The Second Coming - Again! (Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys
Date:	28/04/07 (520 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More of the band at their best and some great ballads

Disadvantages: Uneven at times

If the Arctic Monkeys were an Internet site they’d be considered version type 2.0 these days. With a reputation forged on the Web and a following garnered from hearsay and rumour, the four-piece from Sheffield arrived in the big time some little while ago now to wide-spread critical acclaim. Having established a business model for fledgling bands hoping to break into the big time via MySpace and the like, no longer can the Yorkshire-ites be considered underground but, with that, brings bigger challenges and even bolder ambition. “Whatever They Say I Am, That's What I'm Not” became the fastest-selling debut album in UK music history, spawning two number 1 singles and winning the Mercury music Prize as the industry proclaimed the second coming akin to The Beatles. With a raucous mix of observational storytelling, clashing guitars and vocals that emphasises rather than dims local accents, there’s no doubt that the Arctic Monkeys have captured populist imagination. So when their latest album “Favourite Worst Nightmare” was released (originally in Japan earlier in April) recently then I, along with millions of others, just had to go and see if the band could maintain or enhance their currently iconic status. It’s hard to have avoided the success of the boys from the shire but if you still don’t know who they are then the band is fronted by singer and guitarist Alex Turner, drummer Matthew Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and Andy Nicholson on bass.

“Favourite Worst Nightmare” is the second studio album by the Sheffield indie rock band recorded in East London's Miloco Studios with "new rave" producer James Ford built on the release of the first single from it called "Brianstorm". Short and punchy with a typical sub 3-minute run time, the opening track and single is a fast-paced rock track with uncompromising lyrics and an anthemic quality. It’s a shout from a roof top and a strong introduction albeit hardly their best work being about a T-shirt- and tie-wearing industry creep the band met in Japan . Driven by their experiences of traveling the globe built on phenomenal success, the album is intended as a more adventurous, expansive piece of work this time around, moving away from the humdrumdom of life in urban Yorkshire to a more rounded experience. With a thinly veiled pop at Kate Moss for coming on to Turner through "Do Me a favour" you start to realise that the self-assuredness of the group has increased over time and borders on swagger given their lofty status on the elevated indie circuit. Personally, I always thought it would be hard to top tracks like “Mardy Bum” and “Riot Van” which appealed to the teenage angst so common in musical rebellion. Still, lead singer Alex Turner appears to have matured with a real longing to pen a serious love song and we see that in snatches on the latest album and, in particular, with the closing track “505”.

Things do take off with "Teddy Picker" allegedly a scornful attack on "professional pretenders“ and veering into Just Jack territory with sentiments along the lines of “Stars in Their Eyes”. It’s a funky, melodic track that whiffs a little of hypocrisy or at least songs along these lines always seem somewhat divisive given their own success. “D is For Dangerous” features the words from the album title, escalating into another powerful rock track sounding like a cross between Oasis and the latest darlings of the music industry - Klaxons. That familiar dance beat is present with a flourish that makes the Arctic Monkeys so accessible and such fun when listened to on a night out. Other highpoints include the wonderful “Fluorescent Adolescent”, “Only Ones Who Know”, “Do Me a Favour” and the outstanding “505”. “Fluorescent Adolescent” bounces along with a catchy dynamic and borderline Turner rapping as we stay feet on ground driven by the chorus “Oh the boy's a slag/The best you ever had/The best you ever had/Is just a memory and those dreams/But as daft as they seem/As daft as they seem/My love when you dream them up…” This is the Arctic Monkeys at their poetic best both with great lyrics and a great song.

Whilst all too brief, “Only Ones Who Know” is a downbeat ballad, almost Roy Orbison-esque, that shows the reflective Turner showing an emotional maturity that comes with age. The song travels into Doves land with a haunting balled criss-crossed with a lilting guitar riff and Turner hugging the mike in a restrained, beautiful rock song stripped from a US 50’s dance hall. “505” features a sample from the Ennio Morricone' organ from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” and it’s when the band drift into this and other ballads that the album transcends the ordinary and takes things on from the first album. With inspiration presumably drawn from the Rolling Stones’ adventures with “Flight 505” all those years ago, Arctic Monkeys are never better than when crooning with an old-fashioned song straight from the heart. “ I'm going back to 505/If its a 7 hour flight or a 45 minute drive/In my imagination you're waiting lying on your side/With your hands between your thighs.” If you were being harsh, you could accuse the band of being a little uneven with the album. The mood changes from one track to another which, in itself, isn’t a problem but tracks like “This House is a Circus” and its bass groove along with “Old Yellow Bricks” and its choppy, funky acid-house sentiment are riskier tracks with a lurch into territory currently dominated by Klaxons. Not that these are bad tracks but it’s hard to see either making it as single releases and that’s fine. With their trademark raucous rock tracks and some fine slower ballads, the band's follow up album jumps the hurdle of problematic second major release, paving the way for more successful affairs for years to come.

I picked this up from Tesco for £8.79 but prices are competitive online and, as ever, it pays to shop around. The CD I bought has 12 tracks with songs lasting just over 2 minutes to the closing track at over 4 minutes. Arctic Monkeys and this latest album release will appeal to fans of indie music, people who like rock and even acid-house cum Klaxons stuff. This album will sell in millions; it deserves too.

Thanks for the read.

Mara

More info at: http://www.myspace.com/arcticmonkeys

Full track listing: Brianstorm" – 2:50 "Teddy Picker" – 2:43 "D Is for Dangerous" – 2:16 "Balaclava" – 2:49 "Fluorescent Adolescent" (Turner, Bennett) – 2:57 "Only Ones Who Know" – 3:02 "Do Me a Favour" – 3:27 "This House Is a Circus" – 3:09 "If You Were There, Beware" – 4:34 "The Bad Thing" – 2:23 "Old Yellow Bricks" (Turner, McClure) – 3:11 "505" – 4:13.

Summary: Overview of the album