Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

Arctic Monkeys are back with their fourth album, Suck It And See. It’s the second album produced since their dramatic sound change from typically indie, to darker, reverb-heavy guitars. This sound turned many fans off from listening to their 2009 album, Humbug.

The sound is similar to Humbug, the dark guitar wails are used but do not come across as heavy as many of the Monkeys’ previous album. Opening track “She’s Thunderstorms” strikes similarities with last album’s “Crying Lightning” in that the guitars are loud, and seem to roar through the track and sadly overwhelm the lyrics and other instruments. However, the following track ‘Black Treacle’ sees the return of the trebled guitar, mixed with the reverb to create a catchy beginning to a very decent song.

Alex Turner’s superb witty lyrics are back, and they are a lot easier to hear too. Unlike the dark, less accessible topics of song writing that featured on Humbug, the lyrics in Suck It And See feature far more similar with the Monkeys’ first album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The lyrics’ negativity towards the…easier side of England fit in well with the band’s new sound too and I think that much of the band’s original appeal has returned.

Every song is catchy too, the single ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ contains a very strong chorus and riff that mixed with the trivial lyrics could easily fit within second album Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Love Is A Laserquest is Suck It And See’s version of “Cornerstone” while although it could easily be seen as a rehash of the Humbug song, it is guitar-based and contains some very good lyrics that could portray the song as either an actual love song, or as mocking-love song.

Overall, Suck It And See is a very solid album, it features some very strong riffs that are laced with very simple yet effective choruses. There are also many, many quotable lyrics dabbled throughout the album which is good because it proves that this album is a true Arctic Monkeys effort. It is much better than Humbug, while becoming a lot more accessible than its predecessor too.

9/10