Favourite Worst Nightmare

Seriously, I was nearly put off buying this album when reading some of the earlier reviews posted. Many people had the opinion that the "new sound" of this album was awful. Well, please do take my word for it (as well as those of other reviewers below) that such opinion is pure guff. This album and the work it encompasses, whilst a departure from the earlier "Whatever..." album, is still the Arctic Monkeys, but bigger, better and an absolute stomper of a follow up album. I'm ashamed I even doubted them in the first place. Well worth the money, well worth more than a fleeting listen, and well worth at least five minutes of my time reviewing...

The Arctic Monkey's second album is good, but it doesn't quite reach the dizzy heights of their debut. This isn't for lack of good songs - in my opinion, it's because the album doesn't provide as much variance, or as many hooks. Whereas with the first listen to Whatever People Say I Am... leads 70% of the songs on the album instantly sinking into your memory, a first listen to Favourite Worst Nightmare leads to great impressions of only a handful of tracks.

For me, those few tracks were: Flourescent Adolescent - possibly the best song they've ever released, it contains an immensely catchy melody, a great riff, and a soaring chorus; this will be a part of the live set for a long time. Teddy Picker, another single, has a great chorus in a different way - banging away with an incessent rhythm. And 505, the closer, is a wonderful low-tempo effort, more haunting than anything else Arctic Monkeys have produced.

The rest of the tracks certainly grow with every listen, and the album of a whole is really good. Indeed, the only reason this review has the slightest hint of criticism is because my favourite tracks from their initial release were Mardy Bum, A Certain Romance and When The Sun Goes Down, whereas the majority of the tracks here seem more influenced by ... Dancefloor.

Overall, this album is well worth picking up

One concern I had with this album was that the bar had been set so high by the first album that nothing could go far enough beyond that standard to really be considered a success. Whatever People... set an entirely new standard in narrative guitar based Britpop so where was there left to go?

Well, this manages to do the job. My first couple of listens didn't convince me, but hammering it on the car stereo for a month has ingrained it and I love it. 505 is the obvious classic from the album, immediate, haunting, mature, just beautiful. But D is for Dangerous, Do Me a Favour, Yellow Bricks and House is a Circus all stand on the driving beat, the poetry of the words, the guitar that builds and works around the theme. It's a more complex sound overall, but returns again and again to a more stripped down tune when the mode suits. The lyrics are a bit more mature, but still have all the personality and wit. And the drums and misc. percussion just keeps everything in check with absolute control.

Even the obligartory Duran Duran reference and the uncompromising Yorkshire vowels seem to add more charm and personality to this record. No-one else could have made this album, and no-one else could possibly have come in for flak for it being a 'disappointing follow up'. These guys are redefining the genre, and this record sets standards that aren't going to be matched by anyone else out there right now.

By the way, my reviews aren't normally so gushy, but I really have grown to love this album! Buy it :)