It hasn't been long since the Arctic Monkeys laid claim to the title of best nearly-mainstream high-energy indie rock band. After these Brits gained global acclaim from last year's "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" and its singles "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down," it would be natural to think that the band could coast on their success for longer than just a year, taking time to polish and admire their best album awards from Time Magazine, New Music Express and the Brit Awards.
But to many fans' delight, the boys are back with their sophomore release, "My Favourite Worst Nightmare." It is difficult to imagine that a band can mature musically in just one year, but judging from the first two tracks alone, one can conclude that they have at least begun to branch out.
"Brainstorm" starts the album off with a blazing, stormy (if you will) intro that rocks harder than any song they've ever recorded before. The tone is set by the blazing fast drums which alternate with an insane, yet somehow catchy, bass line. The song then delves into the traditional Arctic Monkeys vocal styling. When it ventures into a bridge, though, the extremely low tone on the bass establishes an irresistibly dark tone.
"Teddy Picker" follows with a few second intro that skips violently between musical styles, which is telling of the music to come. In fact, the song often sounds more like 1970s guitar solo-driven heavy metal than anything listeners are used to hearing from the band. In fact, the song's bridge may very well have been lifted directly from Black Sabbath's "War Pigs." The lyrics are far brighter than those of their predecessors from across the pond, though, as the chorus is dominated by shouts of "Baby, baby, baby."
"D is for Dangerous" is a return form, bringing their patented distorted disco sound that gives them their broad appeal. The song's mere two minutes go by so quickly, though, and sound so much like their old material that one can't be blamed for skipping over the track. "Balaclava" is similar sounding, at first, but changes into a dark, loud, bass driven bridge that alludes to "In Utero" (1993) era Nirvana.
The band would benefit from consulting with Steve Albini, as their most rockin' moments are usually shrouded by their bright, cheery sounding lyrics, which are only emphasized by the British accent. The general rule of thumb is the stronger the British accent, the more likely the American listener is to smile and bob their head to the beat, regardless of the song's topic or tone.
The boring ballad makes an appearance in "Only Ones Who Know." The slower style might be appreciated when it later builds into a strong, fast song, but the standalone tear jerker seems out of place.
Honestly, if you look to the Arctic Monkeys for a love song, you need to broaden your musical horizons. "Do Me a Favour" is also relatively slow, but it is driven by a constant pumping rhythm on the drums that makes you wonder if the Monkeys have been listening to "We Want Fun" by Andrew WK, which makes the song a bit more, well, fun.
The band's new musical directions, overall, help make this album a success. Although "Whatever You Think I Am" was strong and original, it grew tiresome and repetitive after only a few listens. "Your Favourite Worst Nightmare," by contrast, will have far more staying-power as it crosses between genres and even perfects its own to a greater extent than the last album. Although many might see the songs as hit or miss, and possibly less definitive of the band's sound, the album is solid enough to merit its likely ranking as one of the strongest rock albums of the year.
