"Bah! Humbug" said Ebenezer Scrooge in the famous A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. And telling from their third album that's what the band must have thought when looking at the world. It's a dark world the boys live in. Is it real or a nightmare?
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
Heavy gloomy guitar riffs and drum grooves spiced up with strings and sinister organ parts accompany Alex Turner's poetic lyrics. The mysterious singer shows once again he can be considered one of the most talented musicians today. Growing up in one of the most promising and succesful rock bands of this decade sure isn't at all peaceful for him. But his lyrics are not about today´s state of the world at all but about missing his lover, or a relation gone wrong.
Josh Homme was the right person to help them recreate this dark image and transform it into an album. He took them to the desert to dive into themselves and come out as grown ups. The result is an impressive mature album by such a young band. "Crying Lightning" the album's first single is a relaxed track with that unique Arctic Monkeys sound. And yet is sounds quite uneasy like a big monster lurking in the closet. This is the feeling you get from most of the songs. Although some songs still sound like the old Arctic Monkeys like "Dangerous Animals". Other tracks like "Pretty Visitors" carry the Homme signature with heavy repeating guitar riffs.
This album gets better every time you hear it and slowly creeps on you like the lurking animal that seems to be around the corner. No humbug at all but serious business.
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