Hear AM Now

You can now stream Arctic Monkeys' fifth album, AM, on iTunes for free. Just click this link to go to their iTunes artist page and it should come up if you are in the UK. The album is released next Monday, September 9th.

Preview AM

You can now preview 30 seconds of each track on Arctic Monkey's forthcoming fifth album, AM, below. The album is released on 9th September.

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Artwork

Tracklist:
01. Do I Wanna Know?
02. R U Mine?
03. One For The Road
04. Arabella
05. I Want It All
06. No.1 Party Anthem
07. Mad Sounds
08. Fireside
09. Why'd You Always Call Me When You're High?
10. Snap Out Of It
11. Knee Socks
12. I Wanna Be Yours

The album will be released on September 9th. It has been preceded by Do I Wanna Know?, a preview single released last week, and R U Mine?, which was originally thought to be a standalone single back in 2012. Mad Sounds has also been played live.

The title has been rumoured to be a joke referring to Beady Eye's new album title "BE".

Arctic Monkeys Reveal New Single

Arctic Monkeys have revealed their new single, Do I Wanna Know?, the first taken off their upcoming fifth album, the details of which are currently unknown. Check out the video below:

Arctic Monkeys Debut New Song Live

Arctic Monkeys have debuted a new song, Do I Wanna Know?, live. The song is taken from their upcoming fifth album, the details of which are currently unknown. Have a listen:

Arctic Monkeys Release Surprise Single

Arctic Monkeys have released a new song, R U Mine?, without any sort of prior warning. The song can be heard here and downloaded here.

Best Of 2011: #4

#4 - Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

No original review.

Arctic Monkeys should be commended for not following every other band into electronic territory, as I don't think it would suit them. They retain a guitar-based sound, but still manage to make it sound fresh and exciting. This time, they're a bit more laid back and deal more in melody than before. The greatest songs, then, are the heavy but rather simplistic first single Don't Sit Down Cos I've Moved Your Chair, the rapid Library Pictures, and the beautiful title track, Suck It And See. So, forgiving the band the incredibly uninventive album artwork, the twelve tracks on offer here still prove that Arctic Monkeys remain one of the best in their league, even if it doesn't really sound a thing like their game-changing debut album.

Hear Suck It And See Now

Go here to listen to Arctic Monkeys' brand new album, Suck It And See, in full. The album is due out 6th June.

Live Recordings Of New Arctic Monkeys Songs

After the release of Brick By Brick and Don't Sit Down 'Cos I've Moved Your Chair, Arctic Monkeys have returned to live performances, and with that comes recordings of new songs (of varying quality, but you can get an idea of what the songs will sound like)

BLACK TREACLE


THE HELLCAT SPANGLED SHALALALA


LIBRARY PICTURES


THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG


There's also a version of Piledriver Waltz (apparently the full band version is different) where it's only Alex Turner:


The band's fourth album, Suck It And See, is due out 6th June.

Don't Sit Down... - First Play

The first play of the new Arctic Monkeys' single Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair will be on Monday 11th April at 19.30 on Radio 1 as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World. The song is the first taken from the band's upcoming fourth album Suck It And See, due out 6th June.

This single is released on 11th April as well (digitally) but a physical version will be made available on the 30th May.

And if you can't wait til Monday, here's a 30-second clip:

First Single From Suck It And See

Arctic Monkeys have announced the first single off their upcoming fourth album Suck It And See - it will be Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair, the fifth track on the album. It will be out April 11th digitally, and vinyl versions will be out 30th May.

The song will be the second released from the album, the first being Brick By Brick, which they put up for listening online earlier this month.

Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

Artwork (yes, seriously...)

Tracklist
01. She's Thunderstorms
02. Black Treacle
03. Brick By Brick
04. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
05. Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair
06. Library Pictures
07. All My Own Stunts
08. Reckless Serenade
09. Piledriver Waltz
10. Love Is A Laserquest
11. Suck It And See
12. That's Where You're Wrong

The album is due out 6th June.
Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair is out digitally now.
Brick By Brick is available to listen on YouTube.

New Arctic Monkeys Track

A new Arctic Monkeys song has been posted online; it's called Brick By Brick, and is supposed to be from their upcoming fourth album, which is as of yet untitled, but is intended to be released this summer. Have a listen below:

Best Of 2009 - #7

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
9/10

Original review here.

Album Review: Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

Album: Humbug
Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Singles: Crying Lightning

The long-awaited third album from Arctic Monkeys has finally landed. And it is not a disappointment. Some fantastic dark, brooding rock mixed in with some lighter elements, with some odd but interesting ideas here and there.

My Propeller
The album kicks off with an innunedo-filled dark-sounding rock song. It's the way an opening track should be, drawing you in to the wonders of the rest of the album. The first half of the album seems to follow this heavier sound that what we have heard from the Monkeys in the past. But no worries, it's great.

Crying Lightning
The first single fits in well here, with its odd lyrics - first sexual innuendos, now Pic 'n' Mix? What the hell inspired this? (Please note: The lyrics are great, just... odd.) It was a well deserved choice for first single; it seems to show the better parts of the album.

Dangerous Animals
A creepy start with the words "Pinned down by the dark..." as we are led into another heavy-ish new track. The guitar parts are great, the chorus is great, the song is great. And just as a note for those who think he's singing dangerous without the E, listen carefully after the G. The song turns into the first example of some fantastic drumming from Matt Helders. More of which to come.

Secret Door
A quieter start here, but soon settles in with a great rhythm and a heartfelt chorus, reminiscent of the brilliant closer 505 from their second album. It shows a far more mature Arctic Monkeys.

Potion Approaching
This song is not them at their best, and is the weakest on the album. It sounds juddering, and features a rather uneventful first couple of minutes before it gets into a slow, bouncy rhythm, before ending with some more juddering guitar and the line "Would you like me to build you a go-kart?"

Fire And The Thud
A beautiful song, with some eerie voices going "oooh..." before Alex Turner comes in with some of his best lyrics yet. The ending is amazing, with some brilliant supporting vocals that makes it sound so epic.

Cornerstone
You can tell this went with Secret Door when it was recorded. It's another slower track, and it builds up very slowly and subtly, before launching into a brilliant finale: "I saw your sister in a cornerstone...." before fading out, leaving you wanting more.

Dance Little Liar
A slow, eerie beginning, the darkest on the album, but equally as brilliant. It sounds like a song for the desert (whatever the hell that is - I just can't really describe it) and features some great guitar riffs at the end.

Pretty Visitors
My favourite. A slow organ intro can fool you into thinking that's the premise of the whole song, but then it bursts into some super-fast rock, with lyrics spat out at lightning speed (I'm surprised he could remember all those) before launching into the best chorus of the album, as it slows down the speed and Alex sings "All the pretty visitors came and waved their arms and cast the shadow of a snake pit on the wall" while Matt smashes the hell out of the drums (it's him by far at his best), establishing him firmly as one of the greatest rock drummers ever.

The Jeweller's Hands
What? Final song already? - my first thoughts on realising where I was on the album. It sounds a bit like a hip-hop track at first before it launches into arguably their best closer yet. (It goes up against A Certain Romance and 505, both great closers themselves). It's brilliant.

This album sounds mature and wonderful. It is a well-conceived departure from their old material. I am only critical of two things. One is "Potion Approaching", which costs the album the full marks, the other is how fast the album goes by! (It shows it's a good album, but it's all over too quickly.) However, this just might be their best one yet, although many fans will disagree.

For the record, their previous albums: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (8/10), Favourite Worst Nightmare (9/10)

Arctic Monkeys Web Transmission

On the 30th July at 21:00 (GMT) the band will play a live set of songs from their new album in a broadcasted event through their website. The event will be braodcasted from the Chapel Studios in London.

Single Review: Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning

Single: Crying Lightning
Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Album: Humbug

At first listen, it sounds a bit too different from typical Arctic Monkeys songs to be instantly likeable, but after three or four listens, you begin to truly appreciate this song. The lyrics are quite odd, with a first verse about Pic 'n' Mix, gobstoppers and strawberry lace, but the chorus however ("Your pastimes consisted of the strange, and twisted and deranged, and I hate that little game you had called crying lightning") is for some reason instantly memorable, and makes you want to sing along. In general, it's not the typical Arctic Monkeys single I told myself this would be, but, as a new direction for the band, it is fantastic nonetheless.

8/10

First Plays

These will be played at roughly 19:30 this week on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show.

Monday 6th - Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning
Wednesday 8th - Biffy Clyro - That Golden Rule
Thursday 9th - The Cribs - Cheat On Me

If You Really Can't Wait That Long...

You can hear a thirty seconds preview of Crying Lightning by Arctic Monkeys here. It sounds good.

If you can wait, the single is out 17th August, but will receive its first airplay on 6th July, and be released as a digital download at around midnight on the same day.

First Release From Humbug

Arctic Monkeys have announced that the first single from upcoming third album Humbug will be Crying Lightning. The single is due out on August 17, a week before the album on August 24.

The single will receive its first play on Zane Lowe's show on 6th July.

The artwork: