Best New Music: Arctic Monkeys "Humbug"

[Tim-Æ]

So after having a few weeks to roll this around, and after hearing them live for the first time a few weeks ago, I've finally decided to way in on the Arctic Monkeys new album "Humbug."

Right off the bat, with "My Propeller" you can tell this is a different Arctic Monkeys album. Whereas the first album was fusing garage rock and punk at its best, the sophomore album was more of a hyper-aggressive acid trip it seemed, this album is more relaxed, with a toned down experimentation from the brit poppers. Does it work? For the most part I'd say yes.

"My Propeller" takes a little bit to get into, the chugging drums at the start help it out considerably. It's a monotonous tone for most of the song, but it does pick up towards the end, and really is a pretty good opener. It rolls right into "Crying Lightning" which is the first single, and unfortunately as of right now, my favorite song off the record. Alex Turner's lyrics are up to par with what they were on FWN and it has one of the best choruses this year. He has a way with words that's for sure, and they are memorable, if not silly sometimes, but thats what makes them fun. There's a reason it was chosen as the first single, as it represents the album as a whole in its 4 minute span. Josh Homme of the Queens of the Stone Age/Eages of Death Metal fame produced over half this record and its quite evident, especially on this song.

Most of the record has that same feeling, and it's a balance really. Some of the songs come off very well I think, even if the lyrics aren't up to par. Such is the case with "Dangerous Animals" which I call the "racing stripes song" because of the line. The chorus is overly silly, but its overshadowed by how fucking good the bass line is, which makes the spelled out chorus more tolerable. "Secret Door" is a mood setter by far, it's a bit of a dragger at times, but it busts out a pretty memorable chorus that smacks of RATM influence, but flows like "Riot Van" from the first record.

The record hits a road block at this point. it's hard to pin point the direction of the middle for me, because it seems to be a little scattered, with nothing really tremendous sticking out in my mind, but it all blends together and seems very repetitive. That's not to say its a bad thing, because really once we delve deeper into the sound, there's classic Turner lines, a fantastic bass, and that Homme produced feel that make "Humbug" a daring experiment. So while the middle of the record stalls a bit, it rebounds at the same time subtlely, especially once it tapers off into the second best track on the album "Pretty Visitors." A classic Monkeys song instantly, it possess all of the ingredients that the band is known for -witty/biting lyrics, a great chorus, and great guitars. It's the most punkish song on here, while "Crying Lightning" is more of a rock song. Both you can feel the influence of Homme which I like.

So the verdict? "Humbug" is a daring experiment for a band that is wiling to take a chance, while not sacrificing what makes them such a unique band. They don't lose points for trying, and the strong points of "humbug" are very strong, and the low points are acceptable. Its a transition, as they try to explore new territory and not fall into the same repetitious flow as most bands in their genre. I think its entirely too short, and outside of "Crying Lightning" and "Pretty Visitors" it lacks a song on par with "Fluourescent Adolescent " or "When the Sun Goes Down." But what it lacks up for in catchiness, it makes up for in memorable crooning and experimentation, something that I'm a big fan of. They try, and while not hitting every nail on the head, they do manage to create a daring album, with some 4 star and 3 star songs.

grade: B+

[Hyde]

Yawn. I just can't listen to it without getting bored. I think they've run their course...

[chunkylover]

IT's a good album for shuffling, I can't listen to it one track after another, I've started shuffling it with the new calvin harris album to stop me getting too down. It's a definate downer album IMO, less cheery anthems than before.