...Fine Words By Aquarius About The Arctic Monkeys & The British Lunatic Society...Get A Grip On Y'r Self Manu!

That Guy...

Okay, yeah, we know. Who really gives a shit about the Arctic Monkeys? Oh, you mean besides the British press and the band's thousands of friends on MySpace and every hipster in tight pants who is "so over" the Killers and Interpol and Franz Ferdinand? We weren't even going to review this. In fact we were prepared to hate. A band with that much hype before they even have a record out can never be a good thing. British new music mag NME voted the Arctic Monkeys one of the 50 best British bands OF ALL TIME!! I'd be afraid to see numbers 51 through 100, the ones who were bumped to make room for a band who at the time had only released a single. But, and it's a BIG BUT, this record is awesome. Really. It does pain us to admit it, but this is one of the best new records we've heard in ages. Wouldn't go so far as top 50 British bands ever, but shit man, we can't stop listening to this. Seriously, every day.

Him Again

So waht's it sound like? Well, it definitely fits comfortably right there amidst the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Maximo Park, Kaiser Chiefs, Cup thinks they sound just like Hot Hot Heat for that brief moment when they were really really good. Not so much channelling 'new wave' but more sort of reimagining the sound of the Fall, but where Pavement turned the fall into ironic indie slouch rock jangle, the Arctic Monkeys twist it into some impossibly hooky dancey drunken night out at the pub. Angular guitars, sort of scrape-y and edgy and scrappy and jagged, super kinetic almost funky rhythms, killer melodies, bouncy tempos, lots of shuffle and start stop jangle and roar. And killer keening vocals, a little bit whine-y, but scruffy and capable of wailing when necessary. And the most amazingly thick Scottish brogue, ya know when the word "scumbag" sounds like "skoooombeg".

The Madness...Nope, There Not The Beatles My Friends.

And let's not forget the songs. By now most of you have heard the excellently titled "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor", a perfect blast of bubbly snotty bouncy dance punk. But then there's tracks like "When The Sun Goes Down" with its moody sad boy intro all sweet sad vocals and minor key clean guitars that explode into a pounding kick ass chaotic rocker, with a killer riff and a totally impossible to resist groove. And the thing is, every song on here is just as good. So while the band will probably end up disappearing, breaking up or calling it quits after this record, I mean, how impossible is it to live up to all the critical accolades (imagine being held up alongside bands like the Clash and the Jam, all before the age of 20) but for now, you might as well believe the hype.