Since forming in 2002, Arctic Monkeys have released six albums with a very steady evolution of sound and dynamics. Their first two albums, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and Favorite Worst Nightmare, featured songs with a frenetic pace and few slower paced songs were to be found. Humbug and Suck It and See began to present albums of slower paced songs, with frontman Alex Turner utilizing his vocals to greater affect. This inevitably lead to AM, an album with multiple hit songs produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. New fans and old who were expecting another crowd-pleasing pop album like AM were thrown a curve ball when, five years later, the Sheffield, England group released the concept album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. The previously guitar-led albums were replaced by piano forward tracks that resembled a night lounge band more than a rock band. For their seventh album, The Car, the quartet has continued in the direction set on TBH&C.
This direction is obvious from the first few seconds of “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” as the drums play a jazzy shuffle along with strings and piano until staccato notes hit and Turner joins in with his Bowie-esque lounge singer vocals. It gets funky on “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” as the rhythm section is joined by Prince-like guitar licks joining in. This slightly more upbeat funkiness is also present on “Hello You” with bongo hits complimenting the drumming by Matt Helders. Acoustic guitar picking reminiscent of The Beatles “Dear Prudence” take center stage on “Mr Schwartz” before a subdued Tropicalia beat joins in while glossy strings compliment Turner’s breathy vocals. The single previously released from The Car is “Body Paint”, a track that sounds like it could be a collaboration between David Bowie and ELO.
The Car definitely keeps with the trajectory that Arctic Monkeys have been following since the release of Whatever People… and Favorite Worst Nightmare. Depending on what your outlook on the band’s releases has been will determine whether you think The Car is in keeping with an upward or downward trajectory. Whatever your thoughts on their direction, it seems obvious at this point that Turner & Co. are not interested in recreating the past and are content with pushing their sound forward.
