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 Not that we’re the definitive voice on all
that is good and great (well, we are, but we don’t like to brag about
it!), but if we were going to write a good review of ‘Favourite Worst
Nightmare’, the second album from Sheffield indie lads Arctic Monkeys,
then they damn sure had to impress us.
After the disappointment that was their debut album in 2006 and their
overwhelmingly lacklustre performance at Leeds Festival in the same
year, we had the band down as more or less a flash in the pan, the peak
in the trend of four blokes with guitars talking gush and a band who’d
quickly and quietly go away once all the hype died down.
Thankfully, they didn’t, and, suffice to say, with ‘Favourite Worst
Nightmare’, the Sheffield scallywags definitely impressed our cynical
little socks off.
The album wastes no time in getting down to business, opening up with
first single ‘Brianstorm’, a monster of a tune that sees a stabbing
guitar lick manifest itself out of a storm of chaos and dance
sporadically over schizophrenic bass and drums and provide a catalyst
for frontman Alex Turner’s working class warbling.
‘Teddy Pickers’ continues in a similar vain, reminding us of the sort of
track that should be used as the theme tune to some 80’s detective
programme, all bouncy and bold and brilliant and buoyant.
Yet it’s once the Monkeys move away from their usual one-two stabbing
indie lark that they really come into their own, and a surprise
highlight comes in the form of ‘Only Ones Who Know’.
Something akin to The Beatles at their most chilled and thoughtful, the
track sees relaxed, repetitive guitars floating breezily along as Alex
croons as best he can in a reflective, sombre mood.
Things continue in such a way with ‘Do Me A Favour’, tribal drumming and
springy bass weaving in and out of each other as occasional guitars
strum their way through in a gentle, almost serene manner before the
band get back to what their noted for, and dive, machine heads first
into a tumultuous trail of rock ‘n’ roll for the close.
Other highlights include ‘If You Were There, Beware’, a darker, deeper
slab of indie with fleshy bass lines that flash their flab to create a
much more brooding track than can be found on most of the album.
Over all, a stellar effort and one that completely restores our faith
not only in the Arctic Monkeys themselves, but in British guitar music
in general.
Recommended Links:
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www.arcticmonkeys.com
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http://www.myspace.com/arcticmonkeys
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