Review: AM [Arctic Monkeys]

AM- Arctic Monkeys

by: Kitty White

Arctic Monkeys just released their 5^th studio album ‘AM’ this week, two years after their last release of ‘Suck It and See’ in 2011. Now, I was going to write this like a normal album review but after trying to write this for over a week, I can tell you it’s not going to go down that way. This album completely caught me off guard. I was a fan of Arctic Monkeys before, but not a huge one. I dug their sound and was happy to have a modern rock band getting big on the scene but they weren’t my favorite. ‘AM’ has completely blown me away. I was not expecting to love this album like I do. These four guys from Sheffield, England have completely revamped their sound thanks to none other than Joshua Homme and what a beautiful sound it is. There’s still the hint of the classic Arctic Monkeys’ sound, but ‘AM’ has a much heavier and mature feeling to it than their previous releases. It’s not like they are copying Josh and Queens of the Stone Age’s iconic desert sound though. Not at all. It’s like Homme took them out to the desert, slipped something in their drinks, handed them their instruments and said, “Make beautiful music babies that sound like outer space and wild horses.” Now there’s no proof that this exchange actually happened but in my brain that’s how ‘AM’ was born. There’s really no other explanation for it. This album is all majestic space horses and leather jackets. If you don’t know what space horses and leather jackets sound like you should probably just go listen to ‘AM’ right now. Also keep a tall glass of cold water next to you while you listen because some of these songs are a bit too hot to handle. The first two tracks Do I Wanna Know? and R U Mine? not only pose some interesting questions but also leave you a little out of breath after listening. If you are familiar with the old Arctic Monkeys sound you will still hear hints of it throughout the album but there is a much more evolved sound going on here. I’d say the album is like a rollercoaster of emotion but really the main emotions are “horny” and “wow.” It's a fresh new sound from a band that is still relatively new on the scene and it gives me a lot of hope for their future.