Re: new Arctic Monkeys

I have never cared much for the Arctic Monkeys till now, but their new album TRANQUILITY BASE HOTEL & CASINO sounds like some long-lost glam-art-rock band who were peers of groups like Cockney Rebel and the Doctors of Madness. But the lyrics are very much a product of 2018: extremely self-conscious, especially about the severe difficulty of making any kind of genuinely rebellious political statement when you're as popular as this band is but still having some desire to do so. The somewhat retro production and arrangements, with acoustic piano louder than guitars, is also belied by the lyrics' obsession with technology and sci-fi concepts (although that's also very early '70s Bowie.) This is a very welcome surprise. If the Arctic Monkeys can evolve in a productive direction, is there any chance the Killers or Strokes could kick themselves back to life?

Interesting. I was not sure that the positive review on The Quietus [http://thequietus.com/articles/24574-arctic-monkeys-tranquility-base-hotel-casino-review] wasn't one of their frequent excursions into irony or not, since they made the album out to be the band's shocking movement into artistic viability. But your words invoke Doctors of Madness and Cockney Rebel, so that gets my attention, in that post-glam/pre-postpunk sort of musical netherworld where the early Ultravox! material took root that's so fascinating to me. I'd never heard the Arctic Monkeys but would be interesting in hearing this.



Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

I had already been meaning to check this out since i read a review describing it as a kind of sci-fi lounge album. Tho the reviewer didnt feel that the band had the chops to pull off a genuine EZ/Scott Walker/Bacharach kinda thing, noting that the head Monkey had only started playing piano before they made the album. Still, looked intriguing.

> ... in that post-glam/pre-postpunk sort of musical netherworld ...

Monk, you just made my day.

Delvin - Glad to be of service! That sort of deliberately awkward wordplay is best left up to the shameless, like myself.



Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

They may have intended for a Walker/Bacharach feel, but the actual sound is much more like early '70s Bowie, especially Mike Garson's piano playing on ALADDIN SANE. Of course, Bowie was heavily influenced by Walker and, via him, Jacques Brel.

Those who look to the Arctic Monkeys for a "Walker/Bacharach feel" need only to take a short detour to Alex Turner's side project, The Last Shadow Puppets.

As for the new Arctic Monkeys disc, it's been on my radar for a while now ... and the comparisons to Bowie just whet my appetite.

I've listened to a few songs...IMO, it's more interesting that exciting. I like the idea, but there's a sameness to the few songs I heard (e.g., same piano bits). I will check out more for sure.

As far as their previous work, I'm largely on the fence. I find some of it really good, and a good portion of it tedious.

From what I have heard of the album (and read about it), this is supposed to be a "concept" album, no? I'm not quite sure I would want to see them live in support of this material -- it's definitely not "Whatever You Think I Am," though this could be their "Pinkerton."

I was disappointed. Taking a faithful stab at MOR still leaves you with MOR.

I like "Four Out Of Five" and some other little touches here and there but an album this mature always gets me checking my watch. To me, 6 albums into their career, its albums 1,2 and (most of) 5 that I like and the other 3 are ...........the other 3.

They were really singing this type of lyrical material 10 years ago too on Favorite Worst Nightmare, but back then they had searing guitars and pounding drums.