I think what most people fail to realise is that the band combined various instruments and melodies to create music.

People also forget that they don’t even pay other people to play their instruments, they play it themselves

Source???

@All On My Own Here We Go Damn they must've gotten some tips from Jered Threatin

like literally every artist ever ?

@Pedro Rian uh what? name 3 other artists who combine various instruments with melodies

This album is called "The Car" and there's a car on the cover. It's little details like that that make this album amazing.

Wow I never noticed that. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day.

Bravo Vince

you didn`t just say that

@Pooriya Pedramnia Scientifically speaking - I just did

@C-Major lets say, hypothetically, you didn’t.

If the first song was called "There'd Better Be A Melonball" you'll give this album a 10/10

0/10 still

Don’t get emotional..that ain’t like yoUoUoU~

It's still sheet album

bruh this act made me laugh out loud lol

@Dangerous Villain ur the sheet

The Arctic Monkey's have reached a growingly rare point in any bands career where they have ZERO pressure from their label, let alone fans who crave carefully cultivated manufactured radio hits and now have absolute unadulterated freedom to create and perform the music they and they alone desire. That fact alone is quite especially admirable. They've earned the right to explore all the weirdness their hearts desire.

This isn’t weird at all it’s boring

yeah this isn't weird at all lmao

@Ben_jamin it’s a brilliant record

@Ben_jamin for a band that started out doing rock than into pop yeah it is pretty weird. There is not much else that sounds like this. And it’s better for that.

Yeah maybe get a little adventurous with your listening, this isn't weird. Not trying to be an litist or whatever but this trend of people talking about normal ass sounding stuff as if it's this avant garde barn burner is really annoying. There's nothing wrong with music not being weird, you don't have to pretend that it is to defend it.

Always know an album is good when Fantano gives it a bad review 🔥🔥

Yeah, total xanarchy was BOP

@Sher Nav literally invented rap

Absolutely

Yeah, can't wait Lil Xan to collab with Corey Feldman and mediocre current Eminem.

@Sher I actually enjoyed xanarchy but that was when I still listed to rap which I haven't done in years

I cant get over how weird seeing Arctic Monkeys live is gonna be. You go in for some brit pop punk vibes and see a 10 piece orchestra and everyone wearing suits?

Me in a couple of days....this album just came out and Im like FUCK, we will miss other songs for this ...(and I've been a fan for 10+ years)

Literally just look up any live show since 2018????? TBHC was very similar and they pulled it off quite well… they hit you with 2-3 classics then slow it down with 1-2 songs off the new album then BAM hit you with an all Time classic that gets the crowd jumping. Highly rate it as long as you don’t mind slowing it down at points

I saw them live at Reading. They’re boring as hell. Good songs though

Pop punk? Artic monkeys were never pop punk. There was never anything pop about their early albums, it was just post-punk with a touch of garage

You can’t give this album a bad review just because you don’t know how to drive yet anthony.

LMAO

LMAO

LMAO

Hey, he might not know how to drive a car, but he sure can drive a lawn mower

🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

Tranquility Base is so awesome. It sounds like if George Harrison sang on a David Bowie album.

Okay not gonna lie, but this is easily the best way to describe that album. Spot on!

Yeah, but what about the current album?

@cristian jofre I haven't heard it yet. I will listen to it and give you my opinion if you like.

@cristian jofre I'm listening to it now. It is not bad, to be sure. It doesn't have the invention of Tranquility Base. TB was also much funkier, more melodic. They sound like they are tired. But at the same time, it sounds like they are trying to make a look-a-like album for a late 60s balladeer. Like Scott Walker, Elton John's 'A Single Man' comes to mind. Dionne Warwick. The songs would be perfect in a movie at some point of introspection, solitude, or disappointment. It may be a victim of a songwriter trying to retain his vision of a set of songs. If it was simply called 'Tranquility Base Hotel: Part 2', people would likely be gentler with it. What do you think?

Jesus

Everyone who's a fan of melon and the Arctic Monkeys knew exactly what this review was gonna be

well yeah, he gave AM 3/10 also

My hopes weren't high, but dam

Saw this coming from the moment the first single dropped

@Edwin Dwicahyo He did... _WHAT?!?_ 😲😳🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

And he’s got it wrong again but less wrong than before so at least that’s a good job

This is an album that grows on you. I didn't like it the first time, either. But, one track starts sounding better and then another and then another. To me, right now, it's a beginning to end album. I think Alex Turner nailed the vocals so well in this album. "Hello You" is probalby one of the more interesting tracks where the whole band + vocals works really well together.

Drugs and alcohol make everything sound and look better .

@Smelly Wrestling Geek Ha! It certainly couldn't be the music!

Just had the same experience , I thought Alex Turner sounded senile at first then it totally grew on me …it’s something that doesn’t need to be polished to counter melon’s point ….

Pretty much my experience with this album

No ✨

I’ve really been liking the album. There are some real gorgeous songs on this. Perfect sense is killer, but I’m a sucker for strings man. Hello You is honestly my favorite song on the album, sounds very Last Shadow Puppety, and I’ve always had a soft spot for that project.

This whole album seems like another Shadow Puppets album. I think Alex honestly just prefers that type of music now. I don’t think he is using the other members of the band to their full potential

@SuperJLK _ It would be interesting to hear what the rest of the band thinks. From the interviews I've seen, they seem happy enough to go along with it lol

Totally agree

@SuperJLK _ its definitely different without Miles. This still has that Acttic monkeys feeling instead of tlsp

@SuperJLK _ except TLSP songs actually were catchy with discernible hooks, intelligent but not pretentious lyrics, this album is just so forgettable. Alex could’ve taken a little bit more inspiration from the good stuff he did with TLSP

By far best Alex turner first solo project. I hope the monkeys will release a new album soon, as a band.

This is like his third solo project actually

Jamie is the person that’s pushed for this shift in music not Alex

Y’all have no clue how bands world do you

your so funnny (please go to sleep)

@Crispy_dough THIS

If this was called "The Affordable, Comprehensive, and Regular Public Transportation Network" you would have given it a 10 Anthony.

Would’ve been a better name than “the car”

Why is this a banger album name actually

LOL

Funnily enough, OG AM probably would've used that title back in the day🤣

I wonder what Not Just Bike thinks about The Car

in my opinion after my listen to the record, the vision for this record is really well represented in the album cover, a alone car, with no people or sign of life around. completely solo. giving it a feeling of loneliness. I thing the sound wasn't thought to have anything like big guitar riffs or even something energetic. it is the feeling of pure discouragement after a big event in someone's life. It's the feeling of getting some really bad news and then getting back to your car, completely defeated. I personally would give a 8/10. I really enjoyed it

I would rate it a Jimmy McGill throwing a tantrum in his shit shitbox/10 based on that description alone

You hit the nail right into the deck, mate.

That’s a perfect way to describe it, actually

i used to not really like the car, but after adding some songs to my daily playlist i actually, really really enjoy most the songs there, especially mr. shwartz i love that song, it may be my favorite song from the album its such a nice good slow and rewarding song too, as well as jet skis on the moat that song is such a sexy slow and nice listen.

I agree. Been giving the album a few listens the past month and found myself really enjoying it. Especially, Big Ideas and Mr. Schwartz. And Body Paint has got to be one of the best Arctic Monkeys songs ever.

I think its an album that needs time.. But I still hate the " Alex's solo album vibe" it has..

Mr. Schwartz makes me cry idk why it's so beautiful

If one thing I've learned from watching his reviews....if he doesn't like an album, then it's a phenomenal production

I wasn’t expecting a 12/10, or an imitation of Cher’s “Believe” in drag from you, Anthony. Wonderfully enthralling.

You should take another listen to The Car. It's a vibe. And Alex's voice is amazing on the album.

The fact that he cried shows how incredible arctic monkeys is

@no no

@no bro get offline

@no What does this have to do with Arctic Monkeys though?

@The Mollusk what did they say? Comment is gone

it’s a great record, Turner one of leading wordsmiths of his generation. As a longtime fan, I love the point their songwriting has come to, what critics don’t seem to realize is how good they’ve become at crafting an interplay between different elements of a song, from the structure, arrangements, to lyrics and execution and tone play off of one another that augment what songs are about. also how they pull of humor and nostalgia packed together is criminally underrated.

Alex is a godly lyricist, but I'm undecided if he really hit his own high benchmark on this one.

It's among the band's best reviewed albums. I happen to love the record too, but I've been a fan since their debut.

I've really been enjoying it. I was initially underwhelmed by the first couple of singles upon release, but they've grown on me enormously over the last couple of months. Similary with the album, it washed over me on the first listen or two, but it's grown on me massively over the last week. Don't know if you can call it a masterpiece, as some have, but I don't see many other bands taking huge musical risks and pretty much pulling them off in 2022. The production and string arrangements alone are extremely well crafted. One thing that concerns me with music critics is how many listens do they give an LP before reviewing it? Some of my all time favourite albums have taken probably half a dozen listens through before I can properly appraise them. I'd have probably have given this a 4 on the weekend of it's release, but it's now approaching an 8.

"what critics don’t seem to realize" This album's actually been really well received by critics. This video is an outlier in that respect

Since when turner is regarded as one of the leading wordsmiths of his generation? You totally made that up🤣. Why dont you call him the bob Dylan of this generation?

Damn :( bummed. I enjoyed this record a lot, and fortunately for me I’ve never found Alex’s vocals grating in anyway, and I think this album showed a lot of vocal range for him.

Melon never really has understood AM so I didn't expect anything else from him.

Why are you upset that Anthony Fantano doesn’t like your album as much as you do . Who gives a shit

@Ceerin because a lot of people seem to care

You should still like it. Even if he has some strong objective points. Maybe you listenned to it in the right moment and clicked with you. This is just his opinion after all.

I was so hyped for it's release however as more singles dropped I grew more worried about the album. When it dropped I listened to the whole thing and kept waiting for it to pick up, it never happened. As an Arctic Monkeys fan who loves Tranquility Base, this album is probably one that'll grow on me, but I have to shelf it for now. The Car coming after Tranquilly Base's lounge vibe is too much slow paced music for me. I get they grow and mature as a band and can't go back to strumming electric guitars like a bunch of 20 year old's out for a night at the pubs, but damn I really just want something a bit upbeat.

Am 2 was all but a dream

Yeah, idk. I would love to see them be a “mature” band but also do upbeat and hype music. Nothing wrong with getting older but still have fun. (I just really miss their old stuff 😅)

It must be so tough not being able to get over AM. Their last two records have been absolutely mindbending.

Best album so far. People are too busy trying to compare completely different ideas they've made. Guys, the car is about the vibe itself. That's just a band trying to experiment new stuff, that's what makes them so creative. We all know they can rock if they want, btw they have discos proving that. But what else can they do? That's what TBHC and the Car brings to us, a completely new perspective on the band.

If melon had been on Tumblr in 2013, every arctic monkeys album would be a 10/10

Oh ,i remember vividly how His AM Review got flooded by dislikes from those kind of people lmao

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And then regular people listen to that album and fall the fuck asleep cause it the most mid album conceived by a human

​@Andrei11 Dr nah it's actually really cool

@JDG 🤣

There's an awesome psychedelic rock album buried in here somewhere. I can't help but imagine how much cooler this album would be if the Monkeys stayed closer to their usual tempo and instrumentation.

You know Anthony really hates an album when his worst track of the week is still his favorite song

It feels more like a solo record than an Arctic Monkeys record. I don't think the other members really have any sort of presence on most of the songs and when they do it's so minimal and underwhelming. I immediately went back to TBHC and appreciated it a helluva lot more. At least that record had some kind of hook.

It’s been like this since tranquility base, I’d say. (The solo album vibes)

@DeLuca, The Bazooka kinda. Theres much more riffing and traditional rock group song structures on TBHC. That album was so jarring because of how slow and unserious it was

The tone/feeling will grow on you

@DeLuca, The Bazooka Yup, I remember back in 2018 people where calling Tranquility Base a solo album by Alex, wich was a bit dissapointing

arctic monkeys have made so much amazing music I’m just happy to see them still reaching for something more

I had the same reaction to this album when I first listened to it. You really nailed what I felt about this for the first 10 listen throughs. However yesterday I listened to it straight after tranquility and I appreciated the car like I hadn't before. Yes the vocals aren't as strong as you would hope. The songs themselves and the structures are intentionally subtle and understated despite the string sections and there is more space in the songs than anything from the last album. It's such a great contrast between the car and Tranquility. Tranquility songs are big and bombastic, and showtuney but the sound itself is quite claustrophobic by comparison and oppressive. There is a lightness to the car and to me there was actually more bowieisms in Tranquility than there was on the Car album. He takes sounds and vocal cues from others like Curtis Mayfield and John Lennon and there was definitely a George Harrison signature guitar sound there too on a few of the tracks. I would say there are many influences and it's not accurate to say (paraphrasing) he is basically doing a poor man's David Bowie. I think the songs themselves are written in a way to be captivating (with the instrumentation) without sounding like he is showing off. There is a real sincerity there and maturity. Its fantastic actually. Bowie for all his genius, subtlety and sounding understated was never his style. By the way Tranquility is hands down one of the finest albums ever made.

it's a blessing not to dive deeply into comparisons. at the same time i am not jealous for people who professionaly reviews new music - life's much easier when you discover sounds at your own pace.

@H D absolutely. Listening to music is often a subjective experience and it's also quite wonderful when that appreciation is at times shared with others that have had a similar experience with a particular piece of music. The enjoyment of music can be both personal and interpersonal and there doesn't appear to be any objective way or a particular time frame with which to give a universal value system to the systematic arrangement of sounds. One man's masterpiece is another man's eye roll.

Couldn’t have said it better

I think Big Ideas explains literally how the album came to be. Alex had some big ideas, and the band was chill with it, happy to go down whatever path Alex takes them.

Yeah agree - that was my favourite track cos the music fitted perfectly with the lyrics

The Alex turner band

But then he was surrounded by the orchestra and he couldnt remember what they were

Alex Turner and the Machine

i think the song is more of a nostalgic throwback to the band's earlier years when they first started out

Loving this album so far. I’ve been an AM fan for a long time and seeing them evolve with every album is so exciting to me. I could tell listening to this that Alex’s vocal delivery wouldn’t work for everybody i but I think it’s kinda perfect for delivering his lyrics specifically

They were already bad with AM. Their first album is their best. They got a little bit worse with every subsequent one

@marko galetin The quality is pretty consistent in every release, AM is one of their best albums. You just want them to keep making the same pop-punk record repeatedly

I found this album was their first grower for me where I didn’t instantly love it, I was pissing myself laughing the first time I listened to body paint because turners falsetto felt so out of place but now it’s one of my favourites on the album. I think my biggest issue with it is they’re going for this big grand huge album and it just kind of peters out into nothingness and almost seems to excuse itself and apologise for its own existence. It should have finished with a big loud garish bang and said hello I’m me and I’m sexy and funky. This partly has to do with the track listing I think but even putting that aside it’s just a bit of a weak finish. The albums is very cohesive and well put together up until you hit the title track then it starts to lose the run of itself and just kind of end it’s ends without you realising it’s ended. Feeling an 8 on the first half of the album and an unfortunate 6 on the latter half so I guess a 7 overall

Unfortunately this album puts all the heavy hitters at the front so the ending is just meh. It should have ended with Sculptures

It should have finished with something big and impactful, like Rock 'n' Roll Suicide on The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars

I don't get people who brag how something they initially thought was bad had grown on them and now it's good, when objectively it's the same thing. It's like you convinced yourself that it's good now, or other people did. If you listen to it enough times, you'll change your mind about anything, it's a possibility that you wanted it to be changed. No integrity. It is a bad album. It should've been an Alex Turner solo album, I don't hear the band. And what's funny is that his singing is the worst thing on it. It sounds like a parody, his accent is cringe inducing.

i really thought this album would be like TBHC for me. I realized after 2 weeks of listening to it in different contexts, that it just wasn't for me. the bass frequencies felt lacking, it felt like lounge music too much of the time, and overall just felt like the alex turner side project with every other band member just happy to support. I personally really didn't like it

@marko galetindo you think it’s impossible to change opinions on things at all? Its almost like peoples tastes and experiences with things can be complex and are not static. Plus also your expectations going in and then settling in with what you got plays a part too. Get off your high horse

I honestly love the album, I find myself listening to it every day

Arctic Monkeys with Critics: love it. Arctic Monkeys with Fantano: Literally killed his child that does not exist

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Dude, the only critics that like artic monkeys are the big magazine ones that probably have some paid reviews. Look in some underground critics, look at Brad Taste in music in the entire arctic monkeys catalogue for example

@Alex who gives a fuck what a “critic” says anyways? Art is completely subjective. What makes there opinions anymore relevant? An art or journalism degree?

@Alex “underground critics” = some dude with a youtube channel

@On Mount Pleasant I just gave an example

Sculptures of anything goes was the best song on the album. I think it was a very artistic/epic and reminded me of like a mix between alt rock and woodkid.

Im glad Alex's new musical style has finally got Fantano on his knees begging for a 3rd Tranquillity Base Hotel.

Me but unironically

Nah... I pass on that one, give something with some energy next time please

I definitely like There'd Better be a Mirrorball, Body Paint and Sculptures of Anything Goes, overall I'd say this is a 5/10 album. I find it hard to say the album is "bad" mainly because AM is a band where your listening experience changes depending on your mood. I think my biggest issue with this album (as well as TBHC) is that Turner has some pretty damn good instrumentalists backing him up (including one of the best drummers of his generation) and they don't really have a role in most of the songs. I feel like the past two AM albums could have got away with being Alex Turner solo acts just as easily.

This is definitely a subtler album. It took me several listens before the songs started to creep into my mind throughout the day, and after several days, I found myself wanting to go back to listen to it again. Will grow on you, if you give it a few listens.

I am impressed by the album and by turner's performance as a composer and a singer. Keep them coming, Alex!

For some reason I started appreciating both albums even more after this review. Still think that TBHC is hands down my favourite AM album by a long shot. But I see where you're coming from, and I agree with your arguments.

Anthony’s clear and unabashed prejudice towards monkeys, the species we evolved from, continues to shock me deeply

the fact that body paint was in the worst tracks in the weekly round-up and now on the fav tracks is... something

Guess it grew on him?

@Cody Melchert nah, it just goes onto show how bad the album is in his opinion! 😂 One of the worst tracks from the week is the best he could find on the album. I dont even wanna hear what he thinks about the other songs!

@aunthau MV Whatever you wanna think, dude.

@aunthau MV your point is moot when Mirrorball, the first single, was in Meh during its weekly roundup. The track just grew on him, plain and simple. Its the appeal of AM's lastest sound. Trust me, I used to hate TBHC when it came out. Nowadays, its one of the only albums that I would listen without a song I want to skip. For me, its up there with Room on Fire from the Strokes as my "quintessential" listens.

@Substitute Tail + it would be an assumption on ur part to think Body Paint in particular grew on him (although highly likely to happen cus it is the most energetic song on this). It could just be that the more he listened to the album, he disliked mirror ball even more than Body Paint! Again im also making assumptions or a theory even. Cus we dont knw how he really feels and cant speak like its fact!

I did love this album, considering my personal love for this album and some well thought out points you brought up here I give it a solid 9/10

It's odd, man. I've had all my friends who've listened to this record tell me that they think it's "a masterpiece," yet I only really enjoy four out of the ten tracks (all of the lead-up singles plus "Perfect Sense"); all of the other songs feel unusually discardable, _especially_ "Mr. Schwartz." And yet, despite its sonic similarities to TBHC, their previous record ended up being my favorite in their discography over time because of the variety and level of commitment to the bit that Turner exhibits in this casino on the moon. It's really captivating for me. But this record... it just lacks the charm, charisma, and overall commitment that allowed Tranquility Base to soar. I very much *wish* I liked it much more than I do.

Listen to it 3 more times and t will grow on you

I like all of them except Mr Schwartz and the Car. I believe that they had never made a song with acoustic guitar before and they tried it here twice. I don’t think it really worked, at least for me.

@Benjamino Del Camino I'm still in the preliminary evaluation stage, as it's only been a few days since it's been out. That being said, I think some songs are just .. fine ("Sculptures of Anything Goes," "Jet Skis on the Moat," "Hello You"). But it's the fact that I could take them or leave them that bugs me. Sure, they could grow on me, but I don't see the whole of the record coming into a _radically_ different focus.

Listen to it like three more times bc perfect sense ended up my least favorite by a long shot

Interestingly Mr Schwartz has been permanently stuck in my head since I first heard it. The picking pattern is something else

I really enjoyed this album, mainly because I loved the jazzy vibe from Tranquility Base and this album feels like they went all in on the jazz. There’s only one skip for me in the album (the title track The Car) but everything else is frigging great. Probably my favorite album from 2022.

I agree! Surprisingly the car was not a hit for me

This is a brilliant album, and very experimental in how the songs and album are structured

I'm trying to get through this album and I just can't...I think the hard part for me was I got into Arctic Monkeys from AM but then I checked out all their work prior and LOVED everything from every past albums. So during my long wait after AM I was hyped until I listened to Tranquility...for me I was disappointed..love Alex voice but the album was too slow for me and even with The Car I feel the same. I feel like going to sleep. I don't want to feel like that but I do. Maybe in another 4 years they will switch it up where the music is more upbeat.

I personally love it but don't mind slow music. To each their own, props on being respectful and don't be harsh on yourself for not liking it.

While I’m definitely not a fan of The Car, I have to respect them for going in a different direction in their sound, a lot of bands try to recreate their most popular albums over and over again while the Arctic Monkeys experiment and try new things and I think that’s what makes them amazing though it just didn’t work out on this album in my opinion

Exactly, maybe they didn't pull this one off, but if say Radiohead would've stuck to the same we would've never had Ok Computer, much less Kid A.

I think every artist should make the same song and album over and over again or it’s unfair to their fans

Yeah that’s how I feel about it, they have to try different things. But personally I still don’t know how people think it’s as good as their first albums or even better 😂😂

A lot of Bands try new things and end up sounding great. They figured out after 2013 that this mellower sound has helped them become more popular and so they’re continuing it

Yep that's respectable of course, it doesn't make it great though.

I would agree with most the vocal things if you were talking about live performances, but on the studio album I think it’s a stylistic choice.

i think this is a great record for a newly arctic monkeys fan, although i completely understand the disappointment from the old fans

I appreciate the new direction that they're going for. I think it sounds nice. The problem is, once you've listened to one of the songs in the album, you've basically listened to them all

I like this take, and I think it's what I like about this album and the last. I really didn't appreciate TBHC until I listened to it studying. I don't know if monotonous is the right word, but it fades into the background very nicely.

I had the same impression

@Mediocre Yeah, that's how I ended up listening to this album. Gave it a 5/10 on AOTY solely because I was vibin listening to this album while playing Minecraft. It's a good background music. But I don't think it's what they intended

Imo this is their best album. Its songs get me very emotional.

Best album 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂

Just because you don’t like it, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. I found it very crisp and classy. Something they did not achieve in their previous album. The car, it’s simply great.

It's boring and makes you sleep

@Dangerous Villain yea, i guess intellectuality isn’t for anyone.

Yeah you have to have an IQ of 3000 in order to realize how great it is

macarion You can acknowledge something is good and still not like it. To say something is bad just because you don’t like it is just childish and ignorant

I think this is one of the biggest differences I've experienced between my preferences and Fantano's. I absolutely loved this album, and found it to be a good resolution to the themes of TBHC. 8/10 for me

It really just depends on what your preferences are, and how you set your expectations. If you were wanting this to live up to and do justice to the baroque glam rock of the 70's like Bowie, T. Rex, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music etc. then you may be sorely disappointed. I think that's where melon man sits

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Can’t agree with your review on this Anthony, I absolutely love this album and love the direction the band is heading. They are sounding and looking as good as ever.

This is one of those rare cases when I really disagree, this record is gorgeous.

You must be boring to like that boring music!

I’m a big fan and there’s only 2 ok songs. The rest of the album is just one long drawn out song. All sounds the same.

@Shermarki James totally disagree

I like it a lot too 🙆‍♂️ and more than their previous album tbh

@underneonloneliness2 terrible take .

The thing that frustrates me most about this album is Alex Turner's incessant, pulled back falsetto. He actually can do a tasteful falsetto live, but somehow this never translates on the albums. The same thing happens on tranquillity base hotel and casino (the song) on the album vs the live versions.

I think we all have to realize that Anthony is probably never gonna warm up to an Arctic Monkeys record at this point

He just doesn't vibe with Arctic Monkeys on principle, never really has from what i've seen. And that's fine, not everybody is gonna like the same artists. Though i do think his criticisms for basically all their albums are pretty weak, it all comes down to their sound doesn't appeal to him.

I think once you decided you don't like something, it's hard to get back from that position. We form our own biases and then follow through on them.

I don't know his opinions on their earlier record pre Suck it and See. Did he like them then?

@zero artic monkeys have become trash. Cope 😂

@zero and also how he doesn't like Alex Turner at all

I really liked this album. I agree with the idea that tranquility base it was definitely like poking fun at lounge music, and then they just became lounge music, but I also just like lounge music.

I love the new territory Arctic Monkeys went on in this album. The pulsing electronic on Sculptures is a paid off experimental cut, but the rest of this album is a hit or miss. Overall, it kinda balances between snooze and surprising moments. 5/10

We were driving to Vegas and the album put my wife to sleep. She really appreciated those extra zzzz's 10/10

my first gut reaction was "i don't like it" too. But, i listened to it more and more. Kept coming back to that sound. Sulptures of anything goes was the entrance way into that album for me. Very much like "She looks like fun" did for tranquility base to me and made me discover batphone and One point perspective which are now some of my favorites in their whole discography. The car, is to me a raw nerve. it hits something in me that i can't quite put a finger on. In the end, even in that new style, Arctic monkeys still do what they've been doing since the AM days. They present a feeling. "Sculpture of anything goes" is to me a mix of apprehension of burnout and self awareness. "Big ideas" goes the same way. I don't know for the rest how i understand them with the lyrics being very much out there on the difficulty of comprehension given that this is my second language, and admittedly that is a negative. but i truly love their recent stint on this new style. The "Old motel" sound and aesthetic hits very well on nostalgia and i guess i'm very sensible to that. I understand that some might not like that style. Comparing to "AM", "favorite worst nightmare" or "suck it and see", is sure quite the trip for those who prefer that sound to the newer one. I like them both, being one of those who listened to "Do i want to know" hundreds of times when i was heartbroken i can't say i don't miss the old AM sometimes. But that new style has given me a lot to think about and appreciation for the band, as more unique in style and aesthetic that i've never found anywhere else. So yeah, i like it.

First few listens were not that exciting for me either. But after i go into the first 3/4 songs I couldn’t stop listening to the album at least once a day for basically a month. There are a couple of tracks that are still quite hard to get through (for example The car) but the rest I love it almost like TBH+C. That being said, if it wasn’t an album from the arctic monkeys I probably wouldn’t have given it the multiple tries it took to get hooked on it. I would give it a solid 8, would be more if it wasnt for a couple of tracks that challenge me a bit.

I actually really enjoyed this review. Very down to earth, simple, and you made your points in such a straightfoward way your arguments were very solid

If the album was called The Beautiful Twisted Car you'd give it a 6/10

My beautiful dark twisted car

this has to die

The Beautiful Twisted Car could be a dark concept album about a guy who is all excited to buy a new car after saving up for years, the car representing freedom from the system, then he wraps it around a telephone pole

What a funny original joke 😃

this album is haunting and beautiful. it has been playing in my head front to back for at least a week

Bad Contestant by Matt Maltese is fantastic execution of the vibe and ideas AM go for on this album so if people like this but it’s not there yet for them then try that album

checking this out now 👀

can vouch. incredible vibes

Thanks for the rec. Incredible

Fucking spot on

thanks for the recommendation! loved it

big ideas and body paint are the absolute most beautiful songs off the album

yesss

I liked it better than their last album, but now that I've tried to listen to it again I find myself skipping most of the songs. There are exceptions, but I think the only one's I don't skip for the most part are the first and last song on the album.

have we listened to the same album? Cause in my opinion, this album is by far one of their best works to date. It is like an Easter egg hunt, where you'll discover a new element by each and every listen. this album is so multifaceted and so orchestral - in a way - that it should be taught in music school. it is so timid and tranquil but in that timidness and tranquility there is so much depth and range and diversity that it is bigger than what I expected and this album proofed to me that AM is THE best UK band there is today!!!

I wish luck to the band in their career turnover towards the automobile industry!

The more I listen the more I love it, but i can understand it's a polarizing record. I love that a band that touches a mainstream point like the one they touched in AM (excellent record also), becoming kind of a "rock and roll boy band" now decided to take a total anti "boy band" path, putting their legacy or popularity on risk, while bringing their best record out (TBHC) and now this one that is a great continuity to this new side of the band, i love the total artistry of it. I think of The Car as a transitional record and im really looking forward to seeing their next move. They have become some sort of retro-style Radiohead, and i love it. English is not my main language so maybe this is not very well written...sorry.

The best album released this year. It can be hard to listen to if you're just listening to mainstream music

Its shite. I love their early stuff and i never listen to mainstream music. It sounded like the "shiny" Crab in Moana.......but worse.

Arctic Monkeys is a very big mainstream act tho

alex peaked at Everything You’ve Come To Expect by the Last Shadow Puppets, album you didn’t even cover but it really explains where all of this is coming from

That album is amazing, definitely one of my favourite projects

That album is filled with bangers

Happy I’m not the only one who understands where this new sound came from. I think miles Kane is to thank a bit for that influence.

Love that album, but Alex' peak was the "Submarine OST".

Completely agree, and it seems like not a lot of people are talking about it.

He should review an album of Son Lux. It's an American band that keeps amazing me with their unique sound. Their arrangements are very unique, backed by poetic lyrics. They also made the soundtrack for Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Man they're a gem! A friend brought me to a show a few months back and we were BLOWN AWAY! They played a 2+ hour set as a 3 piece and were more interesting with one song than anything I've heard from Alex Turner in years. His new vocals make me absolutely groan...

The more I listen to this album the more it grows on me, same as with Tranquility Base. At first I felt it was just "meh" but now I quite enjoy many of the songs on it. I do agree Turner's singing is the biggest thing holding The Car back, although this vocal performance does feel like a logical evolution to what he developed in TBHC, it feels like he is not giving it his all.

I’m linking the turnaround that Melon is having on appreciating the Arctic Monkeys. What a comeback story!

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where's the link?

by this point I think he's just biased

STOP STEALING MY COMMENT FORMAT

@Hi STOP STEALING MY PIZZA ROLLS

mirrorball is my favorite song, absolutely amazing. then hello you and body paint. so far i only didn’t connect to three songs of this album but i have the time for this. i respect their work a lot

The thing is: everyone was crying about TBHC when it first came out and now they're saying how that album grew on them. Now people are crying about how The Car sounds and some years in The futuro they'll be "Oh, it grew on me, duh"

Absolutely

No

@Sebastián.2. but yes

Nope.

@novikfyz how eloquent, you must be right

turning the tables said it best tbh. This album sounds cinematic. I've been listening to this album like crazy!

That's what you get when you have a music critic who releases a criticism every day without any time to absorb it. The Car is wonderful.

I played this album and when it finished I was like "oh I didn't even notice a single song played"

i would say in that case that you do have to actually listen to the songs like it's not bops, the words are very important if you have simply determined from this one idle listen that it's not for you then i suppose fair enough but if you are willing to give it a second listen do so while reading the lyrics, spotify will scroll them for you i think it's really good, i wouldn't have listened to it this way and i would've equally just brushed it off as i did on previous listens of tranquility base but the lyrics are beautifully written and the composition of them too which is not really addressed very well in this review in conclusion i enjoyed this album quite well on my first listen and look forward to future ones and i would recommend you give it another go if you actually were not actively listening and just had it on because it's not that kind of music

Turn your volume on next time

try listening a little more critically next time :)

I actually loved this album and thought it didn't sound much like tranquility base. Alex's vocal acrobatics and some of the strings and percussion made me fall in love with many of the tracks. The three song streak sculpture of anything goes - jet skies on the moat - body paint was especially enjoyable

The vocals on this album are some of the most grating I've ever heard in my life.

@Cory Costa Have you not heard Tones and I?

@Blu I.X. True. Lol

@Cory Costa I too find many things grating but I thought the vocals were smooth and even impressive (sculpture of anything goes is by far my fav for this reason) but everyone is different!

What you talking about? this is pretty much Tranquility Base Vol.2

Sculptures of Anything Goes was a surprising shift in a good way. Probably my favorite song in the album.

Great review Anthony seems like you put a lot of work into it like all your other reviews and I basically agree with you the only other arctic monkeys album I have heard all the way thru is 2013's AM and it sounds like those days are long gone for this band I like 4 out of the 10 songs on this album so I believe it to be a 4/10 myself but yeah the lead singer is not in his wheel house on most of these songs for sure

I love the Arctic Monkeys but completely agree with this review. I loved TBHC as it was something new and really added something to their back catalogue, especially live. The Car sounds like some okay songs just really worked on with strings and piano work. Completely agree lyrically I find it unemotional which is ironic considering the first line of 'Mirrorball'. I like 'Body Paint' but as an album it doesn't stand up for me. I'll see if I feel any different went I see them live next Summer 💁

I've been a long time Arctic monkeys fan but imma be real here when I say AM was their best album! Even Alex's greaser look was all vibes for me. Tranquility base was ok but I felt optimistic that their next album would pick up the pace again and give me some more hits like AM did but when this new album came out it didn't feel like Arctic monkeys to me at all ....Alex's voice didn't have that deep cool sexy tone it always had before rather this time it sounded too high in pitch for how I'd like to hear him....idk I respect the band and they have the right to express themselves however they see fit...I still love them but please Arctic monkeys gimme some of that greaser Alex Turner and AM music vibes again!

Completely agree with you, unfortunately. Which is a shame because I’m such a big fan of everything they’ve done as a band pre-2017. I do like Body Paint though. It’s the one good song on the album

Took me a couple of listens to really appreciate it, but now I most certainly do. Did see that review coming tho. It's a very polarizing album.

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No it’s just trash

@The Warrior Returns It's totally mid but I like some parts of it tho

No, it's just boring and bland TBHC was much better

At my first listening, I felt: Hm, nothing much going on here. But there was a strange force which keep me listening. I heard it completely on a walk an Airpods Pro and I admit, it was tough sometimes. Later the day, I come home and I want to hear some music on my hifi. I had the Album still on my screen and just play it aging, cuz I know, a good one needs time. Till today is listen it over and over again. It a very sensible and fine arranged piece with a lot of hitten gems in harmony and rythm. some guys handle music like amazon prime, works good for Taylor Swift or John Mayer. But I am always so happy, when bands going a step further, make something new. Sadly most ppl are not that flexible and regret „the good old time“. Bands, who tried the old stuff over and over are mostly dead. So hands up for „the Car“! A very nice soundtrack, listen in loud on a good hifi! Itˋs great!

As promised earlier on here, here's my full review: Honestly – after a couple more listens, I could see this being in my Top 3 as far as the Arctic Monkeys' studio output is concerned. In any case, I feel like this is yet another solid addition to their already impressive catalog. That said, if you're looking for a blast-in-your-car-speakers record like their debut or 2013's blockbuster AM, this ain't it. Their second LP produced entirely by James Ford, The Car represents a natural evolution from their previous album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which was by far their least accessible effort to date, outdoing even the abrasiveness of 2009's Humbug. Like that divisive 2018 record, The Car is also drenched in sounds of art rock, psychedelic pop-rock and proto-punk, but whereas TBH+C was notable for elastic bass parts à la Macca around Abbey Road, plucks of piano and the synthwork, this time around it's the guitars and string orchestrations reminiscent of the old-school film soundtracks of the late 60's/early 70's what's in the forefront. While shades of the psychedelia craze are still present ("A Day in the Life"-like segue from the second chorus into the bridge on "Body Paint", the most Beatlesque song here; the ending of "Mr Schwartz" echoing 1966's Pet Sounds), the Arctic Monkeys' feet are firmly on the ground, leaving the space-rock of TBH+C behind in exchange for soulful album rock with a cinematic touch. I find it somewhat tough to compare these two sophisti-lounge albums. What lessens the impact of The Car is not just that the element of surprise is gone, but also the fact that one doesn't need an instruction manual to pilot the spaceship while visiting resorts on the orbit. Instead, the tunes are quite easy to digest, so in theory there's less replay value here, at least on first glance. Where the song structures of TBH+C were almost too dizzying at times (the second half particularly), The Car flows smoothly from one track to another, allowing the listener to focus on the arrangements more; and the record only really falters at the last stretch—though that's mainly due to the need of having to end the record with a slower cut (or two), not because the songs themselves are crammed with ideas. Speaking of ideas, I got emotional during the seventh cut despite Alex Turner's advice right at the start. It's okay to get a tad teary-eyed anyways. I can't single-out one standout tune (let alone a handul), as I think tracks 1–8 are all excellent. Going back to the movies, I can hear some Lalo Schifrin on the funky "I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am", Ennio Morricone shows up on the title cut where spaghetti western meets Radiohead—and there's even a Nino Rota cameo on "Big Ideas". Productionwise, the album sounds exquisite and pristine (the Houses of the Holy LP comes to mind). The musicianship is top-notch and I especially love the vocals. The odor of pretentiousness remains (more or less thanks to some on-the-nose lyrics), but there's enough personality and charisma to ensure this nostalgia road-trip won't end as soon as the third stop. Rating: light to decent 8

I’m going to watch them in Hong Kong soon. Going to be interesting. I think they are pushing forward and I enjoy the album a lot but I agree it doesn’t land as well as it should. But I prefer it to their last album so I wonder if they are readying for the final Installment with their next album in the same way humbug and sias led to AM

This just goes to show how subjective music is. As a musician and studio engineer for the past 20 years and I really can’t find any issues with Alex’s performance. It fits the music and that’s how I put it into perspective and not comparing him with crooners of the past. He’s his own animal and I like that. I’m a fair weather fan so I don’t hold his music too close to the vest while I’m getting an impression on his sounds. I’m still wondering how you came to your conclusion on his vocal performance but everyone hears things differently and I enjoy your reviews nonetheless.

Wasn't keen on the first listen but after a couple more I now love it. Strong 8 from me

me too!

Anthony is gonna have a meltdown on the next album at this point 😭 Give in to it Anthony we know you want to 🥴

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Alex is singing to the room, not to a stadium. Could you imagine.. being in a 4x3 room with Anastacia and she's blasting Left Outside Alone? 🙉😫

I feel like we often get hung up on Arctic Monkeys' old sound because it was soo good. But I feel like the new album may have been slightly misjudged because of it. I feel like this album would get a lot more praise removed from the context of the previous albums, had this been their debut. Do I wish they had returned to a more bombastic sound? Yes. Do I think the new sound is bad, HELL NO! Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed the more restrained sound, with great use of string sections and interesting combinations of retro electronic instruments. Overall I can feel the band's enjoyment of the creative process in this album. Plenty of interesting lyrical ideas and tight instrumentals. For me, this is a 4/5 but I do recognize that other people may not agree.

if this were their debut they would be thrashed for being lackluster copycats of their much senior peers. Lets be real.

For me is that they changed the essense of the band to much, like their fandom has been devided a lot by their last two albums. Some people are going to their shows to jump and dance to their old songs and get bored when they start playing their new material. And some people really enjoy their newer music, but the earlier stuff my be too raw for them. and theres also the people who only listen to AM (2013).

@cristian jofre yeah that's spot on, they can't do much without disappointing one group or the other, maybe they should have stuck with rock after all 😂

My biggest problem with this album is in the sequencing. This is how I like to listen to it, when in full. 1. Mirrorball 2. Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am 3. Jet Skis on the Moat 4. Hello You 5. Sculptures of Anything 6. Body Paint 7. The Car 8. Mr. Schultz 9. Big Ideas 10. Perfect Sense It really improves my listen

He actually gave it the same score as AM lol. Glad to hear that this is totally not controversial and undisputed