Arctic Monkeys are an indie rock band from Sheffield, who came to prominence through user-generated social media sites such as MySpace and sharing tracks prior to getting a record label. This led to a pre-built fan base before the band released their debut studio album, which accounts for it selling 360,000 copies in its first week of release in January 2006 and retaining the record for fastest selling debut album by a band, beating Oasis 'Definitely Maybe'.

'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor', the first single from the album, is an instant classic with a fast tempo and a great chorus that you can sing along with. Whenever listening to it, I feel the itch to head onto the dancefloor myself. Even now, it is arguably their most well-known song and was my introduction to the band's work.

'When The Sun goes Down' is another well-known track, the second single from the album, which describes a story set in the seedier part of Sheffield. What I love about this song is the constant speed changes which fit with the lyrics about the town becoming a nastier place when it gets dark. The faster, more threatening beat is almost like a rollercoaster, which slows down at the end of the song once the sun comes up again. The story is so evocative, that a short film was made called, 'Scummy Man', starring Stephen Graham from 'This is England'.

There are some songs that didn't stand out and grab my attention, such as 'Dancing Shoes', but there are some true classics in there which I regularly listen to. 'Riot Van' is a painfully reflective song about run-ins with the law and 'A Certain Romance', possibly the greatest song ever, starts out with a rocking instrumental and descends to a dream-like ode to those who wear "tracky bottoms tucked in socks". It's a beautiful closing track to the album and it's a crime that it isn't more recognised outside of the band's fans.

The album has a good mixture of fast-paced songs and slower, more reflective tunes. This fits the 'Saturday Night / Sunday Morning' theme that the band were going for, with the slower songs representing that post-night out reflection as you lay in bed slightly worse for wear and the faster songs capturing the mood of a Saturday night out in a busy nightclub, or the confusion of the taxi cab home. Listening to this album can either get me pumped up for a night out, or feeling nostalgic for my university nights out. It's an essential choice for anyone looking to capture the excitement of being young, single and slightly inebriated.

This review also appears on my blog
(http://spiderjamb.blogspot.com)