Soundstalker - Arctic Monkeys

by

By Stalkette - Georgia Gallo

 
The Arctic Monkeys are simply asking: “R U Mine?” Don’t be fooled now. The spelling may sound like a potential Sean Penn character with a speech impediment and the nerve to still make a goddamn great Starbuck orange mocha Frappuccino, yet the howling, monstrous sound is far from foolish. It seemed like yesterday the boys were preteen, acne ridden cockney chums whose only correlation to "humbug" was the possibility to get the bug in their trousers to hum. Yet here we are. Their latest album “Suck it and See” had us sample tasting their newfound maturity. Like fellow idols The Strokes, the other jealous band members called ‘what’s his name’ and the ‘chubbier looking Alex Turner’ had us experience their literal play of musical chairs, taking turns at the singing and songwriting reigns.


“I wanna build you up, brick by brick”. This is what was produced from the switcheroo and move of studio to clean good fun LA. In other words we sucked it and must have had our eyes closed. Then the question is what has possibly changed from last year, which may have encouraged this new sound? Alex Turner has finally returned to being the front man of Arctic Monkeys instead of that guy who dated that model who hosted that show on some music channel. Turner now jets the Elvis hair curl (which may have scouted his new girl), but then what's to blame for the new sound. I've recently come to terms with the recent “Black Keys” effect.
  

Oddly enough the Monkeys have kicked off their touring with the Black Keys and are channeling this effect: two nerdish guys who would have been poster boys in the fifties channeling grudge, howling lyrics about misguided lust while mastering a great fuckin guitar riff. Turner and Matt Helders sport the two-man tag team in the debut of the singles music clip despite there still being two other monkeys.


 Slip a deck of ciggies under one sleeve and ink the other with an anchor tat and these boys are your James Deans of pinnacle rock. The song delivers the mindset of 70's psychedelic rock something that their song “Don’t Sit Down Cause’ I’ve Moved Your Chair”, began to promise us but failed to hold up their end of the deal. The riff is a reminder of the never complimented enough Jimi Hendricks cover “Along the Watchtower” with a little “Smoke on the Water” served on the side.

Despite still longing for their adolescent lyrics about call girls and boys called Teddy Picker, the boys are too grown up to reflect on a time of teenage angst and have become the kasabian-esqe, cocky rockers who no doubtingly are proud conformers to rock and roll. And well as for the lack of intelligent spelling, it may have worked for Ke$ha’s "Tik Tok" but we all know Artic Monkeys can do much better then that.