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Review by Adam Bryson
 Last summer, Sheffield guttersnipes, Arctic Monkeys played to a sold-out
crowd at Wigan’s Club Nirvana. Already tipped as the next big thing
–even back then – the cheeky youngsters put on an amazing show
chock-full of energy, snarling riffs and wry humour that, whilst
couldn’t reduce the Ritz to rubble (The developers on the town’s new
shopping centre took care of that one!), certainly threatened to shake
‘Nirvana up a bit.
With a reputation grown from their ferocious and furious demos that
leered and sneered and hit out with everything they had, the ‘Monkeys
quickly attracted the attention of Domino records and, without ever
really intending to, stole the title of Most Important Band Of Our
Generation from the erstwhile ‘Libertines.
Alex Turner & Co. had everything on their side; youth, exuberance and a
catalogue of in-your-face monster tunes. They could do no wrong. They
were on fire.
Then they released this.
‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ takes all the energy and
fury of the band’s early days, and adds two parts water. Thus, this
album sounds as though it’s been diluted into a weaker tasting juice
that’s easier to swallow by the masses of people thirsty for anything
they can consume for the sake of having a fashionably trendy
band-of-the-minute to call their own.
That’s not say that this is a ‘bad’ album however, because it simply
isn’t. Conjuring up all those words that us ‘rock critics’ like to throw
around; raw, energetic, impassioned blah blah blah, this debut
long-player from Sheffield’s favourite sons is a likeable effort
guaranteed to go down well at any party. Unfortunately, it isn’t half as
revolutionary as certain members of the music press would have you
believe.
After the ruckus-inducing “The View From The Afternoon,” this albums
bursts straight into their number one single ‘I Bet That You Look Good
on the Dancefloor’. Undoubtedly excellent, ‘…Dancefloor’ screeches with
furious guitars and wailing choruses, the perfect contender to the
throne currently held by the Kaiser’s ‘I Predict a Riot’.
Followed quickly by early, and much less well-known, single, ‘Fake Tales
of San Francisco’, with its plodding, rhythmic, dancefloor vibe that sets
you up for a fantastic ride through working class angst and
nihilistic-cum-mellow guitar, only to leave you disappointed.
For whilst there are a few smidgens of excellence here (see ‘Mardy Bum’
and latest single ‘When The Sun Goes Down’), the rest seems to comprise
of watered-down versions of early single or re-hashing of ideas featured
on other parts of the LP, all polished off with lyrics that, whilst
definitely clever and occasionally witty, do not befit the ‘genius’
label so often granted to wordsmith, Alex Turner.
This debut is a good, strong start for a young band with all the
potential in the world. However, with many songs that all sound the same
and a wave of hype that far outweighs its quality, it is by no means
brilliant.
Me personally? I prefer the demos.
Recommended Links:
http://www.arcticmonkeys.com
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