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B O N D P H O N E.
Words and pictures by Chris Lamb.

3.01.2006

 

Stop making the eyes at me, I'll stop making the eyes at you.

So, the Arctic Monkeys. After months and months of seeing "AM: Cure for Cancer?" style headlines from NME online and the other usual suspects, their first album's coming to America at last. I've listening to an advance over headphones while working. Or putting off working, as the case may be.

They're very charming, aren't they? After three listens to the record I think I've narrowed down the trick - these are songs about going somewhere and doing something, rather than a handful of vague feelings stapled to a riff. It's hardly Shakespeare but it's worth noticing - plot, characters, setting, when's the last time pop music had all this and still succeeeded? And there's an unintentional quality to the band itself, less Cool Rockers, more Kids With Guitars. The difference is all the difference, really. More potential for greatness and failure, and definitely more fun at the end of the day. They won't make it any bigger in the states than Futureheads or any of the others have, but this time, I really don't think they care.


Comments:
Y'know, I've always been in two minds about The Arctic Monkeys. On the one hand they do what they do well, very well in fact, but on the other they're just another of these indie-pop-rock-guitar bands that seem to be hitting the British music scene from all angles at the moment. Too Much Of A Good Thing and all that. Yeah, they're pretty good, but nothing new, and I think that's what always puts me off.
 
I know exactly what you mean. My only way around it was to kill every music news link in my bookmarks and just let stuff find me. Every one's so desperate for music's next big savior they're throwing everything with half a shot up on the pedstal. Arctic Monkeys aren't going to save anything, and this album - while good - isn't half of what it could be. I think I'm more interested in their next record than I am this one, just to see if they can fill the "Just a guy telling stories" shoes of the likes of Jarvis Cocker, etc.
 
Get hold of the Making Beds In A Burning House album by a wonderful band called Troubled Hubble. That is, if you don't know them already - they're American though so I guess there's more of a chance you have, they're prety much unheard of here. They're really fucking happy and they do it so well.
 
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Have written:

about comics
Vapor Trail (1, 2, 3)
Big Pond: The Idea Store

about music
Ignition Switch (1, 2)
Live at the Tea House
Kracfive Records
The Exploding Hearts
Tracks For Horses
Candidate

about technology
Gizmodo 01/05, 02/05)

Have designed:

for cn.com
Dish It Out
Battle Ready
Star Students

for lmn.tv
LMN Flixation

for spiketv.com
The Dudeson's Bonebreaker