GutterPutter

‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor’, ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, ‘Cornerstone’, ‘R U Mine?’, each single is a smash hit of Britain’s most iconic garage rock revival band Arctic Monkeys. Fronted by Alex Turner, the band’s strong ties with the prospect of nostalgia has always served as a major part of its brand. Even cultural theorist Mark Fisher having highlighted it as a contemporary example of a ‘postmodern’ retro-styled brand – one which adopts the past as its main style, but makes it displaced with our understanding of time via modern equipments to mimic its effects. Recently, Turner & co. had opted to turn towards a sound that comes off as more orchestral. Inspired firstly by Federico Fellini’s 1963 film 8½, 2018’s Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino sees the band take a decisive left turn towards glam influences, spacey production, and a clear aim to the 50’s lounge pop.

So, when The Car is made available on October 21^st, all signs point clearly towards Arctic Monkeys wanting to embrace the orchestral backing with all their full intent. ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’ shows a clear adoption to the 50s’-60s’ trope of romance, swooning piano chords, low-mixed synths twinkling about. The production is admittedly strong & its sophisti-pop feeling makes for a pleasing listen at first. However, the novelty does wear off & Turner’s attempt to tune his vocal notes to near-theatrical perfections makes the song come off as being a tad bit kitschy. This is one that could be identified as well in ‘Mr. Schwartz’ where the seductive singing tone can be off-putting, or ‘Body Paint’ where the mix of funk collides with what even I find to be overly wordy lyrics and a melodramatic string arrangements.

Moreover, the indulgence of The Car tends to overstay its welcome & in trying to convey a certain artistry in their stylistic shift, the Arctic Monkeys meander around their ambitions for a bit too long. Take for instance the pseudo-James Bond impression in ‘Big Ideas’, the third-rate erotic impressionism of ‘Jet Skis On The Moat’, or the extravagant grooviness of Spoon in ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’. The attempted grandeur in the title track or the synthetic chords in ‘Hello You’ does little to sway a certain swagger. ‘Perfect Sense’, ironic the title is given the stylistic wonkiness, stood out if only for its drumming (never mind its low mixing) rather than its utmost baroqueness. Alex Turner’s singing shows such an overt leaning towards coming off as refined that he risks endangering the rough-edged swagger that makes him iconic as Britain’s garage rock singer. Not even the scintillating instrumentation amount to much despite its fanciness nor does the lyrics really hold up well in trying to present an introspection on relationships and the past.

Thus, The Car isn’t the kind of album that I would consider as being the band’s best record. At all. You can tell that a lot of money is spent on trying to polish up the record & to acquire the best-sounding instruments for extra fancy points. Fans who love Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino with the willingness to follow Arctic Monkeys in their journey are going to love The Car for certain. For those who wish to find an album that either sells the very best of the band or are just in it for a very good orchestral pop, this album does have its charm but it can age like milk very quickly to a largely boring listen. All in all, a bit of caution could do a bit of help.