Favourite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys
I've been a fan of Arctic Monkeys since their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. When I bought that album it owned the CD player in my car for a good two weeks straight. With their followup effort they continue what they started and take it to the next level. The production and musicianship has stepped up a notch, but if you were a fan of the first album you will find a lot to like.
Arctic Monkeys are a rarity among modern punk bands, being one of the few with a truly solid and inventive rhythm section. They never seem content with simply chugging along with a handful of palm-muted power chords like many of their alternative brethren. They liberally use musical spaces to great creative effect, a lost art in popular music in general. The bass player and drummer work very well together, keeping the performances tight despite the fact that they're often quite frenetic.
The band manages to start with relatively simple progressions and massively expand them in a very short time. The longest song on the album clocks in at 4:34 but most of them are less than three minutes. There is very little filler. The album opens with "Brainstorm" and it's absolutely frantic single-note riff, a sign of things to come. Melodically the album is very sophisticated, often eschewing standard rock minor and major scale ideas. Innovative use of elements of surf jump out. They frequently chose notes evoking a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern feel. I haven't picked up a guitar yet to try and figure any of this out but I'm thinking, off the top of my head, that it might be some harmonic minor or maybe the phrygian mode (if I had to take a guess).
The lyrics are clever and gritty. I like the fact that the singer tries to squeeze them into the music rather than abridge them for an easier fit. It lends an energy to the vocals that perfectly compliments the musicianship.
My favorite two songs thus far are "Teddy Picker", a muscular little rocker, and "Balaclava", a frenzied example of Arctic Monkeys at their finest.
Go out right now and buy this album. While you're at it, buy their first one as well. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
2 comments:
I can't stop listening to Brainstorm. I really like these guys. I need to buy their albums. By the way, Brawndo's MySpace song now is Brainstorm. I thought it fit well. I think the best way to explain these guys compared to most pop-punk (which has given the whole culture a bad name...but I won't go into that now) is they are not "catchy", they are infectious. Hopefully they keep up the good work. We'll have to keep our eye on their tour schedule.
Yeah I'd love to catch them on tour. I really think they've transcended their genre already. They've found their own sound - I can't think of anyone that sounds similar. You really should buy the albums because I know your tastes and these guys are right up your alley.
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