As everyone knows by now, I can ramble about Arctic Monkeys for hours. So to everyone's surprise, I'm not going to. Instead, here is a brief (and very overdue!) review of their latest album, 'The Car'. It had to be done, but in the form of a short trip to Tescos rather than a long drive to Paris.
A theatrical continuation of their development, 'The Car' breathes a new life into the Arctic Monkey's usual album journeys.
It is very easy to read into Turner's lyricism of analogies, metaphors and motifs: I, for one, am guilty of doing so; for getting caught up in hidden meanings and reading between the lines. But, I truly believe that by taking a step back and appreciating the purity of this album, another level of appreciation can be had.
Personally, I feel that Jamie Cook is the underrated star of the album. His guitar solos are used sparingly but push the album up to new heights by perfectly elevating the album among Turner's demonstration of vocal range, creating a new dynamic feel for the band. This is among a new level of theatrical essence too.
I had heard this album be described as cinematic. To an extent, I agree. But I would argue further that it is theatrical. In an interview, Turner spoke of the track 'Body Paint' as a song of three acts: three acts which can be distinguished upon listening. I think this can be applied to the album as a whole; the theatrical differences between tracks are different scenes, different outlooks that reflect the stage the band have progressed to.
Although this album is miles away from the feel of their first album, or even fifth album, it does show a new level of maturity to the band, which has clearly developed musically alongside their age and professional experience.
A raw album of memories, doubt, decisions, emotion and theatrical compositions, the question is, where to next?