The Car - Arctic Monkeys: Review
Arctic Monkeys
are one of the UK's biggest indie acts that have been delivering a variety of punk, indie and lounge-flavored rock albums for over 15 years. On their 6th album, 2018's Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino they strayed away from rock music entirely into a much more lounge-focused sound that divided fans. 4 years later The Car is a continuation of the band's journey into lounge aesthetics.
Review by Lav:
I don't care how many people call me Tumblr core, I really like Arctic Monkeys. Their first two albums are among the best of the 2000s including a debut album that's a certified all-time classic. When they came roaring into the USA in 2013 on the back of singles like Do I Wanna Know? and R U Mine for their 2013 album AM. They followed that success, surprisingly, by taking a 5 year break and returning with a lounge concept album about a hotel on the moon. While I wasn't head over heels for Tranquility Base right when it came out, it grew on me quickly and I had no issue with the band carrying on in this direction for a new album. While I might come to enjoy The Car more in the coming months, I can't imagine it going down as anything other than a step back.
Unlike Tranquility Base which was released with no lead-off single, The Car was teased with three songs and I like the first two quite a bit. Lead single There's Better Be A Mirrorball feels fitting as an opening track with all the swanky lounge swagger and disjointed but memorable refrains that you'd expect. I liked the second single Body Paint when I first heard it but I wasn't sure just how much it would blow me away on the record. The slow and steady build it takes is both compelling while it's on and incredibly worthwhile when they pay it all off with thie Beatles-esque bridge that leads the song to its wandering lackadaisical finale.
Unfortunately, a lack of high-end highlights is one of my biggest complaints about the record, though there is one fantastic deep cut in the mix. Hello You grabbed me right away with the bouncy instrumental and Alex's swanky spoken-word vocals. I love the little synth breakdown which slides right into one of the record's catchiest riffs on the hook. This song is just great. There are a pair of other tracks that I enjoy later on the record as well. Big Ideas is the liveliest song on the record in terms of the instrumental detail and the extravagance of Alex's performance. It doesn't blow me away or anything but it's one of the most coherent lyrical displays on the album. I also enjoy the closing track Perfect Sense which isn't inherently a finale but in this context, I can see how it feels like a goodnight from the record and the drums on the song are excellent throughout.
The third single I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am stands out for two specific reasons. First off is the thick-ass bassline which in one sense feels like it has no business being on a song like this, though the more I hear it the more it starts to feel irresistible. I also love the group vocals on the bridge and hook which really do make for some of the album's prettiest moments. Sculpture Of Anything Goes does get off to a good start with these distant drums that just boom into the mix and make this weirdly dark little effect that feels like Alex is singing in a cave. Once the keys emerge the song really comes to light but it's hard to take it seriously with some of Alex's sillier and seemingly most meaningless lyrics.
As much as I hate to say it, Alex Turner is sort of an issue across this entire record for the first time in the Arctic Monkeys discography. While he does have his shining moments, almost every song I have complaints about on the record could be improved by a better vocal performance and better lyricism from Alex. The Car is the best example of that as I really do like the dusty almost western instrumental style which features some tumbling drums and a beautiful string section. Unfortunately, the vocals are totally fumbled on the song's build-up which sucks because I really do like the slick guitar solo that serves as a song's payoff.
Then there are songs on the record that are just bad period, Alex and everyone else included. Jet Skis On The Moat is wonky in all the wrong reasons in a way that just feels too taxing. The instrumental is okay to start but the way it plods through the entire song just starts to get obnoxious. None of which is helped by the thin and slinky performance and lyrics. The worst song on the record is Mr Schwartz which gets off to a rough start with some smoky-ass Hotel California acoustic guitars and one of Alex's worst vocal performances ever. Aside from propping up some of the record's motifs, mostly the references made throughout to movie making, I can't see much reason for it to be in the tracklist.
The Car isn't bad, in fact, there are plenty of half-decent lounge songs here with a pair of great highlights in Body Paint and Hello You. But it's certainly a step back from its predecessor and feels particularly painful in a moment where Arctic Monkeys could have really proved to everyone that this sound was right for them. The arrangements and instrumentation here are worth a listen alone and are pretty promising for the future of the band and its individual members, but almost every angle you can take sees The Car as fine, but disappointing. 6/10
