AM by Arctic Monkeys REVIEW

It's been one hell of a ride with the Arctic Monkeys. They gave us their fantastic punk-influenced debut back in 2006, and it has never been the same since. After alienating fans with their (in my opinion great and mature) 2009 album, Humbug, they took a turn back to the more pop-like anthems in 2011's, Suck It and See. AM is the culminating effort, their center-piece album. It seems as if all the work they have done in the last 8 years comes to this. Combining the mature sounds and lyrics of Humbug with the pop like choruses of Suck It and See, Favourite Worse Nightmare, and Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, AM comes out to be arguably their best album yet.


The album starts off with the lead single "Do I Wanna Know?" and never looks back. "R U Mine" is the closest we get to the hard-rocking days of oh so long ago and "One For The Road" is a hidden gem. "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High"'s hip-hop influenced beats help outline the repetitive yet golden lyrics. With grooves inspired by Queens of the Stone Age and fantastic production by James Ford, this is the furthest the Monkeys have journeyed from conventional rock and that risk pays off. The album thematically speaks of the many problems faced by a paranoid party-goer trapped in a fierce attraction with a unknown lover (rumored to be Alexa Chung).

For a lack of a better word, this album is pure sex.

This is one fantastic album by the Arctic Monkeys, but it will be tough to match up to in the future.

Rating:9/10

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