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If you're trying to master the art of seduction probably don't go with the line 'I wanna be your vacuum cleaner, breathing in your dust/ I wanna be your Ford Cortina I will never rust' - it will sound creepy and it will evoke a mass cringe. Unless you're Alex Turner.
'I Wanna Be Yours', a standout on new album AM is a case study in Turner's unflinching ability to turn romantic infatuation into nonchalant voyeurism, a skill cruelly and wonderfully flaunted to its utmost on Arctic Monkeys fifth album.
Listen to 'I Wanna Be Yours' below
Suck It And See was sanguine reflections of belly button piercings and lilting melodies that felt very much like private catharsis shaped into rock and roll songs. 'AM' carries this strand forward but with the intent and front of 'Humbug' creating a darkness and a smoothness which is less representative of the band's new residence in LA and Turner's alleged 'americanisation' and more an indicator of how they have evolved. Arctic Monkeys aren't just lads from Sheffield going out on a Saturday night and gleefully observing scuffles outside taxi ranks anymore, they're headlining some of the biggest festivals in the world. The heavy, psychedelic swagger of tracks like 'Do I Wanna Know?' and 'Arabella' reflect this evolution, refusing to settle into the background of the band's now vast discography but demanding to be heard live, with their presence bound to be astonishing when they are.
All grown up: recorded in LA, new album AM is one of Arctic Monkeys' best yet
Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment. Arctic Monkeys could easily have become victims of their own words, with anything released post-'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' splintering fans and creating a vast spectrum of hopes and expectations. 'AM' gathers strands from every vein of influence Arctic Monkeys have ever experimented with, plaiting them into a single polished entity that simply does not disappoint.
