Arctic Monkeys 7th studio album ‘The Car’ is worth the wait
After four years since their last studio album, the band from Sheffield continue to sonically evolve with a stunningly orchestrated, string-centric album complete with razor-sharp lyricism and Alex Turner’s magnificent vocals
Photo: Katie Freeney
Arctic Monkeys continue where they left off from Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, carrying on their deviation from the riff-laden sounds of their titan of an album, AM. On their polarising but superb Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, they swapped those catchy riffs and choruses that thousands still continue to sing in unison at festivals and stadiums for more of a retro sci-fi style and piano-orientated album. Anybody who was yearning for Arctic Monkeys to return to the sounds of AM and move away from the lounge act of their last album may be disappointed by The Car. However, for those individuals, I still highly recommend they give The Car a chance as this album is nothing short of incredible.
The album kicks off with the sweeping, eloquent strings and piano of their first single off The Car, There’d Better Be A Mirrorball. As Alex Turner implores to his very recent ex-lover in the line “So if you wanna walk me to the car/ You oughta know I’ll have a heavy heart/So can we please be absolutely sure/ That there’s a mirrorball?”, you know this one is for the aching, broken hearts out there. This beautiful, tearjerker of a song perfectly showcases Alex Turner’s poetic talents and the emotive range of his voice that many wish to possess.
The band then swiftly swaggers into the funk rock sound of I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am with a wah-wah guitar riff that has a whiff of Young Americans-era David Bowie. The funk grooves transition into a dark bass growl that sets the mood for the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere of Sculptures Of Anything Goes. The song also sees Turner perhaps referencing the backlash to their last album in the line “Puncturing your bubble of reliability / With your new horrible sound”, taking the perspective of a critic.
The wah-wah guitar is back on the sedated and downtempo track Jet Skis On The Moat, however, the guitars bring tension to the track with guitar slides that are reminiscent of the psychedelic sounds of Pink Floyd. Followed by the glistening Body Paint, the album’s second single, which has a hint of The Beatles mixed in, especially when the violins come in and during the stimulating climax to the song. The lyrics imply that the singer is infatuated with his partner (“My teeth are beating and my knees are weak”) even though there are hints that the partner in question has cheated with the opening line “For a master of deception and subterfuge / You’ve made yourself quite a bed to lie in”.
The smoldering Spanish guitar melody featured in the title track The Car feels like it could belong in an old western film or belong in The Last Shadow Puppets catalogue. There may be a suggestion in the line “Your grandfather’s guitar / Thinkin’ about how funny I must look / Tryin’ to adjust to what’s been there all along” that the band understands how different and strange their recent retro stylings compared to their earlier work.
Big Ideas speaks in the past tense about the band itself as Turner sings “We had them out of their seats / Wavin’ their arms and stompin’ their feet”, seeming to refer to the enormous success of the band to be something of the past. While Turner croons, the singer is accompanied by orchestrated strings of grandeur that displays Arctic Monkeys’ potential to write a James Bond theme tune. After Big Ideas, we witness the camera this time mockingly turned on the band itself (“Hello you, still draggin’ out a long goodbye? / I ought to apologize for one of the last times”) referencing their new musical style on the superb Hello You. Nevertheless, the rural picture this song conjures up (“Pickin’ your moment along a country lane / The kind where the harmonies feel right at home”), alongside a guitar riff that brings some memories of Knee Socks, Matt Helders steady and pushing drums and the dramatic strings that surround the band.
The album closes with the elegant bossa nova style track, Mr. Schwartz, one of The Car’s gentler moments, and the sublime string-led Perfect Sense. The latter almost feels like a curtain call for the album with the credits rolling for The Car as Turner and co. say goodbye to the audience, and perhaps their impressive run of hit records in the final lines: “When my invincible streak turns onto the final straight / If that’s what it takes to say goodnight / Then that’s what it takes”.
The Car sees the four-piece more unified and cohesive from their last record with each member playing that part perfectly in this flawlessly composed and emotional album. None of the songs from this record will be causing mosh pits anytime soon and will most likely create another division in the fanbase, nonetheless, that does not stop The Car from being a masterpiece.