Much to the delight of fans everywhere, Arctic Monkeys are finally back.
The Sheffield rock band’s new single “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” was released in the early hours of Tuesday morning (30 August), marking their first music in four years.
It comes straight off the back of their headline set at Reading and Leeds festival over the bank holiday weekend, where they debuted the new track.
The band also recently announced their new album, The Car, due for release on 21 October, which will feature 10 new songs written by Turner and made with the band’s regular producer James Ford.
According to a press release, The Car finds Arctic Monkeys “running wild in a new and sumptuous musical landscape and contains some of the richest and most rewarding vocal performances of Alex Turner’s career”.
To celebrate the forthcoming release, we have rounded what we believe are the five most underrated Arctic Monkeys tracks.
“Despair in the Departure Lounge” –Who The F*** Are The Arctic Monkeys?
Released shortly after the band’s debut album Whatever People Say I’m Not, That’s What I Am in 2006, “Despair In The Departure Lounge” was a demo included on that same year’s EP, Who The F*** Are The Arctic Monkeys? The song – a stripped-back breakup ballad – demonstrates Turner’s eccentric depiction of heartbreak: “He’s got the feeling again/ This time on the aeroplane /There might be tellys in the back of the seats in front /But Rodney and Del won’t do”. So tangible is Turner’s storytelling that you can almost feel that ache in your own stomach.
“Secret Door” – Humbug
This track from 2009’s Humbug has a distinctly nostalgic feel to it, thanks in part to its opening melody. Helder’s distinctive percussion picks up the pace, before the song eventually descends back into a cosy, rocking lullaby ending. It oozes ironic calm, providing the perfect antidote to the industrial twanging guitars that follow in “Potion Approaching”.
“Riot Van” – Whatever People Say I’m Not, That’s What I Am
One of the most seductive tracks on the band’s debut album, “Riot Van” deserves its moment in the sun. Turner’s distorted northern accent makes it feel as though he’s speaking to you from a telephone booth, giving the song a distinctly DIY feel. That golden, glimmering guitar is redolent of the lush twangs on Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”. Combined with Turner’s youthful but romantic lyricism, it makes for the perfect song.
“Dance Little Liar” – Humbug
“Dance Little Liar” is the eighth track on the band’s third album, Humbug. The song might have been overshadowed by the stunning “seatbelt-scented” “Cornerstone” (the next track on the record), but “Dance Little Liar” has an understated quality that should not be overlooked. Shimmering guitar riffs complement Matt Helders’ clean and consistent drum beat. The chaos that the song descends into has a sharp, electric strangeness to it.
Anything from Suck It and See
“Basically anything from Suck It and See” was perhaps the most overwhelming response when questioning fans about the most underrated AM songs. Indeed, the 12-track album is packed with bangers, from the sticky rock and roll goodness of “Black Treacle” and “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” to “Piledriver Waltz” and “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”. The 2011 album also encases some of Turner’s most vivid lyrics, as he sings of “the type of kisses where teeth collide/ When she laughs, the heavens hum a stun gun lullaby” on “Reckless Serenade”, and asks: “Do you still think love is a Laserquest? /Or do you take it all more seriously?/ I’ve tried to ask you this in some daydreams that I’ve had/ But you’re always busy being make-believe” in the ever tender “Love Is a Laserquest”. And of course there’s the eternal “you’re rarer than a can of dandelion and burdock / And those other girls are just postmix lemonade” from “Suck It and See”. A timeless classic.
