Arctic Monkeys’ “AM” [Review]

It was 10 years ago when I heard of the band Arctic Monkeys. The first song I ever heard from the band was “Knee Socks” and it was a moment that would affect me for the rest of my life. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan of the band, picking up nearly all of their records on vinyl as well as enjoying all of them. It was only a couple of weeks ago when I first listened to the band’s debut album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” and looking back, you can see that this band was going to become something great. While their more contemporary music has been met with mixed reception, AM remains to be the fan-favorite.

Debuting on September 9th, 2013, Arctic Monkeys’ fifth album “AM” released with critical acclaim, being named one of the year’s best albums by several media outlets.

With the incredible success of the band’s debut album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not”, Arctic Monkeys made a name for themselves and have become a legend in the rock music scene. While their follow-up albums, “Favourite Worst Nightmare”, “Humbug”, and “Suck It and See” all were met with positive reviews, it wasn’t until “AM” that the band became an international sensation.

Initially starting off as a garage/punk rock band, the band shifted to more of a psychedelic rock feel in their third album and more of a pop feel in their fourth. It wasn’t until “AM” that the band hit their stride with the hard/psychedelic rock music.

The title of “AM” was inspired by the band ‘The Velvet Underground’ as revealed in an interview between lead singer/frontman, Alex Turner, and BBC Radio 1. The album was almost called “The New Black” which was a name that was given to the guitar amp that the album was recorded on.

“AM” is an incredibly dark and gritty-sounding album and that’s because of two instruments that are heavily featured on this record, that being a drum machine, and bass guitars. This is immediately apparent in the first track “Do I Wanna Know?”. You’re hit with an aggressive drum line beat consisting of only two distinct sounds similar to people stomping and clapping. Only a few seconds later a tight but downright dirty bass line hits you hard. Turner’s haunting voice compliments this as he preaches about his doubts over a relationship that he finds himself in. It isn’t until over a minute in that we the rest of the band pitches in with some more percussion and additional backing voices. The music video for this song is one of the most popular videos on YouTube with over 1.5 billion views and it’s an iconic one at that. With a white line that reflects the sounds of the music, that shifts into various depictions of the infamous mudflap girl.

Turning up the aggression is the lead single “R U Mine?”. With almost metal-sounding muddy guitars, explosive drums, and haunting backing vocals, this track really set the stage for a new direction for the band. It’s probably the loudest-sounding song on the project, and while other songs may get pretty close to the harshness of this track during a chorus or guitar solo, nothing really comes close to how punchy this one is. Lyrically, many of the songs on this record have to do with love and loss and coping with those emotions. While “Do I Wanna Know?” focuses mostly on having doubts in a relationship, Turner describes himself as being a “puppet on a string” in reference to previous relationships.

One word that will come up a lot during this review is ‘haunting’. It’s a great word to describe how airy many of these tracks feel, along with the falsetto backing vocals on nearly every track it’s the best way to describe such a chilling feeling that these songs can give you. The most bone-chilling song on this record would have to be “One For The Road”. The track opens with a guitar being played pizzicato and those haunting backing vocals saying ‘woo-ooh’. The backing vocals on this track are from Josh Homme, of ‘Queens of the Stone Age’, who produced the band’s third album “Humbug”. While we still hear that chunky guitar work that’s a staple of this album, the airy pizzicato notes linger throughout the track creating a feeling of unease. The guitar solo on this track is equally as eerie as it is delightful. The song’s all about taking one last drink before hitting the road and leaving someone behind.

Much like the previous track “Arabella” has a big focus on chunky guitars and pizzicato ones. While the addition of some very hard-hitting drums and cymbals is welcome, the track sets itself apart from any other on this record as it describes the titular Arabella, a woman who’s out of this world. She’s a woman made of outer space and has you wishing that the bottle she’s wrapping her lips around was you. The woman and this song are absolutely intoxicating and the guitar solo on this one might just be the best on the album.

“I Want It All” has a very chunky feeling guitar and that drum machine driving it. The ghostly vocals are almost drowned out by the guitar, but during the bridge, they take a backseat and let them shine for a second before swerving back into the lead. This might be the weakest track on the record, but that’s saying a lot considering the rest of the project.

The slowest song on the album by far is “No. 1 Party Anthem” which is essentially a ballad. It describes a man at a party looking for his next lover. Dressed up in a leather jacket and wearing sunglasses at the club, he’s looking for someone who’s gonna do him no good. The piano on this song really takes the stage and it’s a great fit considering the tempo of the track.

Picking up the tempo, but not by much is “Mad Sounds”. It’s a song about how powerful music can be. How music can make you get up and dance and make you feel alive. It’s a nice acoustic song that really helps break up the rest of the album as you get hit with the ooh la la.

With a funky and chunky bass line, “Fireside” is very different from any other song. The groove laid down by the bass guitar is something only found on this track and it’s complimented by the percussion. The haunting backing vocals only serve to add another layer of depth. In the latter half of the song, we hear a 70s-like electric guitar riff that really comes out of left field. Somehow the band managed to make this all work and turned it into a very different song than anything we’ve heard or will hear from the band. It fits the theme of the song very well as it’s about trying to move past a former lover, one whose ghost still looms over you.

“Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” is a song that’s, according to Turner, very obvious in what it means. It’s got another funky and chunky bass line with that drum machine carrying a lot of weight. We do hear that pizzicato guitar a lot during this song as well as some very haunting falsetto backing vocals. The way the song closes with the cymbals is the highlight on this one, but there is so much depth to this track that you feel like you find something new on each listen.

“Snap Out Of It” is one of the more pop-like songs on this album. With the focus being on telling someone to just forget about you, the song was the last one to be released as a single from the album. There are some funk elements in the guitars and they feel as chunky as ever on this track. We do hear some very haunting vocals during the bridge and it sounds as if some of the instrumentals have almost been reversed.

Probably the best song on this record, “Knee Socks” is an excellent way to signal the end of the album. Everything about this track is beautifully produced. The lyrics elicit a scene of a woman wandering around the house at midnight wearing nothing but a sky-blue shirt and knee-high socks on a rainy Tuesday night in January. Once again, Josh Homme lends his vocals to this track which can be heard throughout the bridge. The drum machine and chunky bass guitars start this song off and the occasional guitar chords are absolutely bone-chilling. The band manages to make the song feel empty at certain points which only increases that haunting feeling.

Closing out the album is “I Wanna Be Yours”. Originally a poem by John Cooper Clarke, the poem only became more popular after Arctic Monkeys wrote a song about it. Clarke reduces himself to an object in order to appeal to the object of his desire. Turner was able to turn a somewhat comedic piece and took out the romantic parts and turned it into a love song. Once again, the song is bone-chillingly cold at some points with the vocals. It’s a beautiful ballad that is both haunting and inspiring. The simple but emotional riffs are wonderfully done and I could not think of a better way to close out this album.

Final Thoughts

“AM” is Arctic Monkeys’ most popular album by a long shot. The band has gone in a bit of a different direction after the release of this record. While I did enjoy “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” after a lot of listens, it didn’t really sit too well with me when it was released. With their latest record, “The Car” which was released 9 years after “AM”, the band departed even further from their previous sounds. I’m sure it’ll grow on me in the future, but I fear the band will never recapture the magic of their earlier works. The incredible bass guitar work on this project probably defined my love for the instrument and its usage in music to this day.

Album Score: 10/10
Favorite Track: “Knee Socks”