Music Is My Weapon

Okay, I just learned about these guys through pandora.com
Arctic Monkeys are a UK phenomenon, with last year's debut album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" selling more than any other debut album, EVER, in UK chart history. It was a great album, no question. Now, only a year later, comes the follow-up album.

These guys just rule. It's a tight, concise album, that thankfully avoids the sophomore slump of trying to make a "Big Artistic Statement" (*cough* bloc party *ahem* killers) and instead focuses on rocking hard. There are no wasted notes or time on this album - none! The album is filled with razor sharp hooks and terrific musicianship, particular the spectacular drumming of Matt Helders. The often cryptic, but snidely clever and evocative lyrics and singing of Alex Turner is a real asset as well. Those involved in the recording, mixing, producing etc. deserve kudos as well - the sound just jumps out of the speakers! I love this album! Since I have no life, I listen to a LOT of music and I usually burn through albums quickly, listening once or twice and moving on, but this one I keep coming back to again and again and again.

But music isn't enough, and even the punchy rhythm of "Teddy Picker" is brought down by hypocritical rants, "This House Is a Circus" uses the "word" berserkus for a rhyme(!), and the laughable story of the trying-too-hard "Fluorescent Adolescent" turns a forgettable track into an awful one. On the other end of the spectrum, "Only Ones Who Knows" is relatively well-said but drags along with a sluggish melody that's more likely to put one to sleep than to make one feel something. If Arctic Monkeys hope to have any shot at earning the accolades they once drowned in, they'd better do it fast. Remember when everyone loved the Strokes? And how often do you hear people talking about them in the present tense? And hell, those guys actually DESERVED most of their attention back then.

Best cuts: "Brainstorm," "Do Me a Favour," "Old Yellow Bricks," "If You Were There, Beware," "D Is For Dangerous," "The Bad Thing"