Road to maturity: «The Car» by Arctic Monkeys

World’s most favourite guys from Sheffield are finally back, not only with a new album, but with completely new sound. Yes, even after 20 years of existence, Arctic Monkeys are still experimenting and exploring different genres, while musically growing up together with their fans. Tumblr is dead, so the band saw no need in dramatic guitar riffs or explosive drum sequences. That’s why «The Car» is giving mellow dreamy whiskey evening, rather than conquering the dance floor while being wasted vibes.

No wonder adjectives like «dreamy», «tender», «mature» are coming to mind. Album is representing art rock, orchestral rock, lounge pop genres, opening a window in a stuffy room full of noisy pop music. «The Car» logically picked up where «Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino» (2018) stopped, sound-wise and lyrics-wise. Although last album wasn’t a huge success, the second time for Arctic Monkeys happened to be a charm.

Similar to previous eras, vulnerable poetic soul of a band’s frontman Alex Turner was exposed, sprinkling us (mostly non-native speakers) with rich variety of English vocabulary. Sometimes it works just perfectly, leaving lingering sensation from instrumental+lyrics combo. But do I want to tell you how many times have I used Google translator? Turner’s metaphor game is no joke, but it’s on the edge of being over the top and show-off-ish. «Lego Napoleon movie/ Written in noble gas-filled glass tubes/ Underlined in sparks/ I’ll admit it's elaborate for a wakin' thought.» Alex, aren’t you the same guy that wrote «My propeller won’t spin and I can’t get it started on my own»?

I will admit, uncertainty of lyrics goes well with general feeling of being lost, grown up and heartbroken altogether. So does the tasteful use of orchestral instruments with violins as the main characters. Strings are building needed tension and drama in some tedious parts of the album.

Due to sophisticated and high-class sound of «The Car» you won’t add it to your everyday playlist. It’s one of the albums that you should get in the mood for to understand. And I’m okay with that, as long as one of the most versatile bands in the music industry will prove that title again and again.