On the day of the release of Arctic Monkeys’ seventh album, we decided to trace the band’s evolution from dance punk, inspired by the new rock revolution of the early 2000s and The Strokes, to piano rock in the spirit of Serge Gainsbourg, and compile a list of the top songs by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, both as part of the band and in his solo and side projects.
The View from the Afternoon (2006)
“If you have any expectations, you’re likely to be disappointed.” This is roughly how Arctic Monkeys’ debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not begins. It’s a bold and very ironic message at the start of an album that generated a decent amount of hype around its release. But the powerful, jagged guitars and furious drums of The View from the Afternoon do their job perfectly and live up to expectations — it’s hard to imagine a more ideal start to a debut album. The image of the frenzied drummer in the video, according to some, refers to the story of Buddha.
Crying Lightning (2009)
During the break between the second and third albums, Alex Turner not only recorded the album The Last Shadow Puppets, but also befriended Josh Homme, the frontman of Queens of the Stone Age — the main popularizers of stoner rock on the indie scene of the 2000s. The entire Humbug album in general, and its lead single Crying Lightning in particular, marked a sharp transition for Arctic Monkeys from loose dance-punk to a darker sound, imbued with easily recognizable elements of stoner — heavy hard rock riffs, a leisurely tempo, and an overall psychedelic or bluesy atmosphere. At the same time, Turner’s lyrics, who had grown an impressive mane, became more figurative — the leader of the Monkeys was clearly tired of the social realism of the first two releases.
Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair (2011)
Josh Homme’s influence can be heard even more clearly on the lead single from Arctic Monkeys’ fourth album, Suck It and See. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair is a solid stoner rock hit in the best traditions of Queens of the Stone Age. There is even more sinister psychedelia and heavy guitars here, and the instantly memorable guitar riff seems to be taken from some vintage spy movie.
R U Mine? (2012)
With their first single from the album AM, the band demonstrated that they were going to aim high. In the incredibly powerful song R U Mine?, released long before the release of Arctic Monkeys’ fifth album, the band managed not only to combine all their most successful achievements throughout their existence — their trademark powerful guitar riffs, thunderous drums, and lyrics peppered with pop culture references — but also to add something new. According to Turner, while working on the single, he was inspired by West Coast hip-hop and contemporary R&B, among other things. And, of course, let’s not forget Alex Turner’s new look, who finally dared to go for the full rock star image in a black leather jacket, skinny jeans, aviator sunglasses, and gel-soaked bangs combed back.
Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? (2013)
When AM was released, it became clear that the experiments in R U Mine? were not a one-off. The Arctic Monkeys’ most compelling album since their debut immediately attracted attention not only with its powerful desert rock riffs, but also with its bold use of broken hip-hop, R&B, and funk rhythms. The third single from the album, Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?, is the most striking example of this symbiosis. Reviewing the single, critics eagerly listed the band’s obvious and not-so-obvious, but extremely unexpected sources of inspiration — Dr. Dre, Jurassic 5, and even Destiny’s Child from the early 2000s.
The Last Shadow Puppets — Aviation (2016)
The main hit from the second album of Alex Turner’s side project — a duo with Miles Kane called The Last Shadow Puppets. Unlike the debut, which was mainly inspired by the work of Scott Walker, the second album, Everything You’ve Come to Expect, was recorded under the influence of vintage soul in the spirit of Isaac Hayes and 1980s sophisti-pop. The opening track, Aviation, is an instantly captivating guitar pop hit with an excellent melody and rich strings. The music video for the song is no less passionate: it is an indecently melodramatic story involving a mobster, his young bride, and two drunken slackers played by the duo, who dig their own graves on the ocean coast.
The compositions on Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino are built around keyboards, and (oh, horror!) they almost completely lack the memorable guitar riffs so beloved by the band. This is not surprising: after the success of AM, Alex Turner found himself in the midst of a creative crisis, so he sat down at the piano his manager had given him for his 30th birthday, and suddenly he was carried away. As a result, the leader of the Monkeys ended up with a whole set of songs that reference the work of greats such as Serge Gainsbourg, Leonard Cohen, and David Bowie, as well as his contemporary Father John Misty. Without a doubt, Alex Turner has once again successfully reinvented himself, but this came as a shock to the band’s orthodox fans. It is noteworthy that the album opens with the words, “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes, and now look what I’ve done.”
