Performing in Spanish on Italian TV
A review of Arctic Monkeys 'The Car' (2022)
I think it’s safe to say that the Arctic Monkeys hit record AM was the pop culture pinnacle of their career.
Their first two albums Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare had incredible youthful bravado. Lead singer Alex Turner was a figurehead for hooligan romantics everywhere, and the band clearly had a future full of potential. The sky was the limit.
Then came Humbug, which saw them experimenting with desert rock sounds - thanks to Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme’s enlistment as a primary producer. It was a bold and refreshing change of pace, with Turner shifting from his kitchen sink realism lyrics towards vaguer avenues and secret doors. Yet through the changes, the album was still loaded with their signature nerviness and choppy-changey punch.
Next came Suck It and See - another exploration for the Monkeys, this time into more contemporary sounds influenced by blues, R&B, and hard rock. Turner was leaning into his voice more and more now, actually pushing his singing abilities as opposed to his rapid-fire, punk-rooted-talk-singing from the early years. It activated a whole other level for the group, bringing in a wider audience of in-vogue fans. It was all leading up to their tour-de-force.
The sound on AM is full of swagger and suavity, and is oozing with unique creativity - something only a group that’s pushed themselves for years and years can truly acquire. Their distinct signature is written all over it; there are explosive rippers, heartthrob love songs, and badboi hip-hop-esque grooves all within the 42 minute run-through. With such diverse-yet-accessible songwriting, the album became a massive critical and commercial success on a global scale. Bangers on top of bangers on top of bangers 🎰
That five album run - from lauded debut in 2006 to international sensation in 2013 - fit the rock n’ roll ascension mold perfectly. The Sheffield lads had built an empire from the ground up, properly maturing as musicians in the process. And by 2014 they were arguably the biggest in-their-prime rock band on earth; the poster boys for what rock could look like going deeper into the 2010s and beyond. Whether they wanted that label or not.
Then came the launch into outer-space. 🚀🌌☄️
In a shock twist, Alex Turner turned away from his foundational instrument - the guitar - and instead sat down at the piano to write the Arctic Monkeys next album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. With that shift in root instrument came a massive change in sonic style that was literally and figuratively out there.
It’s art poppy and orchestral - a complete one-eighty from the Monkeys purer rock n’ roll arrangements from before - and instead leans into sounds Turner had explored previously with his side-group The Last Shadow Puppets. It’s also a quasi-concept album, with Alex cosplaying as various characters at a hotel on the moon sometime in the future (or in an alternate universe? Idk lol😵💫), creating a mystifying aesthetic that’s hard to latch on to. And on top of all that, more than ever Turner is slowing down the pace of his songs and lyrical delivery, while diving deeper into falsettos.
It’s a jarring shift in tone, to put it lightly. Not many major rock stars outside of David Bowie have been able to pull off this sort of deep-space lounge singer vibe. And for many Monkeys fans and critics alike, TBH&C was too much of a reach. Too much of a change from the sound that built them up. They shot for the stars and landed on the moon.
But at that point - back in 2018 - the band had earned the right to take a shot. Tranquility was the take-a-chance album, and many Monkeys supporters held on to hope that they’d be back to their old ways on the next one.
Then four years later The Car finally pulled into the driveway.
Alex Turner arrives at our doorstep like an estranged ex on the opener “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”. On its face it’s your typical breakup song, but dig a little bit deeper and the song starts to reveal itself as a painfully self-aware ultimatum by Alex to his audience. It’s a blatant double-down on the orchestral art pop sound from their previous album. And Turner croons as the jazzy drumbeat sways, essentially saying: This is the music I want to make now. This is what I want to do. And if you want to be done with me, then so be it. The car and the mirrorball can be interpreted as metaphors. And what those metaphors mean specifically is for the listener to decide.
It’s thoughtfully placed as the first song / first single, immediately setting expectations. I’ll never forget first hearing it and being genuinely bummed out, having my hopes that they’d be back in their old rockin’ bag utterly dashed. But it’s a song that grows on you the more you listen to it. And Turner’s unabashed commitment to his sonic vision is commendable. It really does feel like he’s trying to let you down gently - like an old drinking buddy who’s sobered up and found religion, or an ex who’s trying to make amends. The lines “don’t get emotional”, “I know I promised this is what I wouldn’t do”, and “you’re getting cynical” come across as Turner anticipating harsh fan / music executive reaction, and then defending himself. It’s a next-level meta tune, no doubt about it.
The next three songs bring things into even more abstract territories. “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” sets a lavish tone that’s a prominent theme across the rest of the record. Turner ambiguously sings about an airplane ride to a resort island where a party ensues, evoking the spirit of James Bond-style espionage. The song sections swing from herky-jerk funk to sweeping orchestra pop, making it feel like it was meant for the big screen. I love the parts with the harmonized backing vocals; quite a unique moment that adds a lot of texture and swiftly reminds listeners this is a totally new band now.
“Sculptures of Anything Goes” turns to a darker, swelling, synth-based sound. It’s hard to decipher lyrically, and many of the lines conjure up surreal mental imagery. There are more quasi-self-referential verses, as he mentions “performing in Spanish on Italian TV” and “puncturing your bubble of relatability”. Just a few more snippets of Alex (presumably) admitting that he knows this new-era sound is polarizing. But if the song title and chorus tell us anything, it’s that no creative path is off the table. He is merely following the mystifying artistic current that’s in front of him.
The band then swings back towards luxury with “Jet Skis on the Moat”. It’s another funky lounge-singer tune, with mentions of shooting some sort of film (“they shot it all on CinemaScope”). It seems like a vague commentary on fame and the ups-and-downs that come with it. Nothing too extraordinary here. Are the jet skis and the moat another metaphor for something? Or is it just a quick little scene of old-age Hollywood? It isn’t totally clear.
Right before the turn comes “Body Paint”, which is one of the strongest songs on the record. It has a rock opera structure that lightly evokes the spirit of McCartney / Wings (especially the “keeping on” backup vocals...love that) crossbred with Turner’s typical root-influence on these last two records: David Bowie. The infidelity narrative is pretty easy to pick up on, especially in the soaring outro where Alex repeatedly sings “there’s still a trace of body paint; on your legs and on your arms, and on your face” while the band rips. It’s arguably the most rock n’ roll moment on the entire record; that guitar solo is epic given the context. And the line “I’m keeping on my costume, I’m calling it a writing tool” is yet another lyric that feels like it’s simultaneously about the character in the song and Alex himself. This lounge-singer persona is his artistic costume right now, in the same way the greaser badboi look was a performance during the AM years.
The album then enters the back-half with the title track “The Car”. It starts off jazzy and then turns towards it’s sweeping orchestral center. Once again we’re dealing with puzzling lyrics, making this one difficult to grasp. There are sketches of a couple visiting family, and more hints of espionage - both lyrically and musically. It’s a song that just flows by; it’s neither a standout track nor a complete dud, and is well placed at the heart of the record. Acting like an interlude into the final act.
Next is “Big Ideas” which is another chamber pop tune that tells a story - here Alex sings about some sort of musical director in the entertainment industry who’s struggling to write songs for the big show. It’s another self-reflexive one; Turner’s bout with writer’s block has been well documented. And it’s cool to take that and spin it into a character-driven tale that matches the album’s showbiz theme. Writing about not being able to write lol. That’s one way to get out of a slump.
“Hello You” is the last of the synth-fueled retro-funk numbers on the album. The beat is pretty catchy as it dances with the strings and keys. The chorus: “Hello you, still draggin’ out a long goodbye? I ought to apologize, for one of the last times” is an interesting one. It could be purely a part of the song’s storyline, or it could be another line directed at the audience and a hint into something bigger. Who’s to say?
The penultimate track “Mr. Schwartz” opens up with an acoustic guitar melody, which is a welcomed change-of-pace. But quickly it slinks back into the lounge chair, as Turner delivers more velvety lyrics. It’s a ho-hum song that doesn’t really move the needle in either direction.
Last but not least is “Perfect Sense”, which ends things emotionally. The chorus “if that’s what it takes to say goodnight” feels epic and rings with extra sentimentality, evoking a sense of closure not only for the album but for a larger chapter in the book. The first time I heard it I couldn’t help but feel like this was the end of something within the Arctic Monkeys. Whether that something is big or small or imaginary has yet to reveal itself.
The Car is a challenging piece. There are many things in it that feel like quintessential Arctic Monkeys: Turner’s poeticism is still thought-provoking, and the band continues to lean into their twisting-and-turning song structure motif. But the instrumental arrangements are a total transplant from what made them legends in the first place. And the song subjects are hard to relate to. Many of the Arctic Monkeys most iconic songs are ones where you can easily put yourself in Alex’s shoes, or the shoes of a character in the song. That is certainly not the case on this record. Couple that with no rockin’ guitar riffs and kickass drum beats whatsoever and you’ve got a deal-breaker for many fans.
We’ve all been out on the dance floor lookin’ good. We’ve all been swept up in romance with party anthems blasting on the speakers. None of us have been to the moon, or ridden jet skis on moats.
I’ve come back to The Car a few times with a more open-mind, and do appreciate it for what it is; an expression of where Turner and the rest of the band were at mentally while writing and recording it. They’re no longer rebellious kids from Sheffield, or burgeoning rock stars getting wild in the desert and partying transcontinentally. They’re seasoned vets who are worn out by their celebrity and are struggling to come to grips with their relationship to fame and fan / industry expectations. And that tension shows itself in the music; they are essentially rejecting their rock n’ roll superstardom through song. It’s not my favorite version of the Arctic Monkeys, but I’d rather listen to their truth in the moment than a force-fed cash-grab pander where their hearts just aren’t in it.
If anything these last two records show that Turner and the boys want to make art above anything else. They are pushing themselves creatively and don’t let the charts, or the label, or even the fans dictate where they’re gonna go. It’s a commendable position on one hand, but with it comes scorn and criticism from those who think it’s a total ‘fuck you’ to their loyal supporters. That’s what happens when you take risks as an artist in the public eye. You can’t make everyone happy, and sometimes you make the majority of people upset.
I wonder if Alex has read the reviews or even cares? He has zero social media presence and seems like a very private dude, so I doubt it. One thing is for sure though: the Arctic Monkeys’ story remains unfinished. Anything could happen in the next chapter, and I’m excited to hear it - whatever it may be.
Appreciate y’all taking the time to check out this month’s album. Stay warm out there and see ya soon for January’s songs of the month. Stay tuned 🎵🎸📻🎧
As always,
Much love, and keep on listening <3
-Z.B.