Media Review

Arctic Monkeys

Favourite Worst Nightmare (CD)

Domino Records
website | mySpace

Overall Rating:

9.5

Music Quality: 9.5

Production: 10.0

Originality: 9.5

“Anticipation has a habit to set you up/for disappointment,” were the first words out of Arctic Monkeys leader, Alex Turner, on last year’s breakthrough debut, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.” Now a year later, with the quick release of their second disc, these words have never had more resonance. The Monkeys have a few more things attached to them this time around besides hype: the mercury prize, fastest-selling record ever in the UK, and nearly every award NME (New Musical Express, for the unfamiliar few) could conceive. The album, a very different transition from the ragged, joyful sound on “Whatever People Say…,” is certainly a product of its environment.

Like the sophomore releases earlier this year by both the Arcade Fire and Bloc Party, the Monkeys are angrier and darker. On songs like “Brianstorm,” the band, specifically Turner, express their discontent with posturing scenesters wearing their “t-shirt and tie combinations,” and listeners can taste the scorn in Turner’s voice when he tells Brian Storm, “See ya later, innovator” amidst the raging swirl of jagged guitar riffs and thundering bass and drum.

The music this time around follows the darker trend, cleaning up the guitar riffs and making them more pointed. On “Do Me a Favour,” the guitars start out isolated, giving the feel of surf rock if it were played on a desert island, slowly progressing to the wall of sound that finishes out the song. On the proceeding track, Turner and Cook play coy, starting out with a jaunty, almost playful riff, before launching into the stormy fury that builds the song into a rage.

Building on the themes introduced in both the “Leave Before the Lights Come On” and “Who the Fuck are Arctic Monkeys?” EPs, Turner has written songs that deal, as expected, the quick rise to fame and his disdain with it. Songs like “Brianstorm” and “Teddy Picker” address the shallow, vapid individuals that have crowded the band amidst their new found fame, to which Turner tells them, “Who’d want to be men of the people/when there’s people like you.”

But it isn’t all about grappling with fame and the legions of posers it brings. The other stark change in “Favourite Worst Nightmare,” is how Turner has traded the empty pursuit of drunk club girls for women he actually cares about. FWN has the emotional depth that “Whatever People Say...,” was content to glaze over. In “Do Me a Favour,” Turner gives dual perspective on a break up, something that the lads that populated the world of the debut would never even think about doing. The boys who lived in that world were never concerned past the first night and the songs never gave a glimpse past that, which is part of the reason FWN feels like such a downer. It doesn’t contain the optimistic epilogue that “A Certain Romance” was.

Instead, the album ends on an inconclusive note with the song “505,” in which Turner visualizes a stable, safe relationship, but it is never described as more than a day dream. “505” serves as the culmination for all the heartbreak and disillusionment that came before it, never offering a glint of hope, but at the same time not implying that the end dream isn’t possible.

Looking back at Turner’s original assertion concerning anticipation, he’s completely right. I couldn’t help being a little disappointed by the album the first time I listened to it. It is darker, a little slower than and not quite as fun as the debut. But, the record that it follows is also one of the best records I’ve ever heard and for me to require “Favourite Worst Nightmare” to be better than “Whatever People Say…,” is a disservice to both records. Unlike Bloc Party’s sophomore release, which I was initially blown away with (but now can only listen to about three tracks,) “Favourite Worst Nightmare” can stand up to repeat listens and doesn’t try and flaunt its maturity or darkness. It retains much of the pop sensibility that the first record had, but toned down the wild, rough guitar parts that made the dirty, youthful world the record described so persuasive.

“Favoruite Worst Nightmare” is a more sophisticated record than its predecessor, that doesn’t seek to replace the debut, but rather, take the sound of the debut and tailor it to how the band has grown since their initial success, and Arctic Monkeys have succeeded admirably. They have created a record that should, with the Arcade Fire, stand out as one of the best of the year. The album is varied, compelling, mature, and above all, it fucking rocks.

reviewed by Matt McGraw