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Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner says the band have experimented with R&B sounds on new album AM, released Monday, and claims that his Elvis-inspired quiff was due to wanting to get one up on his bandmates.
Turner discussed the band's long-awaited new album in a new interview with GQ magazine - where he reveals that recording in LA had a huge influence on the band's ever evolving sound.
"This record, in the vocal production and the melodies, there’s a contemporary R&B kind of twist," Turner tells the magazine. "But that, coupled with a ‘70s-rock kind of thing. That combination makes definitely the right kind of smoke."
"On a lot of L.A. records," he adds, "the groove leans back a little. And there’s a bit of that on this new Monkeys record."
Turner also discusses more serious matters in the GQ interview - including his hairstyle, having adopted a quiff to coincide with the band's move to a retro, American-influenced rock sound.
"All the boys got shorter hair, and I thought, ‘What can I do to one-up them?’" he says of the quiff. "I am the singer after all, and you’ve gotta be a dick sometimes."
"I saw an Elvis picture where he had the curl, and I thought, ‘Maybe I could do that.’ Once you have the haircut, certain clothes just start to look right, don’t they?"
Watch Arctic Monkeys perform new track 'Arabella' below
The Sheffield rockers' fifth LP is set to drop on Monday 9 September, but you can listen to the album in full by visiting here.
Arctic Monkeys will perform at the iTunes Festival in London on Monday 9 September, before heading out on a full UK Arena tour in October:
Tuesday 22 October - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Wednesday 23 October - Manchester Arena
Friday 25 October - London Earls Court
Monday 28 October - Liverpool Echo Arena
Tuesday 29 October - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Thursday 31 October - Birmingham LG Arena
Friday 1 November - Glasgow Hydro
Saturday 2 November - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
For more information visit Gigwise Gig Tickets
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