What can be said about the already-famous Arctic Monkeys album "AM" that hasn't been said already? It's modern. It's uncensored. It's everything you were expecting from a fantastic group such as these blokes. Alex Turner's almost melancholy voice accompanied by gritty guitar riffs and various tempos in the background give this work a feeling of cohesiveness, but also diversity. No two songs on this record are the same, although a couple may sound similar. But what about it makes it this way? Well everybody, strap on your seatbelts, because my day's at best when you're riding passengers' side.
It's difficult to put into words why "AM" differs from "Suck It And See", "Humbug" or any of the band's previous creations, but I think one way to put it would be to say that their style has shifted from young British twenty-somethings singing upbeat, rebellious tunes to a more sophisticated and complicated look at love and relationships. The album covers a wide variety of situations when it comes to love, including uncertainty ("Do I Wanna Know?","R U Mine?", "Fireside"), lust ("Arabella", "Knee Socks", "I Want It All", "I Wanna Be Yours") sorrow and regret ("One For The Road", "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"), a bit of frustration ("Snap Out Of It"), nerves ("No. 1 Party Anthem") and even comfort ("Mad Sounds"). When you've fallen in love or even when you think you might, there is an emotional spectrum that comes with that. "AM" captures many of these feelings incredibly well through Alex's personal anecdotes and fantasies about romance.
Despite what I said about a shift away from "rebellious"-sounding songs, "AM" is still chock full of electric guitar and syncopated drumbeats (which is never a bad thing). This, to me, was most noticeable in "I Want It All" and "R U Mine?", however what's very impressive about one song in particular is that it is built off of one riff or series of measures: "Do I Wanna Know?". This track begins with the slow beat of the drum and a sinister and faded guitar blasting through, and the entire melody centers itself around this and adds to it, making for a truly enticing piece of music. "Do I Wanna Know?" was one of the first singles off of the album that the band released, and it was an instant hit, bringing them to the Billboard 100 list for the first time. It, as well as the rest of the album, also brought Arctic Monkeys to the attention of America, and has been released on vinyl to be sold in Urban Outfitters across the country since (that was a joke, but also true).
I've titled this article "Signature Sounds" not only because many of these tracks are what I feel will define Arctic Monkeys in the coming years, but also because "AM" literally stands for Arctic Monkeys (it also means "amplitude modulation" for waves in physics, which explains the imagery on the album's cover, but we're not here to talk about physics! We're here to talk about music!) A quote from Alex in an interview with BBC Radio regarding the title states: ""I actually stole it from the Velvet Underground, I'll just confess that now and get it out of the way. The 'VU' record, obviously". He went on to say: "Did we cop out? Yeah! Summat about it feels like this record is exactly where we should be right now. So it felt right to just initial it." From this quote, it's clear to see that the band has many inspirations that rub off on them and are incorporated into their work. Besides the Velvet Undergrond, they've even referenced Dr. Dre as an influence! How 'bout that.
If you haven't already listened to this soon-to-be classic, do yourself a favor and buy it or stream it in whatever way you can. For a preview, their music video for "Arabella" is playing in the background right now! How convenient! Keep on rockin', you monkeys you.
