Album Review: The Car by Arctic Monkeys

Don’t get emotional, that ain’t like you… croons Alex Turner in his signature style on the opening track of the Arctic Monkeys’ highly anticipated seventh studio album. The lyrics follow a very interesting piano introduction that Turner himself plays on the record.

The Car was the fans’ reward for waiting 4 years for new music. As soon as the band announced their 2022-23 tour, the fandom was abuzz with excitement. They surprised concertgoers with I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am at a show, officially marking the beginning of yet another different sound for the Arctic Monkeys.

Over the past 20 years, these four English musicians have given us evolution. Their fame has not once dwindled since 2006, and rightly so. It isn’t just the lyrical prowess that frontman Alex Turner brings to the table that pulls us in, it’s the environment and the atmosphere they create as a group that truly gives us a unique experience. In a time where the ‘popular’ genre of music has decidedly shifted from rock to hip-hop, Arctic Monkeys have kept and only multiplied their success, never afraid to experiment with new sounds. Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino divided many over the sudden change in sound in 2018, and yet it holds its ground with sounds of Turner’s self-reflective musings, some very ridiculous lyrics that suddenly sound romantic, transporting the listener into a space-scape for 11 songs.

The Car takes us further into Turner’s mind and brings us surprises. Sculptures of Anything Goes, easily the most highly anticipated track of the album (after Alex and Matt mentioned it being rather ominous in an interview), is easily the most stand-out sound from the band we’ve ever heard. It opens up new avenues for the band’s discography. As the band revealed, this was member Jamie Cook’s song in every way, his masterpiece that he’d hidden away for more than a decade.

Jet Skis on the Moat gives us more lazy musings and interesting sounds, yet Body Paint, the second single officially released from the album, picks up energy and showcases all of the members’ talents wonderfully. The most idyllic track is the title track itself, perfectly encapsulating the entire album’s atmosphere in 3 minutes.

Big Ideas seems like a sequel to Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’s One Point Perspective, an ode to the concept. Hello You experiments with so many new sounds it will leave you mind-boggled, especially with the addition of Turner’s way of storytelling being so cryptic and yet on the nose. Mr Schwartz is another conceptual song, personifying characteristics in a way that not even all the similes and metaphors we learned in school could arm us to do, because we are not, in fact, Alex Turner.

Perfect Sense and its strings lull us towards the end of the record and leave the listener with a sense of calm after the end of the journey. Surely, many of the hardcore fans of the band’s first record, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, who have criticised the past two albums, don’t find The Car to their tastes (as I am sure you can find many very passionate people rant on Youtube), but this album isn’t made for them. This album is made for themselves, Turner, Cook, O’Malley and Helders, as their journey continues.

It’s refreshing to see such a successful rock band experiment with their sound to this degree, to see how unafraid they are of losing the ‘stardom’ they have achieved.

The Car may not be for hardcore punk-rock fans, but the indie heart is pleased.

If that’s what it takes to say ‘good night’, then that’s what it takes

A