New Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

[thugler]

Anyone listened to this yet? Thoughts?

I hated it. 11 tracks of plodding pastiche. Smuggest band in the world at the moment.

Had read that it sounded like the beach boys. It doesn't.

[Porter Dimi]

Liked it more than AM but didn't love it as such. Reminds me vaguely of Timber Timbre or the latest King Krule album, but not as interesting as either of those. Just a similar gloomy lounge lizard vibe.

[Kane Jones]

Sounds like Alex has been caning his Bowie LPs.

[SteveDave]

I love it. I've listened to it a lot over the last week and it is a grower.

On a side note I listened to King Krule last week too. He was sold to me as "the British Beck". Jesus. Brit School.

[Namtab]

It's alright. Not half as good or interesting as it thinks it is, but there's some good tunes and lyrics on there; Star Treatment, Tranquility Base, Four out of Five and Ultracheese are pretty great. Even if Ultracheese is basically Rock 'n Roll Suicide.

[holyzombiejesus]

Have they ever spoken about the tax avoidance thing? There was a big piece in Mojo but the interviewer never even mentioned it.

[Butchers Blind]

Gave it a few listens all the way through but didn't work for me.  Found it a dull chore.  If they want to explore new directions that's fine by me, I don't expect them to sound like the 19 year olds when they first appeared but it wasn't my thing.

[Thomas]

Sounds like Alex has been caning his Bowie LPs.

Mainly 'Drive-In Saturday' on repeat, I think.

I never really paid much attention to their early stuff - as with Channel 4's Skins, the swagger and the dancefloors and the social drama of Arctic Monkeys said nothing to me about my life; it was another northern band for me - but I think Alex Turner is a fairly incredible lyricist, particularly on that single 'Crying Lightning' a few years ago:

The next time that I caught my own reflection, it was on its way to meet you
Thinking of excuses to postpone
You never looked like yourself from the side but your profile could not hide
The fact you knew I was approaching your throne
With folded arms you occupied the bench like toothache
Stood and puffed your chest out like you'd never lost a war
And though I tried so not to suffer the indignity of reaction
There was no cracks to grasp or gaps to claw

I've never listened to a full Arctic Monkeys album before, but I heard some discussion of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (great title) on the radio the other night and decided to put it on. I like it. Lazy sci-fi lounge music. No obvious festival-friendly singles. Slightly weird thing for a band like this to do. I admire it.

[bgmnts]

Arctic Monkeys is wank for cunts.

[fat_abbott]

I think it's pretty good after 2 listens, I went seeking reviews after and couldn't believe no one made a Bowie comparison. It's the closest thing I've heard to the Dame ever.

They obviously have massive balls to turn something out like this, and fair play that they did.

[imitationleather]

A friend of mine said it sounds like an album made by Vic and Bob. Never listening to it, as it's not going to live up to that description.

[Wet Blanket]

Alex Turner always struck me as very cool person dealing in a sort of ironic naffness, but now that he's heading into his 30s and no longer on pop culture's cutting edge, I'm not convinced that he hasn't just become the showbiz dickhead he affects to take the piss out of.

[phantom_power]

Turner's opening lines of them album say it all:

I just wanted to be one of the Strokes
Now look at the mess you made me make
Hitchhiking with a monogrammed suitcase
Miles away from any half-useful imaginary highway

[gilbertharding]

You know who else doesn't like it? Lads who drink Dark Fruits cider. Probably... no-one's actually asked them.

[sevendaughters]

looking forward to listening to this. i love about-faces even by bands that i don't like. one of them led me to Congratulations by MGMT, which is brilliant. it's a brave thing to do, however you feel about the old stuff and the new stuff. as it stands i never really liked Arctic Monkeys after seeing them just before LP1 in Wigan. i like a couple of songs ('Teddy Picker' and 'Crying Lightning'). not a fan of 'lyrics artists' and furthermore i find his contrived witticisms a bit of a chore. they also became very boring when Josh Homme started working with them. nonetheless i will check this out this afternoon!

[sevendaughters]

oh and the first King Krule album is really good, better than anything Beck has done this century, so what if he went to performing arts school, lots of great artists have training NEWSFLASH

[SteveDave]

oh and the first King Krule album is really good, better than anything Beck has done this century, so what if he went to performing arts school, lots of great artists have training NEWSFLASH

For someone who sounds like Joe Strummer doing doomy hip-hop karaoke it's not the done thing is it though? Hashtag punk rock. Like and subscribe.

[sevendaughters]

For someone who sounds like Joe Strummer doing doomy hip-hop karaoke it's not the done thing is it though? Hashtag punk rock. Like and subscribe.

hmmmmm i don't think he sounds like any of those things. yeah he's probably the beneficiary of a good PR campaign.

just heard TBH&C, absolute wank isn't it! really as smug as when Mr. Bungle do googly-eyes at changing from one genre exercise to another. just got worse and worse as it dragged on. some nice sounds but no good songs. the vocals and lyrics are INSUFFERABLE.

[MoonDust]

I quite like it. Not amazing, but I like it. Four Out of Five is a good one.

[alan nagsworth]

Listened to it three times today, and I really like it. It's got just the right amount of cocktail swagger and arrogance with an actually-great concept spliced with some of the most indulgent, daft lyrics going. It does fall into the trap of being too one-note every now an then, but overall I think it flows together nicely and probably two thirds of it I thing is pretty damn solid.

Overall it's just good to see them take a risk on a record like this, alienate the AM tag-alongs and do whatever they/Turner think is a good idea. A band with their status could be doing a fucking lot worse than this on their sixth album - other big names like The Killers, Kings of Leon, Elbow and Biffy Clyro are all but dried up after such a decent run of two or three early albums - and at the risk of suggesting that their tenacity is what carries this album more than anything, I'd posit that they are honestly just good modern indie songwriters who really haven't disappointed me all that much throughout their various different stylistic shifts. Humbug is still a fucking great album to me, and their best album in terms of how well it's aged, and I'm really glad they're still this creatively active.

[sevendaughters]

A band with their status could be doing a fucking lot worse than this on their sixth album - other big names like The Killers, Kings of Leon, Elbow and Biffy Clyro

I get why you'd make this comparison but I compared it to good music I would actually listen to. Kings of Leon LP6 is not a difficult bar to clear.

Find it strange this obviously unlikeable album has won some over, but I do wonder who is listening to it in a year.

[Barry Admin]

This is dog muck, stop playing it on 6 Music!

[Kane Jones]

I don't think the album is any good, but I still prefer it to their other stuff which is exactly the sort of music I don't like.

[Porter Dimi]

Their best is still Favourite Worst Nightmare by a long margin.

[MoonDust]

Their best is still Favourite Worst Nightmare by a long margin.

Hmmm, I think so too, maaaybe. It edges only very above the rest if it is the best. Worst I'm not sure. Probably AM. Unless there's another one between Suck It and See and AM.

[SteveDave]

For me it goes

Favourite Worst Nightmare
AM
WPSIATWIN
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Suck It And See























Humbug