Review Summary: "Suck it and see, you never know..."
The moment I realised Suck It and See had become my favourite album by the Arctic Monkeys came when I had listened to the title track for the 30th time in a week and still hadn’t gotten tired of it. As unpopular of an opinion that may be, the fourth album by the Arctic Monkeys manages pop perfection while retaining the aesthetic from previous release “Humbug”, and it’s easily one of their strongest albums to date.
Despite the band’s maturation since 2006’s Whatever People Say I Am… Alex Turner’s witty lyricism remains intact. Rather than writing about the escapades of Sheffield youth and referencing The Police on songs like “When the Sun Goes Down”, Turner seems content with strange metaphors for love and referencing his own songs. “You’re rarer than a can of Dandelion and Burdock, and those other girls are just post-mix lemonade” he croons on the title track, and while it’s a far cry from the fake tales of San Francisco and the dancing shoes of the past, the charm is still there, hiding underneath clever wordplay. Just be prepared for thinking outside the box when it comes to Turner’s lyrics.
Musically the band has always been solid, even through the replacement of bassists, but on this release they sound more refined and energetic than ever before. Nick O’Malley in particular steals the show for most of the record, with the verses in “The Hellcat Spangled Shalala” and the entirety of “Black Treacle” utilising melodic grooves that impress and keep the songs tied together at the same time. Matt Helders, by now established as one of the finest drummers of the modern era, plays simpler fills than earlier records, but still excels in keeping the rhythm interesting, with the tom-tom beats in “Reckless Serenade” and syncopated bass drum hits in “She’s Thunderstorms” never sounding out of place. Jamie Cook, by far the most under-rated member of the band, always manages to fit a pretty riff over Alex’s basic chords, and the guitar tones on the record appear to aim to please fans of chiming guitars a la The Smiths.
There is quite a lot of variety to the album, although not all songs are instant hits. “Library Pictures” and “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” provide hard hitting riffs that wouldn’t be out of place on a stoner rock record, while elsewhere “That’s Where You’re Wrong” and “Love Is a Laserquest” provide just enough effects to gain a dream pop vibe. “Brick By Brick” however, is a fairly worthless track no matter how fun listening to it is, and “Library Pictures” didn’t stand out for me despite the quirkiness. Those two could’ve been replaced by different songs in my opinion. The slow pace of some tracks may not appeal to fans of the band’s earlier releases as well.
In the end however, Suck It and See stands tall as a fine achievement for the Arctic Monkeys, and also stands as – criminally – the most under-rated album in the band’s catalogue. We might not be able to have the teenagers we knew and loved from Whatever People Say I Am… and Favourite Worst Nightmare back, but if this is the way they are heading, I’m more than willing to follow.
