Categories : Featured Review, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 4.5/5 Released: April 23rd, 2007 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov |
Most people agree that the most important formative years for a child come in infancy, but try telling that to anyone between the ages of 18 and 22. That’s where the Arctic Monkeys come in, with their biting description of what it’s like growing up bored and jaded – a topic that applies to even the most well-adjusted young adult.
Their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, was somewhere in between a revelation and a slap in the face. Alex Turner’s observational lyrics commented on just about everything that your average 19 year old would experience trying to experience a night on the town in a town not necessarily known for its nights. The very opening of Whatever warned us that “anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment,†and Turner’s outlook hasn’t gotten much sunnier since.
The world-weariness remains on Favourite Worst Nightmare, only accentuated by the pressure of releasing your sophomore album as one the most hyped and anticipated of the year. What makes the Monkeys so captivating is their ability to predict and transcend the pressure placed on them – ‘Teddy Picker’ tells of being forced to “tell the fucking punchline before you have told the joke,†and kids that “all dream of making it, whatever that means.â€
The jagged riffs and hip-hop influence is still in full force on Favourite, but the bands embraces a bit more musical variety here, notably the slowed down ‘Only One Who Knows,’ where Turner even shuts off the cynicism for a couple of minutes: “They made it far too easy to believe / that true romance can’t be achieved these days.â€
Many of Arctic Monkeys contemporaries – Franz Ferdinand, the Libertines, etc – fizzled on their second efforts, but the Monkeys sound remains white hot on Favourite Worst Nightmare. Even though Turner begs, “do me a favour / tell me to go away!†on ‘Do Me a Favour,’ it appears the Monkeys are a long way from done.
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