In January 2006, the Arctic Monkeys LP “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” became the fastest-selling debut album in UK history, selling 360,000 copies its first week. Since then, the album has gone triple platinum and allowed for the Monkeys to snag the UK’s prestigious Mercury Prize Award.
Naturally, the band received a ridiculous amount of hype. Ridiculous hype may even be an understatement. Since the Monkeys exploded onto the music scene, however, they have been working as hard as possible to show that they aren’t a band that’s going to be satisfied with just 15 minutes of fame. They want the world to know that there’s a lot of substance behind the hype that crowds their name. And they have done so very well.
Four months after the release of “Whatever People Say I Am,” the Monkeys followed with the cleverly titled EP, “Who The F– Are Arctic Monkeys?” And now, a year later, the Monkeys have released their sophomore effort, “Favourite Worst Nightmare.”
The album kicks off similar to the way one would imagine the Arctic Monkeys’ lifestyle has been over the last year and a half. The first few songs are chaotic and hit the ground running at break-neck speed. The second the smoke clears on one song, they launch into the next track without glancing back.
Musically, the Monkeys haven’t done anything too wild, but are still somewhat out of their reach. There’s a new, more complex approach to the songwriting but they are the same Arctic Monkeys. They still feature unforgettable melodic hooks within the music and lyrics and front man Alex Turner’s distinct accent to tie it all together. The fourth track, “Fluorescent Adolescent,” is one of their most catchy songs yet.
Turner sings: “The best you ever had/Is just a memory and those dreams/But as daft as they seem /As daft as they seem /My love when you dream them up.”
One area of clear improvement is in Turner’s lyrics. On their first album, the lyrics generally revolved around the Monkeys’ hometown of Sheffield, England, and told tales of growing up there.
Now, the Monkeys have conquered the world and expanded their lyrical themes to show that. On “Do Me a Favour,” Turner sings: “She walked away, well her shoes were untied/And the eyes were all red/You could see that we’d cried and I watched and I waited/’Till she was inside, forcing a smile and waving goodbye.” Turner proves he can do much more than capture the feeling of an English school boy in love. He shows he has the ability to write standout lyrics that cut much deeper and last after the sing-a-long ends.
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