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| Suck It And See was released June 7, 2011 on Domino Records. |
Arctic Monkeys took the world by storm with the unprecedented overnight success of their first album,
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, in 2006, after growing popularity on the internet (specifically Myspace) thrust them into the public consciousness. The band followed up with
Favourite Worst Nightmare, which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the band was more that a mere viral sensation and has since gone double-platinum in the UK. Sadly, it seems as though the Arctic Monkeys have lost their way since then.
Suck It And See, which feels like a followup to 2009's lackluster
Humbug, is a collection of faux-vintage guitar rock that feels more like an elaborate Alex Turner solo album than a true Arctic Monkeys outing. That being said, I have greatly admired Turner as a songwriter for quite some time and have enjoyed all of his solo output, but when the band's name is attached, music like this just feels wrong. Gone are the punchy melodies and whip-smart social commentaries that made us fall in love with this British quartet in the first place. In their place, we have more traditional oldies radio fare, albeit with a distinctive Britpunk edge (though this edge is often dulled until it's nearly unrecognizable).
