Suck It And See- Arctic Monkeys

Far from a return to their roots, album number four finds Turner & co pushing forward.

In a recent interview, Alex Turner described his Arctic Monkeys’ in three words: “Riffs, funny, loud.” As disparaging a representation of their smart, dark indie rock that may be, it’s clearly what his audience are looking for. Many fans were turned off by the brave, far-catchier-than-you-remember third album Humbug, which found idol Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age doping up the impressionable Sheffield lads, engulfing them in a thick, paranoid fog.

Wherever you stand on the Humbug debate, the “funny” bit of the equation was missing. So there has been plenty of excited chatter leading up to naughty-titled follow up Suck It And See, the band’s reunion with Favourite Worst Nightmare producer James Ford suggested as a return to the sharp riffs and witty observation of their breakthrough material.

As it turns out, and to the band’s credit, this isn’t quite true. Instead, Homme still lingers over the record’s first half, but Ford blows a cold wind, clearing the mist and bringing everything into sharper focus. Nowhere is this clearer than on first single “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”. Despite it being slightly lead-footed in places, it’s packed with riffs that swim to dark places. It carries a certain swagger and confidence missing from Humbug, as well as a bubblegum-with-razorblades “ooh-ooh” refrain and lyrics just our to have fun, dispensing advice like “go into business with a grizzly bear” and “wear your shell suit on bonfire night”.

It’s a starting point though, and other songs rock far more convincingly. Brick By Brick is the most balls-to-the-wall track, drummer Matt Helders helming a beautifully dumb one-chord race to the finish line. Library Pictures is even better, tribal drums and feedback brought to the front, Turner relishing his chance to show off some full-blooded “ip-dip-dog-shit-rock-and-roll”.

As exciting as those songs are, it’s the softer moments that stand tallest, cribbing some of the more cerebral and romantic moves from Alex Turner’s Submarine soundtrack. “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” is ideal for the next single, a soft-focus singalong, with that title (and oh what song titles!) circling for the big sing-a-long chorus. All My Own Stunts punches giddy highs in the chorus, before racing back down like a rollercoaster, while Piledriver Waltz is as lovely and woozy as the title suggests. Love Is A Laserquest is a piece of near-genius, with Turner’s words at their most poetic, looking back at a childhood romance gone sour (“I’m sure you’re still breaking hearts/With the efficiency that only youth can harness.”), while his voice across the record is nuanced and lilting, in quieter moments sounding like a harder-bitten Morrissey.

It’s not quite killer enough to avoid filler- the title track for one is forgettable (save the lyric “You’re rarer than a can of dandelion and burdock”)- but the new romantic side to the band is quite a revelation. Far from a so-called return to form, Suck It And See finds the Monkeys refusing to rest on their laurels, pushing forward rather than looking back to previous successes. And for that, they should be celebrated.

4/5

Best Tracks:
Love Is A Laserquest
Piledriver Waltz
Library Pictures
The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala