Very few bands ever become as successful as Arctic Monkeys. But it’s even rarer to achieve this level of success at such a young age. Back in 2006, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not became the fastest selling UK debut album of all time, shifting over 360,000 copies in its first week, and sold more than the rest of the top 20 albums combined in its first day. It received several awards including album of the year. At the time, lead singer Alex Turner was only twenty years old.
In 2007 the Sheffield boys released their second studio album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. This signalled a change in style for the band, with faster and heavier tracks (‘Brainstorm’, ‘This House is a Circus’) and slightly darker lyrics (‘Do Me a Favour’). We also caught our first glimpse of what Arctic Monkeys would eventually become, with songs like “Fluorescent Adolescent”. They continued to receive awards, including Best British Band and Best British Album at the 2008 BRIT Awards.
With 2009’s Humbug, Arctic Monkeys went against everything expected of them and changed in style again. The band listened to Jimi Hendrix, Cream and various others during writing, and drew influence from them. They became much darker, and Turner’s already stunning lyrics improved greatly. But despite the band’s new found maturity, and the extremely positive reaction from critics, Humbug is the bands least popular album. Many fans were put off by such a huge change.
So the question that has been floating around for the last few months is: Where will they go next? After losing many fans simply due to their growth as musicians, what exactly will they do? Many bands would take a step back towards their earlier style, to keep people happy, and then start to change more gradually over the next few albums. Some would stay in that early style forever. But this is Arctic Monkeys. They don’t play by the rules. Instead of taking a step back, they have taken an unexpected direction once again with Suck It And See. The question now is: has it worked?
Album opener ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ pushes all our worries to the side very quickly. Although it keeps that slightly creepy sound that we have got used to (particularly from Humbug), it also shows us what to expect from the rest of the album, which is definitely more accessible, and completely different from anything they have done before.
One thing that’s almost immediately noticeable is how much happier sounding Suck It And See Is, even during tracks that aren’t particularly happy lyrically, as demonstrated in ‘Black Treacle’. You find yourself smiling, even though you’re not quite sure why.
‘Brick by Brick’ is where the album goes downhill, but only briefly. There’s nothing particularly wrong it, but there’s just nothing particularly special about it either. It’s just a little too cheesy and feels a little lazy, lyrically and musically.
‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’ on the other hand is just about as perfect as a track can get.
‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ is a strange choice for the album’s first single, as it is the closest track on the album to ‘Humbug. Nevertheless it is one of the best off ‘Suck It And See’, and demonstrates the bands new, and slightly strange, lyrical style. “Run with scissors through a chip-pan firefight / Go into business with a grizzly bear, but just don’t sit down ’cause I’ve moved your chair.” On the outside this seems like nonsense, and has put some people off. However, Turner really knows how to use a metaphor, and this is no exception. What he is basically trying to say with these lyrics is trusting him is the most dangerous thing you could possibly do. It’s easily the most sarcastic song ever written.
There has been much debate over who this track is aimed at. Many say it’s critics, suggesting that he doesn’t really care what they say or do. Others say it’s the fans that left after Humbug, who want them to go back to the style of Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not.
Examples of these strange lyrics can be found throughout the album. For example: “Somebody told the stars you’re not coming out tonight, so they found a place to hide” and “If you’re gonna try and walk on water make sure you wear your comfortable shoes.”
Turner’s lyrics are nothing short of incredible. Many are put off by how many words he uses to describe the simplest of things, but there is no denying that he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. The only problem with this is that it’s very near impossible to figure out what he’s talking about. This is shown in ‘Library Pictures’ which contains the weirdest lyrics on the album, such as “Library pictures of the quickening canoe, the first of its kind to get to the moon.” There is a very good chance that the lyrics in fact mean nothing, but this does not take away from the fact that ‘Library Pictures’ is an excellent song, and one of the most fun.
By far the best songs from ‘Suck It And See’ are ‘Piledriver Waltz’ and ‘Love is a Laserquest’. ‘Piledriver’ was originally written by Turner for the film ‘Submarine’, which he wrote the soundtrack for. This version is re-recorded with the whole band, and you will find yourself listening to it over and over. ‘Love is a Laserquest’ is an “I won’t forget her” song, which is a genre which has been played to death. Here though it is truly emotional and beautiful. You can hear the pain in his voice, and it will create shivers every single time.
There isn’t much else to say about Suck It And See. Right from the start there is something special about it that is difficult to put a finger on. Their new style may not be for everyone, due to the strange lyrics or maybe the slightly old fashioned sound. But it is the sound of a band coming back from an album that could have crippled them. And no-one has ever done it as well as Arctic Monkeys.
- Arctic Monkeys - 11 July 2011
- Foo Fighters - 21 May 2011