"And there's a couple of hundred / Think they're Christopher Columbus / But the settlers had already settled" It's genius ***s that get booted a lot in the industry, and Alex Turne is one of those "genius ***s". Think about it; his lyrics are out of this world, this delivery matches anything Johnny Rebel could cook up baked, and his style touches a certain nerve or the UK. "Who the *** are the Arctic Monkeys" is no exception to those qualities of this young guitarist, and his four-some band.
The disk is based on an idea that could go wrong or right, depending on you perceive it. They're singing about success and fame, and the pressures the lifestyle brings to the table. It won't work most of the time, unless you have your style down to the grime. The Arctic Monkeys, once again delivering the fresh stereo sound, make this puppy work!
You want to know the reason? Pop hooks. Alex Turne knows how to grind a hook into any song. He finds the melody in two bar tunes that no one else could, and he then works around it, slowly piecing together the song. By the time the tune is stitched up, the audience is on their feet or dancing their asses off, or (more likely) both.
So, Turne does what he does best on the disk. However, here's the part where the album perhaps falls "flat" - if you call half decent songs that. Honestly, sometimes, we the people don't give a *** about the life on the road. We want to here the life on the street. Give us the low and dirty! We’ll scream. It's when Turne tries to grind a pop hook into something that doesn't fit with the album, the original, "brilliant" idea falters.
But the songs themselves forgive any of the tense collapses we have about the content. They're just so bloody dirty. Most already know "The View from the Afternoon"; trust me, it's hot no matter which album it leads!
The band keeps the songs down and dirty, with a steady melody line to keep the listener tuned in. Check "Cigarette Smoker Fiona" for the rundown on how a cracking rock and roll song is made. Mixed in are two different melodies, both cringing for the dance floor - "Her brother’s gone off to the stripper / to make up for all the lost time" - could you get more in tune with the street savvy people? Doubt it.
"Despair in the Departure Lounge" keeps up with the underground, dirty feel of this album. You're either going to love it or hate it, and that depends on how real the Arctic Monkeys portray it. But it is one of the songs that flaunt the idea of making a disk about fortune and fame - this one about leaving your girl at home while you're out touring. The track also shows Turne trying to connect to his inner hippie, trying out mellow lines that he's had down for a while now. It demonstrates the feel of the album brilliantly - a steady stream of words and phrases, some that make sense, and others that just sound 'bout right.
Most of those phrases are in "No Buses", a track that'll grow with you if you let it. The back beat is hot and cracking, because it relies on voice and not too much on other instruments. I can't figure out how Turne does it so nicely, but he sure knows how to paste a thousand words into a loop and make it fit like a puzzle piece.
But none of the tracks on this disk demonstrates the melody and rhythms that the Arctic Monkeys were hoping to get across than the title track. "Who the *** are the Arctic Monkeys" has a melody that carries out through the whole song. It shows Turne taking risks with his style, incorporating a kicking base line that'll drive you into the ground. It also shows the band really trying to hammer home a feeling with the audience. They know what it is. They've been doing it all through the mini masterpiece; you can hit us, but we'll keep on coming back up. You'll have to listen to it a bit more to catch it.
