Arctic Monkeys after several years since their album, Tranquility Base Hotel, has released their new album “The Car”. I’ll admit that I haven’t been a big fan of them since their album AM and their first 3 too. Tranquility Base was not my favorite and it was one of their weaker albums, however, I could at least feel there was an overall concept with some moments that were enjoyable. Going into this new album the first time, it seemed like it would be better than Tranquility Base, however upon hearing this a second time I enjoy it even less.
The album starts off with “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”, this song is a very slow and simple chord progression, it feels like he’s doing an impersonation of other indie folk singers and I’m not a huge fan of it. His vocals feel very meandered.
Arctic Monkey’s foray into chamber, baroque and orchestral pop seems like an overly extravagant attempt at trying something new. I respect the try into experimentalism, but I am not liking it, some of the themes feel heavy-handed and sometimes pretentious. “I ain’t quite where I think I am” is a very different mixture of sounds, attempting to combine that orchestral sound with their old sound and some kind of funk fusion.
“Sculptures of Anything Goes” sounds like a weird part of a soundtrack. This, among many other songs in this album, seem to try to be introspective but I don’t really feel that intention. I understand the criticism by Alex Turner of fans not wanting something new, but this almost seems to not understand where fans come from in that criticism. The problem right now with the Monkeys is not their experimentalism but the way it is done with the lyrics, the vocals, and the production. They feel a bit bland and derivative, so on this track, I feel like the song falls flat.
I can appreciate some of the themes of addiction and nostalgia in this song, “Jet Skis on the Moat” although every time he says that main chorus bit it’s not my personal favorite, in terms of vocal inflections.
The song “Body Paint” has a weird shift in the second half of the song where it has a weird Baroque feel akin to “Day in The Life”, but I enjoy it at parts, however, it still falls into many of the follies of the other songs on this album. I feel like it’s trying to almost play off my nostalgia for Bowie and the Beatles, even though it’s trying to be experimentally different
I very much enjoy the closer of the album, “Perfect sense”. The themes on here are thoughtful, I think the strings are more dynamic compared to the other songs, the progression is very interesting and I think the lyrics are sweet.
It’s unfortunate there are only 2 here that I really love about this album, I appreciate the Arctic Monkeys for trying something new as I think all art should do, but in my opinion, it has not landed on its feet. The concept of this album doesn’t fully seem there, like Tranquility Base. I feel like Alex turner watched too many films and tried to cram as many allusions into this album.
In the end, this album isn’t terrible, but it feels very average, the production is great and the lyrics at parts may be enjoyable but most of the lyrics are on the nose, heavy and the instrumentation isn’t always the best.
Best Tracks: “Perfect Sense”, “Jet Skis on the Moat”
Worst Tracks: “Sculptures of Anything Goes”, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”
