Film Review

09 January 2009 02:46 BST

Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare

Domino, April 23rd.

In a nutshell…

Angry, violent, heavier, sexier, huge

What's it all about?

When second track Teddy Picker follows the thudding glee of Brianstorm, you wonder if this is the Arctic Monkeys we all know. "Don't be surprised when you get bent over/ He told ya, that you were gagging for it," Turner sings, on a track that could be a slating of reality TV: "Kids all dream of making it/Whatever that means." Or just a genuinely sexually aggressive fellow: "Who'd want to be men of the people/When there's people like you." Whatever Turner's lyrics intend, it's a more mature, experienced Monkeys' sound that penetrates your ear lobes as soon as Favourite Worst Nightmare kicks in your door.

For those who liked a View from the Afternoon – the first track on Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not – there's plenty here to instantly fall in love with. D is for Dangerous with its "you should know you're his favourite worst nightmare" oozes more references to keeping your trousers on, while Balaclava mentions "salty cheeks and runny makeup below". It's a subject matter previously seen in the Monkeys' songs, only the confidence is even more pronounced and backed by a louder, more established band.

Drummer Matt Helders is as feverish as ever, adding vocals to more of the songs and drumming frenetically at a second's notice. There are numerous instrumental feats that belittle the previously impressive Brianstorm, which is certainly not a quirk. After the ballad Only Ones Who Know comes Do Me a Favour, possibly a contender for the best break-up song ever written.

Although there are slightly quicker tracks on this record, the material on Who the F**k are the Artic Monkeys? thankfully hasn't gone away. Fluorescent Adolescent builds on No Buses, with lyrics summing up the downfall of a pretty girl used to activity in spur-of-the moment locations, but now redundant to a quick one while the soaps are on. "You used to get it in your fishnets/ Now you only get it you nightdress/ Discarded the naughty nights for niceness/ Landed in a very common crises," followed by: "Remember when you used to be a rascal?"

Favourite Worst Nightmare is 12 tracks of admirably strong material; difficult second album? Do me a favour.

Who's it by?

The obvious question to immediately seek an answer to is how can Artic Monkeys continue with what made them special – telling ordinary, sometimes dingy Sheffield stories that all youngsters could relate to – when they've won countless awards and flown around the world? Quite simply, Alex Turner's lyrics are still easily relatable, only now the people he's encountered are stranger. The relationships and thoughts from the first album still come through strongly, just with a little more attitude.

Turner is fast turning into a great frontman, appealing to the masses with his tunes and charisma (on occasions) while retaining respectability with the critics by not blabbing about endless rubbish while indulging in calamitous moments of buffoonery. The Arctics do rock 'n' roll with a large amount of pensiveness, which may seem a contradiction, but they pull it off admirably.

Their absence from red carpets and TV interviews can appear arrogant or even pretentious, which is of course complete rubbish. They do the shows they want to do, when they want to do them, and why not? Surely it's better than flogging yourself to any radio show that pays and is a tribute to the Artics' preoccupation of being able to look back on their material with pride.

As an example…

"Let's have a game on the teddy picker/ Not quick enough can I have it quicker/ Already thick can we get it thicker?"

"There was tears on the steering wheel dripping onto the seat/ Several hours or several weeks/ I'd have the cheek to say they're equally as bleak"

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

This album isn't packed full of the singles that Whatever was, but it should quite easily run away with a fresh trophy cabinet.

What the others say

"Favourite Worst Nightmare is a bold, beefed-up and brilliant album" - NME

"Cutting one classic is quite a feat, cutting two in 15 months suggests a genius of sorts." - Mojo

So is it any good?

Coming in at just under 40 minutes, it would be hard to imagine how the Monkeys could have made a better job of this second record. For a band who saw fit to release an un-chartable EP when their album was still selling and then to unleash another new single, again before any big album marketing had gotten underway, this record is amazingly strong. It's refreshing to see bands releasing the material when they have it and the Monkeys' releases – apart from Leave Before the Lights Come On – are full of B-sides and new tracks.

If You Were There Beware sounds like a favourite from Is This It and the Monkeys have duly waited till their second album to show the Strokes how it's done. Where the New York band stuttered with Room On Fire, the Monkeys have stepped up a notch with Favourite Worst Nightmare. This House is a Circus followed by If You Were There Beware shows the band's fresher style, finishing with a triumphant guitar thrash and a distorted Turner vocal. It's exciting music with a heavy kick at the end, similar to a View from the Afternoon.

Of course the Monkeys can do dreamy ballads on demand and Only Ones Who Know is a great example of that. It's a more assured Despair in the Departure Lounge, although it doesn't compare to the fantastic 505 which finishes the album. "I'm going back to 505/ If it's a seven-hour flight or a 45-minute drive/ In my imagination you're lying on your side/ With your hands between your thighs." It's a ode to whoever Turner longs to get to after whatever obligatory commitment the Monkeys had that day and it's quite simply a brilliant song.

The mix of tracks on here and the strength of the band's material means Favourite Worst Nightmare should proudly take its place alongside (What's the Story) Morning Glory as one of the most assured second albums released by a British band. It had to be good, and it's very, very good.

9/10

Karl Pike

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