2006 may not seem far away in the context of things but it seems like a lifetime ago when Yorkshire four piece Arctic Monkeys broke away from their rapid rise on MySpace to conquer the British charts with arguably one of the best debut albums of the past decade.
Evoking the lyrical styling’s of Jarvis Cocker with punchy basslines, thunderous drums and easy on the ears guitars, NME’s newest messiah’s looked set to conquer music and finally save rock and roll (despite The Strokes accomplishing this feat only five years earlier).
And while they’re not the best live band (actually scratch that, FAR from the best live band), a year later they released their follow up Favourite Worst Nightmare, which while terrifying a substantial amount of their fanbase for changing their sound (more on that irony later), FWN was a surprisingly good follow up album, one which I personally think surpasses Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.
So, in the space of over a year, the band somehow had established itself as a favourite of mine and countless others and I eagerly awaited what their next evolution would bring. Unfortunately, this evolution spouted numerous unnecessary limbs and brought the former beast to a slow halt, drooling away like it’d been given too many hits of stupidity.
Humbug (named after a sweet which you ironically suck or an ole English term for something fraudulent) changed this once energetic, youthful band into Sheffield’s equivalent of Queens of the Stone Age. Gone were the punchy basslines and thunderous drumming, instead replaced with slow, generic stoner rock which would require a bong the size of a tower block to get any sort of enjoyment. Gone were the innuendo filled yet creative lyrics, replaced with clangers such as “Which came first; the chicken or the dickhead?” A lyric neither big nor clever; but incredibly stupid.
Whilst FWN took a while to accept it for the masterpiece it was and terrified those who didn’t immediately get it, Humbug still infuriates me to this day and looked like a death knell. Although there were glimmers of hope (Dance Little Liar, Crying Lightning and Dangerous Animals were standouts), the band’s new direction was, simply put, boring.
Two years later, the band returned by “leaking” Brick by Brick, a song built for sing-a-longs but lacking any cohesion and was quite generic. So naturally I presumed Humbug 2 was on the cards and the band would go the way of Kaiser Chiefs or Hard-Fi.
Then, all was fine again with the release of Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair. Although still lacking the social observations of yesteryear and instead featuring random statements that happened to rhyme (including “Go into business with a grizzly bear”), the track was a roaring beast with loud guitars, short but sweet riffs and a welcome return to form whilst being something new.
So with cautious optimism, the aptly title Suck It and See leaked (as all Arctic Monkey albums do) a month early and I hoped for something good. Thankfully, it is a good album, miles better than Humbug and possibly up there with their first two.
For the most part, the dreary, generic sounds of Humbug is replaced with a amalgamation of all three albums prior(although if anything, it sounds far more in common with FWN). For those who want something to headbang to, Library Pictures is two minutes of pure fun. Stupidly fast with Turner’s vocals crooning playfully along before shouting at himself for being indecisive.
For those who want something a bit steadier with more of a flavour to the tracks on Humbug, Black Treacle and The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala brings a return of the social commentary with nice backing tracks which while not too creative, are nice enough. Think Florescent Adolescent, except not getting tedious after a single listen.
For those who want something a bit slower and dramatic (like Only Ones Who Know or Riot Van), Piledriver Waltz is your answer with Turner vocals lament on easing a difficult situation with an almost operatic backing from the band. It’s obviously more complete and fuller than the previous incarnation fount on the Submarine EP and much better for it.
Arguably Humbug’s biggest sins was the lack of a decent finalé, thankfully Suck It and See continues the proud tradition. First is the titular track, a lovely pop melody with possibly one of the best lyrics to be spouted from Turner. It’s in the same vein as Cornerstone last year but has a lot more longevity and is easier on the ears.
Finally this brings us to our triumphant conclusion with That’s Where Your Wrong. Similar musically to A Certain Romance but slightly shorter, our downtrodden protagonist recounts moments of vulnerability as guitars play out an enjoyable four minute suite which is probably the album’s best song.
When all is said and done, Suck It and See is a highly recommended and enjoyable album that brings the Sheffield foursome back to their routes while incorporating their trip to the states on weed and Josh Homme into a groovy bend of mixing the dregs of society with strange yet funny imagery backed with loud, focused guitar riffs and catchy bass and percussion.
Whilst the days of seeing the band get to number one by singing about downtrodden prostitutes, fights at night clubs or a strange man called Brian maybe over, the album is a welcome return to form from a band that some may argue never dipped in quality in the first place.
Suck It and See, you may just learn to love it.
8/10
H
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