ARCTIC MONKEYS - HUMBUG
No album made such an impact on me as their debut in 2006. Before it, and since, I have been a huge, huge fan. This band spoke to me in a way music hadn't before. And so since then, I have followed their career closely and with some slight unease. Their level of success was rightly justified, but with it brought problems. Massive gigs in 2007 slightly tainted my love for them, fans at gigs soured my Arctics experiences. Every person should have a right to follow any music they desire, and music should unite people, but I found that I felt alienated due to elements of their fanbase. I hate to think that this would make me a music 'snob', but it was hard for me to see this band and the 'lad-rock' following they gained.
News then, that the band would be recording a new album with Josh Homme made me madly excited. I had always been a fan of their heavier recordings - 'Plastic Tramp', 'This House Is A Circus' and 'If You Found This It's Probably Too Late', and so recording with the QOTSA frontman almost ensured a heavier album, and as a result, lose some of the more casual fans.
'Humbug' did not disappoint. The range of tracks, albeit there only being 10, was remarkable. And Alex Turner's lyrics were outstanding yet again, this time with a more personal, mysterious aspect rather that the kitchen sink drama of their previous efforts. Critics agreed that Turners maturity, especially after his work in The Last Shadow Puppets, had shone through, and he now carried a Morrissey-esque croon.
The guitar work and drums was still on form, Helders again keeping everything together, and the strings benefiting from hanging out in the desert with members of QOTSA. Tracks such as 'Potion Approaching' and 'Pretty Visitors' were heavier than anything experienced before and slower ones like 'My Propeller' were more heartfelt. Plus, the album contained an absolute classic in 'Cornerstone'. How can album with this line "What came first, the chicken or the dickhead?" not be included in my list?
