Arctic Monkeys are the most talked about new band in Britain and when you hear this you'll understand why.Not only is 'Five minutes with...' the fastest selling British ep of 2005 (If you wanna buy it you'll have to cough up £30 on Ebay) but it's also brilliant.Not only because it's packed full of Punk rock passion and witty lyrics,but it's impossible to fit it in any genre.There's everything from Indie,Punk,Funk,Hip Hop and Art Rock in their sound.This is their first ep which was released back in June this year whlist the band were unsigned.It was limited to 500 copies so good luck in finding it.
The Band:
Alex Turner (Guitar/Vocals)
Jamie Cooke (Guitar)
Andy Nicholson (Bass)
Matt Helders (Drums)
1.Fake Tales Of San Fransico (3:01)
Think Gang of four jamming with The Streets and you've got 'Fake tales of San Franciso'.Starting off with a short and fast drum intro before some spikey Guitars and funky Bass kicks in.It's a real winner and has a fantasic live feel throughout.The lyrics take a stab at the recent rise of British bands jumping on the 'guitar music' bandwagon.Turner's lyrics' are often hirallous (''You're not from new york city you're from Rotherham''),witty (''But his bird thinks it's amazing through,so all that's left,is the proof that loves not only blind but deaf'') to commanding (''Get off the bandwagon and put down the handbook).After the second chorus the band crank their amps up and go for the big rock finish before slowly fading away with soft Guitar picking and light drum breaks. 9/10
2.From The Ritz To The Rubble (3:11)
Have you ever had your face nearly smashed to pieces by a doorman? Well Alex Turner has and he's even written a song about it.Starting off with Alex rapping (He's pretty good at it too) over some fuzzy guitar chords,the song quickly turns into a trashy and shambolic art rock stomper.Yet again,Turner's lyrics are amazing (''This town's a different town today,this town's a different town to what it was last night'') and even quite heartfelt (''Last night what we talked about it made so much sense but now the haze has ascended it don't make sense anymore'').Like the first track,'...to the rumble' goes for that big rock finish again but this time with added Bass guitar.It doesn't pack the same punch as the last track but it's still a winner. 8/10
Overall:
2006 is gonna belong to Arctic Monkeys.Not since the first Oasis tour back in 93' has a new band been embraced so greatly and you know what?, they desevre every bit of it.'5 Minutes with...' is a fantasic battle cry from Britain's (if not the world's) best new band.It may take a while to track down and it will also leave you a little unimpressed on it's first listen,but after 2 or 3 spins you'll love it.
Pros:
+Great guitar work
+Witty and smart lyrics
+Incredibly British
Cons:
-It's a pain to track down
Download:
Fake Tales Of San Fransicso
From The Ritz To The Rubble....so just download the whole thing.
Website:
www.arcticmonkeys.com
www.ilovethesheriff.com (free early demos)
Thanks For Reading!
This Message Edited On 10.24.05
