Worst to Best: Arctic Monkeys

Worst to Best:

Arctic Monkeys

Due to my increasing levels of boredom that I’ve been dealing with recently after finishing my first year at uni I’ve decided to do some new types of posts on here, as well as my usual weekly reviews of new music. For this one I’m planning on doing a series of ‘Worst to Best’ pieces on some of my favourite bands, starting with Sheffield’s finest Arctic Monkeys, I hope you enjoy! And please remember, this is all just my opinion, I’m sure yours will differ from mine. I must also say that none of these albums are bad, and I love them all dearly, so attempting to put them in a definitive order was extremely difficult.

5- AM:

A million miles away from their quintessentially British earlier records, the band’s last studio album ‘AM’, released in 2013, was the culmination of the progression that had occurred to the group over the past 5 years. The album had a very dark hue to it with Alex Turner’s lyrics becoming much darker and tackling harder issues than in previous years. ‘AM’ incorporated a number of different sounds including psychedelic rock (Do I Wanna Know?), hard rock (Arabella), funk rock (Why’d You Only Call Me When Your High?) and post-punk (I Wanna Be Yours) in order to create an overall strong album but one that was lacking a consistent sound that had been utilised on previous records. Despite the fact that ‘AM’ is a very strong album, it has a number of cracks in it, mainly down to the concoction of sounds all mixed together, that means it sits at the bottom of this particular pile.

4- Favourite Worst Nightmare:

The band’s second album ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’, which is a decade old this year, had a number of extremely high points on it. The album’s closer ‘505’ remains one of my all-time favourite Monkeys songs with its slow build up and epic climax, and the overall sound of ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ was very clever indeed. It still incorporated a number of the themes that had been stressed on the band’s debut album but it also showed that the band were capable of tweaking their sound ever so slightly in order to make this particular album a stand-alone record, rather than a sequel to an extremely successful predecessor. Tracks like the aforementioned ‘505’, ‘Only Ones Who Know’ and ‘If You Were There, Beware’ displayed that the group were able to handle elements of softer rock, whilst ‘Balaclava’, ‘Teddy Picker’ & ‘Brianstorm’ fully lived up to the expectations that the band’s first album had set up with their fast-paced moshy style.

3- Humbug:

When released back in 2009, the band’s 3^rd studio album ‘Humbug’ was met with mixed reviews, mainly due to its progressive sound and clear shift from the band’s earlier garage rock sound that had been so prevalent on their first 2 records. On ‘Humbug’ the Monkeys displayed a maturity that had been a significant lack on their predecessors, the group felt confident enough to shy away from producing infectious tracks to creating songs that had a much more relaxed vibe to them. Tracks like ‘Secret Door’, ‘Cornerstone’, ‘Dance Little Liar’ and ‘The Jeweller’s Hands’ fully amplified this clear change in direction by the band. After two extremely successful albums they clearly felt confident enough to experiment with a new type of sound that would eventually progress into the band’s later albums. So, even if ‘Humbug’ is not your cup of tea, you have to admit that without this album the band may not have progressed their sound and there wouldn’t have been ‘Suck It & See’ or ‘AM’. On ‘Humbug’ the band first worked with Queens of the Stone Age frontman and extremely talented producer Josh Homme, and this contribution also helped the band transition from youthful lads chanting about a night out in Sheff to mature gentlemen who were confident enough in their own ability to take risks and show progression.

2- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

In early 2006 Arctic Monkeys soared from 20 year old’s just enjoying themselves in Sheffield to global superstars with their debut album ‘Whatever People Say...’ The group’s first attempt at making a studio album was extremely successful with the album selling over 1.5 million copies and this particular record remains many people’s favourite, however on my list it has to settle for the runner’s up spot. This album’s theme was very obvious and consistent; the songs progressively told the story of a typical night out for the lads in Sheffield. Now, this may not sound like the greatest idea for a debut album, yet, the witty, tongue-in cheek, introspective manner in which the topic was tackled on this record instantly made the group a firm favourite with many. ‘Ritz to the Rubble’ tackles nightclub bouncers, ‘Red Light Indicates Doors are Secured’ refers to a typical taxi ride on a night out whilst ‘Dancing Shoes’ talks about people’s innate desire of pulling when on a night out. My favourite tune from this record has to be ‘Mardy Bum’, a timeless classic reflecting on what it’s like to be in a relationship and the inevitable arguments that come along with having a long-term partner. This song instantly struck with me, not for its lyrical themes, but due to its mature and progressive sound, it seemed like a sound of a band that had been around for ages and not a young group emerging from the night club exit. Arctic Monkeys debut truly set them off in the right direction and they have never looked back since.

1- Suck It And See

And here we have it, number one, and maybe a surprise to a lot of fans. However, I personally feel that the band’s 4^th studio album ‘Suck It And See’, although not immediately appealing, displays the strongest selection of songs that the group have ever produced. For the album, the band continued their American recording residency which ultimately contributed massively to the record’s overall sound. The group ditched the darker turn they had taken on previous effort ‘Humbug’ and produced a more vintage sounding collection of tracks that spanned from hard rock (Library Pictures) to psychedelic 70’s rock (Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair). The gorgeousness of tracks like ‘Reckless Serenade’, ‘Piledriver Waltz’ & ‘Love is a Lazerquest’ are ultimately what makes this album so special for me. Each of these tracks are beautifully concocted pieces of indie magic with their laid back approach culminating in something truly special. These tracks would not have been found on earlier Monkeys records, mainly due to the fact that Turner was not bold enough to take these risks and shy away from the lad rock they had become associated with, and I personally feel that this is why ‘Suck It And See’ does not sit right with a lot of the band’s diehard fans. However, in my opinion, when this album is stripped back and listened to carefully, you can clearly see the band’s intricate approach and talent that has been bestowed upon them. Overall, ‘Suck It And See’ remains my favourite Arctic Monkeys record mainly due to the reason that there is not one single track on that album that I do not enjoy.