Arctic Monkey's 'Suck It & See' review (for kevchino.com)

See the original article posted here: http://kevchino.com/review/arctic-monkeys/suck-it-see/2252

The Arctic Monkeys began their career recording their own demos and handing them out to punters lining up for shows in Sheffield. They are now one of the biggest bands in the world and there’s no doubt it’s down to their working class musical ethic and sheer originality, as well as having one of the most charismatic and lyrically gifted front men of recent times. Bring in Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stoneage fame as producer and you’re left with a unique and driving sound underlined by dark and brooding influences, which worked extremely well on the bands last effort ‘Humbug’. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for their latest offering ‘Suck It And See’, being produced by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco fame.

All starts off well with glimpses of the old punchy, melodic, lyrically astounding arrangements we’re used to seeing from the band. ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ and ‘Black Treacle’ almost take you back to the 60’s with their basic riffs and effective simplicity. ‘Library Pictures’ gives a hint of surf-rock sound beneath its thrashy punk rock façade. However the over-production of vocals on ‘Brick By Brick’ coupled with the unusually basic lyrics make for a very uninspiring standard rock song, and the QOTSA influence on ‘Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ and ‘All My Own Stunts’ is tantamount to plagiarism. Then from track 8 onwards all songs seem to melt into one big repetitive English indie track that never seems to end.

It pains me to write this review as I love The Arctic Monkeys and adore QOTSA even more, and ‘Humbug’ is one of my most favorite albums, but I’m afraid ‘Suck It And See’ leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. It begins well but fades into a QOTSA cover act that eventually gives up and morphs into an Oasis tribute band. The Arctic Monkeys need to move on production-wise and ensure they remain being influenced by QOTSA and do not simply mimic them. I look forward to the day they regain that initial fire and spark and come back alive, kicking and spitting luscious prose at us like they once did.