Considering their previous successes, the third album from Arctic Monkeys had a lot to live up to. Humbug, co produced by Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, sounds a lot darker and grown up than earlier offerings from the Sheffield quartet.
It seems Homme encouraged the band to venture beyond their usual punky, aggressive impulses. The album kicks off with, My Propeller, guided along by hypnotic guitar and bass riffs, as well as ghostly backing vocals, nothing amazing, just a good song that seems to serve as an extended introduction to the next track.
Crying Lightning, their first single which has been released from the album is a great song, with the building tempo and tension finding release during the driving, catchy chorus. The band’s twisty-turny riffing is supremely honed on Dangerous Animals and Potion Approaching, the closest approximation to the old Arctic Monkeys.
If there’s to be one let down track on the album then its Fire and the Thud, even with the sultry Alison Mosshart’s backing vocals it’s a bit lacklustre and boring.
Cornerstone is great from the start, blending the evocative keyboards and soaring arrangements with Turner’s cheeky lyrics it’s light-hearted, chilled and a definite hit. This is followed by Dance Little Liar which is another great song, dark and low, builds up nicely to its conclusion with machine gun like guitar riffs from Turner and Jamie Cook.
The rapid, fiery tempo-changes of Pretty Visitors are nothing short of exhilarating. The album concludes on an eerie, sinister note with the dark, twisted song, Jewellers Hands.
Humbug is an unpredictable but mesmerising album that sees Arctic Monkeys being pulled in quite a few musical directions but also sees them return with their most thought-provoking, intelligent release to date.
Track listing:
1. My Propeller
2. Crying Lightning
3. Dangerous Animals
4. Secret Door
5. Potion Approaching
6. Fire & The Thud
7. Cornerstone
8. Dance Little Liar
9. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller's Hands
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment