One of the most overrated albums of all time (Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys)

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
Date:	13/09/09 (3 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some catchy songs

Disadvantages: Quite dull and not very exciting

For better or for worse, the Arctic Monkeys are here to stay, it seems. Their album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was a MASSIVE success, causing mentally ill music magazines like NME to deem them better than The Beatles. I gave this album a listen, and whilst I recognise the appeal, to me it just seems a bit soulless.

The band rose to fame with their first single, I Bet You Look On The Dancefloor, which is probably the best song on the album - it's a rousing number and one that'll fill the dancefloor without a doubt. This is one song that I feel really hits all the right notes, although even this I feel doesn't escape that Indie stamp, where it just sounds a LOT like everything else that's getting released - the twangy guitars, the accents from somewhere up North, self-consciously sketchy instrument work etc.

When The Sun Goes Down was also the second single and it's a decent enough track - it's quite repetitive but the instruments are quite crisp compared to the rest of the tracks on the album, and it's definitely very memorable thanks to some solid hooks and riffs.

Perhaps I just don't listen to enough music from this decade but I just find something like this pretty uninspired - it sounds the same as The Fratellis and all those other Indie bands to me - dull despite the fact that it shouldn't be given it's a bunch of guys in a room with lots of energy.

I hate people who dislike something just because it's popular, so please understand that it isn't me just doing that. I just can't make sense of what people find so utterly astounding about this album - for my money, it doesn't really have much nuance of flair, it's just fairly catchy and that's it. But why are NME calling it a classic for the ages? I just don't see it.

Summary: Uninspired Indie with a very nice touches