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Remember when Arctic Monkeys first broke onto the scene in early 2006 and it was too easy to call them another buzz band? Put them on a Spin cover and pretty soon you’ll find them in the $3.00 used CD bin with The Bravery and Kasabian. The Sheffield, England based rockers have returned with Humbug, their third album since their ’06 breakthrough, which gives the boys a revised launching pad for their punkish guitar riffs and Alex Turner’s creative evolution.
While the Monkeys’ past work echoed the club/rock scene with their danceable rock compositions, the boys ventured to the desert this time to find a heavier vision – one in the rust of of Josh Homme and Joshua Tree It’s in the Queens of the Stone Age man’s southern Cali desert studio where the band fired down ten tracks that record in 39 minutes; but despite the heavy expectations, Arctic Monkeys don’t take themselves too seriously. The music still holds that jerky punk vibe and front-man Turner lends a solid lead singer/lead guitarist effort, although many of his poetic ramblings are forgettable.
When the worst track on the album “My Propeller” appears as the first song, it’s simple rapid fire after, as the band scorches through the frantic drums of “
