Suck It & See (Vinyl) [Import]

The Arctic Monkeys rose to prominence with a style of music that was fairly upbeat, lively and more rock orientated and with each new album they move further away from their early template, shedding fans with each new release along the way.

With the band's previous album, Humbug, the music became more difficult and experimental, with production duties being handled in part by legendary QOTSA/Kyuss musician Josh Homme.

For fans who were very turned off by Humbug, this latest album, Suck It And See is not the glorious return to the style of their debut album that you may be hoping for.

The musical direction suggested by excellent single `Don't Sit Down `Cause I Moved Your Chair,' and the drummer-singing pre-release track `Brick By Brick,' may have been misleading as the overall tone is less rock orientated than previous Arctic Monkeys material.

The album rather, is a mixture of the slower, more ballad style material such as Alex's solo work and Arctic Monkeys works like the B Side `The Bakery,' or `505,' from Favourite Worst Nightmare, with the experimental style found on Humbug (here especially on tracks such as the weird `Library Pictures,' and on `All My Own Stunts' where Josh Homme makes his fifth guest vocal appearance with the band)

Cleaner, more acoustic or quiet tracks such as `Reckless Serenade,' and `The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala,' form the majority of the album and there is even a reworking of Alex's solo ballad from the Submarine EP `Piledriver Waltz.'

Ignoring musical direction however, the album is very strong, with a diverse and musically interesting set of songs with the same vocal and lyrical style and quality you can always find in Arctic Monkeys music.

Overall, this album is worth checking out if you are a fan of everything the band do, and are happy with their progression and shifts in direction over the years, but I would not recommend it to fans who vastly prefer the style found on Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not because this album is perhaps the polar opposite of that album, where a consistent set of sharp and direct songs are replaced with either subtle and ponderous or just downright weird ones.

The Monkeys debut LP's claim to greatness was derived from the ability of Alex Turner to deliver a certain cleverness, a unique obsession to detail, and British cheek that on one level told the story of a drunken night in Sheffield from the viewpoint of twenty one year old locals. The story progressed in the critiques of their subsequent albums "Favourite Worst Nightmare" and "Humbug", with the main focus of the reviews of critics being Turner's lyricism. With "Suck It and See" Turner's lyrics were my initial reasoning that this is indeed the group's best album, but after several dozen listens I have come to realize what makes their new album my favorite album of 2011 is not that Alex Turner has earned the title of the premier lyricist of current music, but that the band as a whole has hit their peak.

"She Thunderstorms" presents drummer Matt Helders making his presence first known on the album in a signature pounding, attacking drum lead in. Critically, Helders has been praised for his drumming talent and seems to be the most respected member of the band(other than Turner) in regards to musicianship as his drumming has been a Monkey cornerstone that drove the energy of past albums. The first surprise of "Suck It and See" is that the sheer power of Helders arrival flows seamlessly into a more reserved, groove oriented style. The refinement and maturation of Helders' percussion work has allowed bassist Nick O'Malley to reveal his technical skills have advanced the furthest of any member's instrumental talents. Matt Helders has always been a great drummer, but this is the first album O'Malley has proved to be a great bassist. "Reckless Serenade" is a prime example of the two's offerings being key to a near perfect song. Their combined talents serve as a rhythm section that ties the album together from beginning to end, bringing to mind the best of 60's pop studio musicians, The Smiths, and the Stone Roses.

The sheer scale of Turner's lyrics gives way to the deduction that the album is a place where Jamie Cook has become the leader of guitar direction and sound. Without Humbug's Homme drone and desert haze, Cook shows a newly found inventiveness fueled by influence from The Jesus and Mary Chain, Johnny Marr, and contemporaries The Horrors.

This musical growth sets a wondrous stage for the real show, Turner. Having worked through the convoluted, often meaningless lyrics of Humbug's weaker moments, Alex proves himself to be a master of the pop song. He loves, he lusts, he uses incredibly obscure metaphors. He has carved himself a permanent place in the great songwriters of Britain. Upon the rock solid foundation of the band, Turner draws influence from all over the map. The music's platform allows him to draw from Johnny Cash, Brian Wilson, and LCD Soundsystem. Combine this direction with his obsession with weather, and we're given tunes like the title track "Suck It and See" and "Love is a Laserquest". "That's not a skirt girl that's a sawed off shotgun, and I can only hope you've got it aimed at me" croons Turner on the title track. As to the sheer weirdness of the above quote, don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from. To say the least, this is a good thing.

In 2011 we saw two bands that shared very similar rises to fame release their fourth albums. The Strokes' "Angles" found a bunch of individuals trying to take the album in their own direction, resulting in a disjointed disappointment and a strong sign that the Strokes truly have seen their peak. On the other hand Arctic Monkeys made their best album, the best album of 2011, and a work that will surely be ranked highly on some NME "Best Album" List twenty years from now. Suck It and See is great because it is aware of it strengths and weaknesses. This album takes risks, brings smiles, stirs up regret, beautifies lust, and makes me personally consider take chances where I wouldn't of before. As much as it pains me to say it, maybe the NME was right from the start this time. 5/5

This album marks the newest transition of the Arctic Monkeys. Away goes the psychedelic influenced "Humbug" to the soothing, mellow "Suck it and See." I highly recommend that anyone who is turned off by this album at first to listen to it several times before making a decision.

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