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There has been a distinct air of apprehension amongst Arctic Monkeys fans surrounding the release of the band’s new album Suck It and See. These fears are, however, completely unfounded. 

There has been a distinct air of apprehension amongst Arctic Monkeys fans surrounding the release of the band’s new album Suck It and See. These fears are, however, completely unfounded. Far from being a reproduction of the band’s last and least successful album, Humbug, Suck It and See yet again sees the band’s sound progress, this time towards more classically structured pop songs (complete with major keys and shalalas). There are two distinct sounds on the album. Songs like ‘Suck It and See’ and ‘Reckless Serenade’ build upon Alex Turner’s recent soundtrack EP Submarine and could easily be played acoustically whereas songs like ‘All My Own Stunts’ and ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalala’ are unabashed, festival thrilling rock anthems.  
Turner’s lyrics are, as usual, superb and he seems to have cultivated a crooning technique silky enough to bypass a super-injunction. This is not to say, by any means, that all echoes of Humbug have been purged. Tracks like ‘Brick by Brick’ and ‘Library Pictures’ feature some typically psychedelic guitar riffs and their sound remains far heavier than that of their first two albums.  Suck It and See is however a far happier sounding album than their previous two efforts and goes some way to recapturing the spirit of their ‘voice-of-a-generation’ debut Whatever People Say I am That’s What I’m Not. As Turner entreats us on ‘All My Own Stunts’ it is time, once again, to ‘get on your dancing shoes’. 

 

Far from being a reproduction of the band’s last and least successful album, Humbug, Suck It and See yet again sees the band’s sound progress, this time towards more classically structured pop songs (complete with major keys and shalalas). 

There are two distinct sounds on the album. Songs like ‘Suck It and See’ and ‘Reckless Serenade’ build up Alex Turner’s recent soundtrack EP Submarine and could easily be played acoustically whereas songs like ‘All My Own Stunts’ and ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalala’ are unabashed, festival thrilling rock anthems.  

Turner’s lyrics are, as usual, superb and he seems to have cultivated a crooning technique silky enough to bypass a super-injunction. This is not to say, by any means, that all echoes of Humbug have been purged. Tracks like ‘Brick by Brick’ and ‘Library Pictures’ feature some typically psychedelic guitar riffs and their sound remains far heavier than that of their first two albums.  

Suck It and See is however a far happier sounding album than their previous two efforts and goes some way to recapturing the spirit of their ‘voice-of-a-generation’ debut Whatever People Say I am That’s What I’m Not. As Turner entreats us on ‘All My Own Stunts’ it is time, once again, to ‘get on your dancing shoes’.                                                                         

 

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