Never have I experienced such pandemic angst amongst music fans than I have with this album. With the wonderful reception to Turner and Kane's second Shadow Puppets record, along with drummer Helders' escapades with Iggy Pop- it's safe to say there were plenty of places, people and experiences the boys could've drawn from to create their 6th album.
Amidst all the scepticism, an album leak and clips of them performing some of their new tracks at their American gigs, I've managed to refrain from indulging for the soul purpose of reviewing the album in full, just as I did "Everything You've Come to Expect" in 2016 (without the ranking of songs as I'll explain later)- without further ado, lets get to the nitty gritty.
1. Star Treatment: When the song first began I felt a distinct familiarity, not within Arctic Monkeys discography, but loosely as though it wouldn't go amiss in a Tame Impala album, which is the sort of sound I was expecting from the teaser. I was shocked at the switch in lyricism from Turner, opting for a more "wordy" approach so to speak left to simmer underneath the microphone affects. Embarrassingly enough I wrote "Love Matt's wailing" which although sounds extremely passive aggressive is meant in earnest. Overall I'd say this song gives me a sort of "high on a trampoline" vibe and seems to encompass my general thoughts on TBHC.
2. One Point Perspective: I had to have a slight giggle at the "Mr Blue Skies" peppy-esque intro but was quickly put back in my place as the sound of the song shifted into the estranged eclectic sister of "Snap Out of It". I couldn't help but envisage some form of parody music video being shot at poolside, with Turner and Co adorning kimono's and obnoxiously large sunglasses.
3. American Sports: The first thing written in my notes is "should probably google what a 'lola' is" which I just attempted to do but to no avail. At this point in my listening experience I began to feel slightly subdued, as though I had been listening to the same song in different stages of its life. Lyrically, Turner has had a lot of time to reflect on himself, his situation and the world for this album- which clearly was what he was doing on the painfully long hiatus.
4. Tranquillity Base + Hotel Casino: The title track opens with some cracking bass work from O'Malley, however I couldn't help but be slightly thrown off by the "Mark talking" line and Alex Turner singing "side boob" is something that wouldn't have been at all in my list of things to expect from album no. 6. That being said, it's a well put together song, giving off vibes of a robot slowly powering down.
5. Golden Trunks: Now, all I could think throughout this was of how many WWE matches Turner and Kane must've witnessed in order to both come up with wrestling references (Kane's album titled "Coup De Grace" is the name of wrestler Finn Balor's finishing move.) Although the song did seem somewhat Addams Family-esque in sound, there were some crunchy guitar moments definitely worth the mention.
6. Four Out of Five: The tune with the sexy bass as seen in the teaser trailer for the album, otherwise known as the song I was waiting for this whole album. Easily the most traditional Monkeys song out of all of them, FOOF (what an acronym) sounds like a warped space-age version of "Moonage Daydream" regardless of how much the reference of "gentrified" made me think of GCSE geography.
7. The Worlds First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip: Seeing this on the track listing before the release of the album had me highly confused (that and The Ultracheese and Batphone) and when the song began I couldn't help but think it was playing the intro to some upbeat rap song. WFEMTFF (fucking hell) quickly identifies itself as a hazy afternoon sort of song, and picks up quite quickly. However, there's quite an abrupt ending which doesn't sit too well for me but admittedly fits in stylistically with the theme of the album- so I'll live.
8. Science Fiction: A TUNE. Already I have decided that the second side of the album is my favourite and maybe would've received TBHC better if the track listing was switched (but that is just a matter of preference.) SF is quite a dark sounding song with cynical and twangy synthesiser elements. Wouldn't sound too foreign in EYCTE, and could perhaps be Dracula Teeth's distant cousin.
9. She Looks Like Fun: Very smooth vocals delivered by Turner on this track which integrate nicely with bass riff and Helders' drumming, but nothing compares to the sharp, twangy guitar solo that beautifully contrasts the song.
10. Batphone: Pleasantly welcomed (but not surprised) by Matt's drumming on this track. It resonates to me as some sort of sleezy bar song, with the whiny repeated guitar riff creating an almost Phantom effect, like a spring being uncoiled. The ending line of "Looking out across your soul" is stunningly delivered by Turner, but I can't help but feel as though "wooing" his fans with sweet words is expected of him now.
11. The Ultracheese: When it began I couldn't shake the feeling of it sounding like a musical number, like that one Danny sang in Grease at the drive-in, and it delivers itself as a drinking alone sort of tune. However, it delivered something I had been yearning for throughout the entire album when Turner began to belt the "kind to someone" line. It offered a dynamic uplifting, groovy change in tempo and the addition of the piano at the end was a welcoming tinkle of positivity in a song that is so heartfelt. However, a stand alone moment has to be the melodic "ooh" sang at the very end of the song, which echoed in the cavity i THOUGHT my lungs were (but clearly has now been replaced by that angelic sound.)
As a conclusion, it is clear that the known sound of Arctic Monkeys has developed into something more mature than fans are used to. Long gone are the days of Turner blabbing on about fit girls in pubs and wankers with pool cues. It sounds as though Alex needs to dabble in a bit of slam poetry, as the ongoing theme throughout the album seems to be based around spoken word-esque lyrics.
The bands decision to not release a single now seems less irritating to me and more wise. 3 tracks in I had slightly convinced myself the decision was made because there were no stand alone songs, however retrospectively they could have gotten away with Four Out of Five or perhaps Science Fiction- but releasing a single would do the album an injustice- after all, all well structured stories have a beginning, middle and an end and to release a single would be comparable to throwing away an important chapter in the middle of a book.
TBHC is admittedly very Alex Turner based, you can see why it was considered to be a solo record and arguably would've been better off left as one. Nonetheless, this album marks an important time in the Arctics life as a band. They're all in their 30's, they have kids, they have wives- it would be naive to expect them to stick to writing #Indie ballads or observational songs they were creating in their early 20's. TBHC is a remarkably introspective album with decisive and vulnerable lyrics. It's as though a song has been made from Turner's diary which is a theme that threads through the heart of Arctic Monkeys albums.
The bands decision to not release a single now seems less irritating to me and more wise. 3 tracks in I had slightly convinced myself the decision was made because there were no stand alone songs, however retrospectively they could have gotten away with Four Out of Five or perhaps Science Fiction- but releasing a single would do the album an injustice- after all, all well structured stories have a beginning, middle and an end and to release a single would be comparable to throwing away an important chapter in the middle of a book.
TBHC is admittedly very Alex Turner based, you can see why it was considered to be a solo record and arguably would've been better off left as one. Nonetheless, this album marks an important time in the Arctics life as a band. They're all in their 30's, they have kids, they have wives- it would be naive to expect them to stick to writing #Indie ballads or observational songs they were creating in their early 20's. TBHC is a remarkably introspective album with decisive and vulnerable lyrics. It's as though a song has been made from Turner's diary which is a theme that threads through the heart of Arctic Monkeys albums.
The song of this post, like last time, won't be one from this album but a song cited as one that acted as influence! Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
-L
