Arctic Monkeys - Favourite worst nightmare

Talkin’ bout the big monkey man

By Mike Bateson-Hill

Picture this: Cheeky little northern lad forms band, writes songs about clubs, bouncers and all that rubbish, gets massive and becomes the nations flavour of the week. What’s the next move?

The notoriously fickle music industry waits with baited breath. Well in the case of t’ Monkeys you follow it up with a collection of grime rock – no frills songs about music industry sleezeballs clad in t-shirts and ties (Brainstorm) and a middle aged woman’s dreary sex life (Adolescent Fluorescent).

I mean it would be so easy to slate this follow up if it wasn’t … it pains me to say it… quite good. Musically it moves away from the straight up power chord garage dirges that made them equally loved and despised.

Rather they succeed in changing their sound from the off with manic guitar/drum combo in Brainstorm, moving to spook rock with the snarly If You Were There Beware. Yet, perhaps the highlight of the album takes the shape of the chorus soaked ballad of The Only One Who Knows where Turner muses on romance with the accompaniment of a gorgeous lap slide.

Yet, unfortunately there are moments of dreariness (and not the good Smiths sort) where the band resorts back to their muddy sounding chip shop rock with Balaclava and Do Me A Favour. Yuck. But still its fair to say it’ll probably keep both the critics and fans happy. For another six months at least.