot no one else thought to look for.
Over the last eight years, the Arctic Monkeys have gone from spastic punk, to doomed stoner rock, to sparkling guitar pop, to their fifth album’s skinny-jeaned funk. On AM, the quartet, now based in Los Angeles, offer a paranoid, haunted collection that goes beyond the sweaty clubs and furtive flirts into the hotel rooms, after parties, and bad decisions that can follow.
Smart, randy and touched by genius, the Arctic Monkeys' fifth album is an absolute triumph from start to finish.
Their fifth record in seven years, this is the Arctic Monkeys at their confident, assured best.
As befits a band entering into its second decade of existence, Arctic Monkeys has come a long way from its adrenalized…
More than ever, bands talk up new releases like commission-hungry salesmen but Matt Helders’ contention that album number five is “the album we’ve always been waiting to make” holds water. It’s the drummer’s playing – choppy, industrious, a synthetic-sounding snare underpinning a new-found groove – that defines AM as much as the snaking riffs and Alex Turner’s wordplay.
Arctic Monkeys have come a long way since their debut LP Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not dropped. Back in 2006 they were four fresh-faced Sheffield kids dousing snappy, colloquial couplets over irresistible hooks.
Album review: Clash covers 'AM', the fifth record from Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys, finding the famous four-piece on wickedly thrilling form...
<p>With its nods to 90s G-funk and rocker Josh Homme, Arctic Monkeys' fifth album is their best in years, writes <strong>Phil Mongredien</strong></p>
Arctic Monkeys’ AM is a carefully written and produced effort about the desultory careen of youth.
Arctic Monkeys "AM" reviewed for Northern Transmissions by Matt Dwyer. "AM" will be released on 9/10th on Domino. The first single is "Do I wanna Know".
Arctic Monkeys' fifth album finds a happy midpoint between their recent stylistic diversions and puts back some of the fun factor, too, writes <strong>Tim Jonze</strong>
2013 was yet another year when hip hop added a bit of punch to old rockers. Elvis Costello had a crack at his own distinctive version of rap on Wise Up Ghost, while Arctic Monkeys' fifth album successfully fused Alex Turner's recent fondness for Dr Dre with his enduring affection for homegrown turns of phrase and in particular northern words such as "shite".