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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"First Impressions of Arctic Monkeys" |
06.15.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
If this is your first time reading The Savage Animal, shame on you! It’s been around for nearly five years and you’ve missed out on some of the greatest music related discussions of all time. I insist you go back and catch up. I’ll give you a moment. …Okay! Caught up? No? Okay, well you can do that later.
Every few weeks I take a step back from the normal topical and obscure discussions to broaden my musical lexicon. Some bands just don’t cross paths with you for some reason. Be it location, the crowd you hang out with, the interest, whatever it may be. Some time’s it’s just the lack of hours in a day. Sometimes you hear a band, know a single or two, but never really gave them a fair shot. It happens to everyone. For me, I like to take this time to listen to a band’s entire studio discography and form an honest first impression. It’s a very risky task, but someone has to do it.
Why Arctic Monkeys?
Why NOT the Arctic Monkeys? I have a predetermined thought of this band. I imagine them to be really low-fi indie rock for the hipster crowd. It seems that all the snobby music fans were all about this band for awhile. They were the “Vampire Weekend of the Week” for a good little bit. I think I saw them perform on a few talk shows and maybe even SNL. I really can’t keep track of these type of bands. Some end up really good. Their labelmates on Domino, Franz Ferdinand, is one of my favorite bands at the moment. So with tons of hype, a good record label, and four albums this band seems like a good band to give a fair listen to. I’m going to be open minded and I’m going to hope for the best. As much fun as being a smart ass about stuff can be, I don’t think anyone would want to sit through four albums they didn’t find SOME enjoyment in.
Let’s see how this goes…
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
(2006 – 41 minutes) - The album starts off with a swanky rock track, "The View from the Afternoon". It’s a lot harder than I’d of imagined. It’s more “Strokes-sounding-garage-band” than I expected. Color me impressed. There is a sick break down that comes in and brings the song back up. Next is "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", a song I’m pretty sure I’ve heard before. It’s catchy and I think I remember the chorus. A movie soundtrack maybe? It’s a really good rock track. I was going to say "Fake Tales of San Francisco" was good, but not as good as the first two but I can’t. It’s good stuff. "Dancing Shoes" has a funkier punk vibe at start, but goes into a bouncy dance tune. I’m only going to type the name of the next song once. It’s a fast toe tapper, but so far I can say that "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me" might be the “worst” track on the album so far. Big fan of the guitar work on "Still Take You Home". The vocals remind me a little too much of Jack White. I love Jack, but this is not. "Riot Van" is a bit more stripped down. We hear a crooning story that blends into a very relaxing guitar jam. I am lost inside of the song "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured". It seems okay, but I can’t get into it. I didn’t want to like "Mardy Bum", but it’s a catchy tune. I’m a big fan of "Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..". It starts with that catchy riff and before you know it you’re head is nodding along to the groove. It’s like a jam band song with a purpose! "When the Sun Goes Down" comes and goes. The second half of the album is owned by "From the Ritz to the Rubble". The song is epic. The album ends with "A Certain Romance". It kicks in with some bad ass drums and then an addicting guitar. It dies down to a mellow cruise. It’s a pretty good finisher. Really really solid debut album. That’s the thing about albums like this. So much was just thrown at my ears and brain that I’m going to have to go back and listen to it at least twice more to get a full grasp of what the hell is going on. I like the first half a lot more than the second half, but again, it’s something I’m going to have to fully absorb. I like it.
Favourite Worst Nightmare
(2007 – 38 minutes) - The second album kicks off with the first single, "Brianstorm". It has an intense build and doesn’t let go. I’ve never heard the single, but it’s a really cool song. You know it’s good when you can’t figure out anything to compare it to and you still like it. Another single, "Teddy Picker" starts off with a fun and bouncy melody. I think I actually dig this one more than the first track. It’s not as gritty as the last album so far. I was worried about that. It’s nothing new. "D Is for Dangerous" is okay, but goes in one ear and out the other before an opinion can be made. "Balaclava" makes me think about Seinfeld. That’s a first. I really enjoy "Fluorescent Adolescent". It has a looser vibe to it and feels a bit more comfortable within the skin. The slow boat ride of a journey that is "Only Ones Who Know" makes for one of the best down tempo tracks I’ve heard by this band so far. It’s not “trippy”, but there is a lot of space within the music. A similar down tempo vibe carries over to "Do Me a Favour", but it feels more urgent. I don’t know if this was on purpose, but the last two songs feel connected as if in the first it’s “the connection” and the second is the “break up”. The lyrics and tone is VERY Morrissey/Smiths. That’s not a bad thing. The funky baseline in "This House Is a Circus" is catchy as hell. The song bounces in all the right ways. It’s a little “different” in terms of comparison to the rest of their stuff, but I would have thought this would have been a successful single. It’s weird and rocks in a way that I know for sure this song will be stuck in my head more than once in the near future. The guitar at the start of "If You Were There, Beware" makes me feel like I lost my keys. It has a frantic and panicking beat to it and goes into a really cool song. The song is creepy cool without being dark. Impressive. I head nodded a long to "The Bad Thing", but it didn’t resonate with me all that much. The sounds and music are really interesting in "Old Yellow Bricks" and I’m all for Wizard of Oz themes, but the song felt like filler on the first lesson. The music is so weird and cool though that I want to give it another shot soon. We close up this one with "505". It floats us out with church-like drones of the organ and distant strums of gritty guitars. It builds up to a epic closer. If I had to give this album a grade I’d go with B+ to the first albums A-. Nothing to sleep on, that’s for sure. I think I enjoyed the first album overall better, but the high spots on this second album are really good. The band clearly evolves in a positive direction. I am starting to regret not listening to this stuff earlier. This band has a lot of potential. Well, at least so far.
Humbug
(2009 – 39 minutes) - This Josh FN Homme produced third album of Arctic Monkeys starts off with a brooding "My Propeller". You can hear Josh Homme’s influence almost instantly. That’s not a bad thing. It’s slower in tone, but the melody is kind of funky. Good stuff. I can only hope it’s a precursor of what’s to come. The unique delivery and the bounce of "Crying Lightning" make for one of the best tracks of their entire discography. This stuff is right up my alley. "Dangerous Animals" is more of the same. It’s poppy as hell, but has a really dark feel to it. So far this is the darkest pop album I can think of. He spells out “d-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s” and it’s still really cool. "Secret Door" is more laid back tune. The vocals display some really good singing. What I thought reminded me of Morrissey earlier are back, but matured in a more personal direction. The synth loops are enough for me though. Drippy tune. I find myself really enjoying "Potion Approaching" as well. It’s a harder track, but the vocals are still sung nicely. It’s definitely a head banger. The droney back vocals are a little “too-Homme” for its own good though. I like what I like about the song most is that it DOES remind me of a Queens of the Stone Age song and not that it’s a really good Arctic Monkey’s song. Never the less, I like it. There is something quiet and fun about "Fire and the Thud". It feels like it could have been in any movie involving the desert, a convertible, and a gun. Not feeling "Cornerstone" at all. It feels really out of place and doesn’t do anyone any favors. The music of "Dance Little Liar" is bad ass. The vocals are strained and staticy in a very complimentary way. It might be a little dark, but I’m really surprised it wasn’t a single. It’s gotta be on my list of best Arctic tracks for sure. "Pretty Visitors" sounds like something from the first album that was rediscovered. It’s loud, it’s gritty, and it’s that old fast-pace almost-punk riffs that were cool back then (for me, about two hours ago). This one closes out with a weird as hell tune called "The Jeweller's Hands". It was a weird opening that somehow works once the vocals kick in. I really like the direction the band took on this album. The first album was loud and in your face, the second album was maturity, and this album is a bit slower, a bit smarter, and a bit more experimental. Working with Josh Homme was good for them. I would doubt if the fourth album sounded like this one, but I think this opened a whole new world up to the band. The slower brood and atmosphere they manage to pull off here makes for some really cool tunes. While I don’t want to say it’s the BEST album by the band, I do kind of think it might be my own personal favorite. We shall see though…
Suck It and See
(2011 – 40 minutes) - The fourth and most recent studio album by the Arctic Monkeys gets us going with "She's Thunderstorms". It sounds like an old school 50’s or 60’s ballad, but has the conventions of modern stuff. The vocals are great on it. The airy sway of "Black Treacle" is refreshing. It sounds like what Weezer would sound like if they weren’t nerds. That was mean. I like Weezer. It’s just this song has a similar “simple pop rock” vibe to it, but it’s still strong with depth and soul. "Brick by Brick" is the first song on the album so far that I really like. The vocal delivery has more edge to it and the guitar shreds in it. Really good stuff. More of the old school sway in "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala". It’s a fun song, but I’m confident I’ll forget about it. Another song I’m going type the title of once is "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair". It’s a good song, one of the better. It’s got a darker fist shaking feel to it. It doesn’t feel or sound like Arctic Monkey’s at all though. It’s cool they’re evolving, but they’re becoming lost within the sound comparisons of their counterparts. The musicianship and songs are good, but it’s hard to pin point a stand out or even a general direction. "Library Pictures" does its damnedest to stand out. It has a grittier and bluesy feel to it. Sadly, it wasn’t even two and a half minutes long. We follow up with a very song track in "All My Own Stunts". The opening base line of "Reckless Serenade" is the good stuff. The song blends into a lighter tempo almost-ballad sounding tune. Surely it’ll be more ironic and darker than it seems. I love the opening to "Piledriver Waltz", which is a great name for a song. The delivery and full sound of the accompanying music reminds me of a lot of songs I’ve heard before, yet I can’t put my finger on any of them at the moment. It’s a fairly pleasant track. Another good title, "Love Is a Laserquest", opens up with a good drum beat and goes into a crooner down tempo tune. The title track "Suck It and See" starts off slow and then kicks in with a passionate sounding rock song. Whatever. Irony. I get it. It sounds like The Smiths again. The album closes out with "That's Where You're Wrong". This album wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I can’t hate on it because for the fourth time in four albums the band took a huge chance and went in a whole new direction. You have to respect that.
THE VERDICT
(2006 – ) - I can see where the hype comes from. The first album is one of the best rock albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in awhile. There is a certain rawness to their music that I can’t help but enjoy. It’s a little Strokes, a little White Stripes, a little alternative, a little Killers, and pretty much a little of everything. At first I noticed the obvious influences, but they were quick to establish their own thing. As time went on they showed tons of promise. I heard the second album and I have to be honest, I was VERY relieved. It’s too often that I’ll like someone’s first album and then the artist will stray from the style and evolve in a more commercial manner rather than artistic. With the third album the band hooked up with Josh Homme and took some big risks and big chances. I think it paid off A LOT. The band had carved out a certain sound for themselves. They were growing on it, but the “Humbug” album took them to a whole new world. They adapted and changed so much from album to album that come the fourth I was sure it was going to be less than stellar. It’s not that it was “less than stellar”, it was just it wasn’t my cup of tea. I like the idea of the band shifting around it’s sound as often as they do. My gripe is that they still have a hard time shaking off their influences. There are numerous songs that sound like The Smiths or Morrissey. There are plenty of tracks that sound like Josh Hommes. It goes on. Still, there is a certain brilliance to the overall body of work here. It’s impressive as hell. The band drops its first album in 2006 and goes THAT far that quick. I appreciated all four albums, but my pick is the first and third. That’s just me. Yeah, I’ll listen to more Arctic Monkeys in the future. They are definitely a new band to add to my playlists. If you haven’t given them a fair listen yet do yourself the favor and put this in your ears!
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