Arctic Monkeys, 'Reckless Serenade': Review

When I woke up this morning and logged onto Gigwise my eyes went like lasers to one name on the news feed – Arctic Monkeys. I’m a Monkeys devotee you see, whether I like it or not – ever since ‘Scummy’ dropped into my head (before being rebranded ‘When the Sun Goes Down’) I haven’t been able to go anywhere without being fascinated by this special band.

Albums have come and gone and that sense of immortality which I attributed in the very beginning has remained strong. But I have to admit that however much I love ‘Humbug’ it removed the gloss. It made the Monkeys human.

Here was an album which the critics didn’t fall in love with (albeit it was praised in most quarters). And more importantly here was an album the general public didn’t fall in love with. That immortality just waned a little – however much I didn’t like to admit it.

And then came along ‘Reckless Serenade’ this morning. It sent a tingle down my spine. You see I love ‘Humbug’ and the statement it made, but what I’ve been missing is that magic which those Monkeys are capable of.

A simple bassline, a simple structure, not to mention the golden line “the type of kisses, when teeth collide,” which endears Turner’s lyrics to all of us in a very British way. All it took was 2 minutes and 39 seconds to remind me that they earned that immortality in my mind for a reason. It is surely the new album’s ‘Cornerstone’.

With Turner admitting they’ve got some sing along choruses on the new album it does feel like slowly the Monkeys might be going full circle and by album five or six we might be back to the chewing gum pop brilliance of their debut. And that’s the key to it all for me – their strength is in their irrefutable ability to write pop songs which verge on perfection. I just hope ‘Reckless Serenade’ will herald another era of tongue-twisting lyrics, chiming guitars and tracks which make a festival crowd steam in the floodlights.

Here’s hoping ‘Suck It and See’ plays to their strengths as much as ‘Reckless Serenade’ does.

Arctic Monkeys - 'Reckless Serenade':

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