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Product Description
Review
These days Arctic Monkeys are not a band singing songs about "f***ing taxi ranks", as frontman Alex Turner quipped recently. They made their last record, 2009’s bizarre Britpop/stoner hybrid Humbug, in a desert. One member, the drummer no less, has the mobile telephone number of one P Diddy. And the singer – a young man who, on arrival, did so much to quench British pop’s obsession with the empty idea that is ‘the working-class hero’ – now writes lyrics like, "Library pictures, of the quickening canoe / The first of its kind to get to the moon": a couplet more befitting Gandalf the Grey than it is Liam Gallagher.
Of course, this sort of buffoonery is to be encouraged. Still, it’s hard not to want the band’s fourth record to embrace the unconventional more than it actually does. Initial signs are promising. Many of the song titles sound like they were conceived by a drunk Butlins Redcoat. One is called Love Is a Lazerquest; another, Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair (one can only hope its sister song, I’ve Got a Whoopee Cushion and I’m Not Afraid to Use It, turns up as a B side). But for the largest part, Suck It and See isn’t the stubborn, radio unfriendly career swerve that Humbug proved to be.
If anything, it’s a halfway house between where many expected them to be going, and where they were. On one hand, it marks the return of actual tunes (Reckless Serenade, the hard-edged title-track) – stuff that you can hum – as well as, not taxi ranks per se, but kitchen sink musing about "chin-chewing" cokeheads (Black Treacle) and "damsel-patterned alleys, where you go for a smoke" (All My Own Stunts), two songs that will be embraced by anyone fannish about their early work. On the other, there’s now an oblique Dylan-esque romanticism to many of Turner’s lyrics and tunes (the title and contents of opener She’s Thunderstorms is lovely), few of which suggest their future as karaoke staples and some of which prefer groove, not just over melody but all other constructs of song. They fit a mould, but it’s an askew, mismade one.
If you were enjoying the band’s joyride into the weird, Suck It and See is a record that may disappoint in its convention. Personally it makes me wish they’d just given a chorus or two to Diddy and be done with it. But while the reins of pomp have certainly been reined in somewhat, it’s hard to shake the suspicion that Suck It and See is further evidence that Arctic Monkeys are still Britain’s best guitar band – albeit one that’d be even better if they ever decide to truly lunge into the unknown.
--James McMahon
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Product Description
- She's Thunderstorms
- Black Treacle
- Brick By Brick
- The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
- Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
- Library Pictures
- All My Own Stunts
- Reckless Serenade
- Piledriver Waltz
- Love Is A Laserquest
- Suck It And See
- That's Where You're Wrong
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I really liked the first two albums by this band. Crazy guitar riffs, deranged drum solos, witty lyrics that you could relate to, even though they were by a 19 year old guy from Sheffield (I live in East London and am twice his age). In the saturated music market, they were original.
The third album split opinion big time, and this album, to me anyway, appears to be a continuation of what began on Humbug.
A lot of journalists etc state that a band needs to 'grow' and 'mature'. Why? Isn't it enough that a band makes fantastic music that makes you enjoy your life more? Do I care that they aren't seen to be 'evolving'? I don't care at all. Good music is good music. By changing their original formula, this band aren't as good as they used to be. They used to have an original sound, now they sound like a lot of other bands. Don't get me wrong, this offering qualifies as a very very good indie album. It's just that it doesn't make your hairs stand on end like some of their early tracks used to do.
Songs like Library Pictures and All My Own Stunts will no doubt remind people of the type of music that they used to do. I'd be happy with an album full of songs like that.
Overall a great album, but what's wrong with a band having it's own sound? It never did Status Quo any harm, and look at their longevity.
The third album split opinion big time, and this album, to me anyway, appears to be a continuation of what began on Humbug.
A lot of journalists etc state that a band needs to 'grow' and 'mature'. Why? Isn't it enough that a band makes fantastic music that makes you enjoy your life more? Do I care that they aren't seen to be 'evolving'? I don't care at all. Good music is good music. By changing their original formula, this band aren't as good as they used to be. They used to have an original sound, now they sound like a lot of other bands. Don't get me wrong, this offering qualifies as a very very good indie album. It's just that it doesn't make your hairs stand on end like some of their early tracks used to do.
Songs like Library Pictures and All My Own Stunts will no doubt remind people of the type of music that they used to do. I'd be happy with an album full of songs like that.
Overall a great album, but what's wrong with a band having it's own sound? It never did Status Quo any harm, and look at their longevity.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I am one of many who became a big fan of the Arctic Monkeys when they arrived on the music scene nearly 10 years ago. Their first 2 albums still rate highly for me, and I think that certain songs from those albums are classics - which I still enjoy today. Then for some reason the band changed.
Their last album Humbug was a big shift in direction. It was slow, moody, introverted, and lacked the urgency and catchiness of their opening 2 albums. I still liked parts of the album, and there were some good tracks on it, but it was a fairly mixed bag. Nonetheless it showed a different side to the band, which wasn't totally my cup of tea, but I could appreciate some of it.
So, when this album came about, I was hoping that it would be somewhere in between their first 2 albums and their last. Sadly, it has for me less appeal than them all. Opening track, She's Thunderstorms is a solid opener, and one of the albums highlights. From there it loses its way. Black Treacle, Brick by Brick, and Hellcat Spangled Shalalala are poor, lifeless songs. I've always praised the Arctics lyrics, but having 'I wanna Rock n Roll, Brick by Brick' repeated 3 times in a song is the kind of thing an aspiring songwriter in a high school band would wince at. Also, having 'Shalalala' in a song is just irritating. 'Don't Sit Down Cos I've Moved Your Chair', 'Library Pictures', and 'All My Own Stunts' liven things up a bit, where the heavier guitar sounds echo their past glories. After that, it's all a bit dull and lifeless. 'Love Is A Laserquest' is a decent enough mellow song, as is closer 'That's Where You're Wrong', but around that it all sounds very bland.
I'm OK with the idea of bands trying new things, and going in new directions, but not when it completely takes away from what made them great in the first place. Initially I liked the progression from their first to second album, but now it seems the Arctic Monkeys are trying so hard NOT to be the Arctic Monkeys, that they don't really know what they want to be now. They now sound like a solid enough, middle of the road Indie band, but they aren't offering anything that makes them stand out, which is why they were so popular in the first place.
Their last album Humbug was a big shift in direction. It was slow, moody, introverted, and lacked the urgency and catchiness of their opening 2 albums. I still liked parts of the album, and there were some good tracks on it, but it was a fairly mixed bag. Nonetheless it showed a different side to the band, which wasn't totally my cup of tea, but I could appreciate some of it.
So, when this album came about, I was hoping that it would be somewhere in between their first 2 albums and their last. Sadly, it has for me less appeal than them all. Opening track, She's Thunderstorms is a solid opener, and one of the albums highlights. From there it loses its way. Black Treacle, Brick by Brick, and Hellcat Spangled Shalalala are poor, lifeless songs. I've always praised the Arctics lyrics, but having 'I wanna Rock n Roll, Brick by Brick' repeated 3 times in a song is the kind of thing an aspiring songwriter in a high school band would wince at. Also, having 'Shalalala' in a song is just irritating. 'Don't Sit Down Cos I've Moved Your Chair', 'Library Pictures', and 'All My Own Stunts' liven things up a bit, where the heavier guitar sounds echo their past glories. After that, it's all a bit dull and lifeless. 'Love Is A Laserquest' is a decent enough mellow song, as is closer 'That's Where You're Wrong', but around that it all sounds very bland.
I'm OK with the idea of bands trying new things, and going in new directions, but not when it completely takes away from what made them great in the first place. Initially I liked the progression from their first to second album, but now it seems the Arctic Monkeys are trying so hard NOT to be the Arctic Monkeys, that they don't really know what they want to be now. They now sound like a solid enough, middle of the road Indie band, but they aren't offering anything that makes them stand out, which is why they were so popular in the first place.
28 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Arctic Monkeys rose to prominence with a style of music that was fairly upbeat, lively and more rock orientated and with each new album they move further away from their early template, shedding fans with each new release along the way.
With the band's previous album, Humbug, the music became more difficult and experimental, with production duties being handled in part by legendary QOTSA/Kyuss musician Josh Homme.
For fans who were very turned off by Humbug, this latest album, Suck It And See is not the glorious return to the style of their debut album that you may be hoping for.
The musical direction suggested by excellent single `Don't Sit Down `Cause I Moved Your Chair,' and the drummer-singing pre-release track `Brick By Brick,' may have been misleading as the overall tone is less rock orientated than previous Arctic Monkeys material.
The album rather, is a mixture of the slower, more ballad style material such as Alex's solo work and Arctic Monkeys works like the B Side `The Bakery,' or `505,' from Favourite Worst Nightmare, with the experimental style found on Humbug (here especially on tracks such as the weird `Library Pictures,' and on `All My Own Stunts' where Josh Homme makes his fifth guest vocal appearance with the band)
Cleaner, more acoustic or quiet tracks such as `Reckless Serenade,' and `The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala,' form the majority of the album and there is even a reworking of Alex's solo ballad from the Submarine EP `Piledriver Waltz.'
Ignoring musical direction however, the album is very strong, with a diverse and musically interesting set of songs with the same vocal and lyrical style and quality you can always find in Arctic Monkeys music.
Overall, this album is worth checking out if you are a fan of everything the band do, and are happy with their progression and shifts in direction over the years, but I would not recommend it to fans who vastly prefer the style found on Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not because this album is perhaps the polar opposite of that album, where a consistent set of sharp and direct songs are replaced with either subtle and ponderous or just downright weird ones.
With the band's previous album, Humbug, the music became more difficult and experimental, with production duties being handled in part by legendary QOTSA/Kyuss musician Josh Homme.
For fans who were very turned off by Humbug, this latest album, Suck It And See is not the glorious return to the style of their debut album that you may be hoping for.
The musical direction suggested by excellent single `Don't Sit Down `Cause I Moved Your Chair,' and the drummer-singing pre-release track `Brick By Brick,' may have been misleading as the overall tone is less rock orientated than previous Arctic Monkeys material.
The album rather, is a mixture of the slower, more ballad style material such as Alex's solo work and Arctic Monkeys works like the B Side `The Bakery,' or `505,' from Favourite Worst Nightmare, with the experimental style found on Humbug (here especially on tracks such as the weird `Library Pictures,' and on `All My Own Stunts' where Josh Homme makes his fifth guest vocal appearance with the band)
Cleaner, more acoustic or quiet tracks such as `Reckless Serenade,' and `The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala,' form the majority of the album and there is even a reworking of Alex's solo ballad from the Submarine EP `Piledriver Waltz.'
Ignoring musical direction however, the album is very strong, with a diverse and musically interesting set of songs with the same vocal and lyrical style and quality you can always find in Arctic Monkeys music.
Overall, this album is worth checking out if you are a fan of everything the band do, and are happy with their progression and shifts in direction over the years, but I would not recommend it to fans who vastly prefer the style found on Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not because this album is perhaps the polar opposite of that album, where a consistent set of sharp and direct songs are replaced with either subtle and ponderous or just downright weird ones.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Arctic Monkeys are growing up
Many people are complaining that this album doesn't sound like the usual Arctic monkeys stuff, but I think it is brilliant. Read more
Published 1 day ago by thegirlinthesunglasses
Does grow on you
Very disappointed when first listened to the album. Seemed to drone, lacking the vibrancy of previous albums. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Cruise
Awesome
Bought this cd for my son and put it on my ipod in error - so glad I did - it's fantastic, love every song on this album - must buy
Published 2 months ago by F. Skelly
Artic Monkeys
I bought the CD suck it and see by the Artic Monkeys for my neice,She loved it. from what I heard they are back to there best.
Published 4 months ago by riff raff
Leaves a bad taste...
It is the generally accepted view of the majority that the first 2 albums by the Arctic Monkeys were superb and the 3rd was anything but. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Pylon
A whole new band
I was never a huge fan of the Arctic Monkeys, until I heard this album at my friend's house. I asked who it was, and when she told me I was pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rozie
They've Won Me Over
I was never really sure about the Arctic Monkeys until this album. Over five years ago when they came onto the scene I thought they were heavily overrated and I still stand by the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by MDD
Goodbye
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD ARCTIC MONKEYS?!
WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY THAT'S WHAT I AM NOT.
R.I.P
GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.
WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY THAT'S WHAT I AM NOT.
R.I.P
GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.
Published 6 months ago by Hedders
Britain's finest pull out another cracker
Fantastic album. No bad tracks at all and at least 5 (She's Thunderstorms, Black Treacle, The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala, Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair and Suck It... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Stu62
Wonderful.
There are some really nice lyrics on the album.
I don't think you will be disappointed.
(I think this is the worst review I have ever seen! Read more
I don't think you will be disappointed.
(I think this is the worst review I have ever seen! Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ian D
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