Monday, 21 March 2011

New Release: Brick By Brick

Okay! It is an exciting moment as I see a link to http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/ on the band's Twitter page, announcing a new single. I have been anticipating this for a couple of years, since the release of their third album Humbug in summer 2009.  Its called 'Brick By Brick', and it's probably what you would expect.

The Sheffieldd based quartet have evolved as they have grown up, their sound becoming increasingly more distinguished with each album. The new single has followed suit, plunging further into the serious, Josh Homme's influence on the Monkeys has obviously lingered.


It's a good song, with a nice beat and the return of the old happy-go-lucky vocals that Alex Turner phased out slightly in Humbug, yet a blind listen would render the sound anonymous. It does not sound like Arctic Monkeys. It seems like they are attempting to fill the void left by the split of Oasis, who in turn were influenced by The Beatles. Of course, this is by no means a bad thing! The best selling band of all time must have been doing something right. But it's so un-Monkeys, and I reckon it is a step too far, losing all that made them so utterly brilliant in the first place.

'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. Their 2006 debut, and what a debut it was! It instantly smashed sales records, and was voted the best album of the year, by more than one music organisation. It remains to this day one of my favourite records of all time. Its youthful energy and story telling lyrics coupled with fresh guitar riffs make it an enjoyable listen over and over. Try listening back to it, then to Brick by Brick, the change is astonishing.

They followed it up with the second release: 'Favourite Worst Nightmare', which was just as good, if a little less stand out, starting the shift to melancholy with songs like 'The Only Ones Who Knew' and 'Do Me A Favour'.

After a long wait, they then released their third: Humbug. Fans were shocked at the change, but I bloody loved it! It still had the wonderful conceited lyrics that Alex Turner is so great at writing and singing, but it explored a more serious tone, with sombre backing vocals and less extravagant drum beats.

The new album, due for release in June this year, is going to be called 'Suck It And See', and its sexual connotation is a possible hint at their shift even further into the 'rock and roll' demeanour. I think the fame (and substance) has gone to the regularly reserved front man's head, hailing himself as a musical genius, shifting his sound to suit himself while relying on others to put in the graft.

Sorry, that was a bit harsh. But I cannot help in questioning the change. Yes, it's true that all bands need to evolve to stay afloat in the white water rapid that is the music business, however with the drastic image changes, Black Sabbath T-shirts and introverted commentary, the band are completely different to the adolescent group that aroused our senses back in 2006. The only member of the band that doesn't seem to change is Matt, the drummer - he's always been my favourite.

The release of the new album coincides with the plethora of music festivals they are headlining this summer; V Festival, Fujirock, Benicassim and T in the park, have all been recently confirmed. I hope the guys do justice to a spread of their material, old and new.

So, with an obvious amount of pessimism, I await 'Suck It And See'.
Come on lads, prove me wrong!

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