Arctic Monkeys – ‘AM’ First Listen
We give our verdict on the Sheffield band's latest LP...
In 2006 the Arctic Monkeys entered Indie rock’s wider consciousness with their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Eight years later and after an intensive process of reinvention the band are back with their fifth release, AM, their darkest and most rugged record yet.
The Arctics have teamed up once again with producer James Ford, who’s been with the band since their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare as well as producing [uuid=78f14fc8-0786-477b-8e82-75f9a633da12]The Last Shadow Puppets’[/uuid] (Alex Turner and [uuid=c5b1c591-2339-41ff-9dfe-1ffd9363b19e]Miles Kane[/uuid]) Age Of The Understatement. The myths surrounding AM and it’s high profile collaborations have only added to the hype, with Queens Of The Stone Age’s front man Josh Homme contributing his vocal talents to the album and Elvis Costello’s drummer, Pete Thomas lending a beat.
The opening track, Do I Wanna Know? sets the mood - or rather riff – that continues throughout AM. Alex Turner’s latest persona as a leather-clad rocker resonates throughout the track; his voice has matured greatly over the years and the Northern twang so prominent on early Arctics albums seems to have practically vanished.
