This past fall the Arctic Monkeys, a fantastic indie rock band, came out with their fifth album. Topping the charts, AM was released on September 6, 2013. The album cannot be compared to any of its predecessors. The Arctic Monkeys is a quartet of talented musicians who hail from Sheffield, England, and their new album proves that they are back with music that is just as good as, if not better than, the albums that they have previously released.
What makes AM such an extraordinary piece of work is the band’s ability to create a whole new album that throws in a wide variety of music genres such as Psychedelic Rock, Blues, Heavy Metal, and even Disco. The Rock and Roll feel the album has is especially exemplified in, “Knee Socks” which features rocker Josh Homme on vocals. The album is also seen as much more mature than their previous works and highlights how the band members’ talents have been more utilized as well. The lead vocalist, Alex Turner, states that “the main sources of inspiration for the album derive from more Classic Rock and Hip-Hop bands such as Outkast and Black Sabbath.”
AM’s biggest hits include songs, “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” and “Do I Wanna Know?” which is the bands biggest charting song since, “Fluorescent Adolescent” from the album Favourite Worst Nightmare which came out in 2007. But what makes the band stand out from their other alternative music companions is their witty and catchy musical lyrics, as proven in the song “I Wanna Be Yours” with the lyrics “I Wanna Be Your Vacuum Cleaner Breathing in Your Dust.”
Besides being a chart-topping album, it has received widespread acclaim such as being named the Best Album of 2013 by New Musical Express (NME), a weekly UK music based publication, and rated as number 449 of the top 500 albums of all time.
From one music lover to another, this album can definitely be considered one of the best albums of the year with it’s variety of songs which bring their own unique flavor to the album. This album proves that the Arctic Monkeys have gratefully not seen a need to slow down even after 12 years of making music.
