AM
This album has actually become a problem for me. Everytime I listen to it, I want to write about it and everytime I want to write about it, I want to shut everything else out. So I'm finally getting it out of my system.
AM is hella clever. From the name of the album to the songs (like Stop the world, I wanna get off with you), and the way they're written; it feels like a private joke that you're in on.
But most of all, it feels like an effort for the band to grow up from their post-puberty punk phase and settle into the brink of early adulthood with mellow rhythmic blues. Like a young boy eager to grow up and deal with adult problems while really only getting stuck in the muddle and clinging on to what was life as he knew it. Titles with "Wanna" and "R U Mine" suggest no different. It gloriously works though, as a manner of not trying too hard.
Case in point and probably my favorite song on the album : I wanna be yours
The song begins gliding, almost too breezy -- until the lyrics that begin soon enough. You know that phase in a crush before resolution on whether it will be unrequited? This song is an entirety of that mixed with so much sexiness. It is obsession and an allegory of love with everyday things. "I wanna be your vaccum cleaner, breathing in your dust" and "I wanna be your setting lotion, hold your hair in deep devotion" are instances. It's funny and endearing, but you feel for Alex Turner because low-key you feel for yourself. Pining never seemed this cool.
Arabella
This song continues in panache. The personifications are one part of the song, where he says in the chorus that the horizon tries but it's not as kind on the eyes as Arabella, and then he compares her lips to the galaxy's edge. And if that wasn't already enough, the bridge will paint pictures in your head that you won't want to forget until it climaxes into a guitar riff! Now you'll either want to be Arabella or have a crush on her, or both.
Bridge:
That's magic in a cheetah print coat
Just a slip underneath it I hope
Asking if I can have one of those
Organic cigarettes that she smokes
Wraps her lips round the Mexican coke
Makes you wish that you were the bottleTakes a sip of your soul and it sounds like...
Also, this song sounds like it was written for Alexa Chung, but it probably wasn't.
No. 1 party anthem
This song, farthest from its sarcastic title, is almost ballad-y. Like a modern interpretation of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the night". Except, a nervous mess at it. It is a drunk exchange of glances, the right signals and anticipated ice-breaker conversations between you and the person you just met. Spotting them from the corner of your eye floods you with a sense of calm, until you're anxious about leaving. With them. Do they want to, too?
Tip: For kicks and giggles, think of this song as a reverse chronology of events on that night.
Do I wanna know?
Everybody knows this song. It's a gorgeous beginning to the album, the seller single, if I may. It is clear, loud and gets the message across -- that AM is a vibe, and you'd be damned if you miss it. This is the song I play on repeat until I fall asleep, spilling drinks on my senses. Okay, I stole that line from the song but it is tiny revelations on your behalf. An album front-row represent. The video is creative, clever and focuses your attention on the beat and light vocals.
PS: "Why'd you only call me when you're high", is genius because this song uses the former as a background score, to set its base.
AM, like most other Arctic Monkeys albums, is a story that you very well know, but want to be told. So pay attention. Each song spills into another and the lyrics seem seamless. It is consistent and clear in instrument, drunk in vocals and a fun time overall. AM is the boy who got handed his cigarette too soon, and just in the moment of a cough, he exhales sharply and it hits him.
AM is hella clever. From the name of the album to the songs (like Stop the world, I wanna get off with you), and the way they're written; it feels like a private joke that you're in on.
But most of all, it feels like an effort for the band to grow up from their post-puberty punk phase and settle into the brink of early adulthood with mellow rhythmic blues. Like a young boy eager to grow up and deal with adult problems while really only getting stuck in the muddle and clinging on to what was life as he knew it. Titles with "Wanna" and "R U Mine" suggest no different. It gloriously works though, as a manner of not trying too hard.
Case in point and probably my favorite song on the album : I wanna be yours
The song begins gliding, almost too breezy -- until the lyrics that begin soon enough. You know that phase in a crush before resolution on whether it will be unrequited? This song is an entirety of that mixed with so much sexiness. It is obsession and an allegory of love with everyday things. "I wanna be your vaccum cleaner, breathing in your dust" and "I wanna be your setting lotion, hold your hair in deep devotion" are instances. It's funny and endearing, but you feel for Alex Turner because low-key you feel for yourself. Pining never seemed this cool.
Arabella
This song continues in panache. The personifications are one part of the song, where he says in the chorus that the horizon tries but it's not as kind on the eyes as Arabella, and then he compares her lips to the galaxy's edge. And if that wasn't already enough, the bridge will paint pictures in your head that you won't want to forget until it climaxes into a guitar riff! Now you'll either want to be Arabella or have a crush on her, or both.
Bridge:
That's magic in a cheetah print coat
Just a slip underneath it I hope
Asking if I can have one of those
Organic cigarettes that she smokes
Wraps her lips round the Mexican coke
Makes you wish that you were the bottleTakes a sip of your soul and it sounds like...
Also, this song sounds like it was written for Alexa Chung, but it probably wasn't.
No. 1 party anthem
This song, farthest from its sarcastic title, is almost ballad-y. Like a modern interpretation of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the night". Except, a nervous mess at it. It is a drunk exchange of glances, the right signals and anticipated ice-breaker conversations between you and the person you just met. Spotting them from the corner of your eye floods you with a sense of calm, until you're anxious about leaving. With them. Do they want to, too?
Tip: For kicks and giggles, think of this song as a reverse chronology of events on that night.
Do I wanna know?
Everybody knows this song. It's a gorgeous beginning to the album, the seller single, if I may. It is clear, loud and gets the message across -- that AM is a vibe, and you'd be damned if you miss it. This is the song I play on repeat until I fall asleep, spilling drinks on my senses. Okay, I stole that line from the song but it is tiny revelations on your behalf. An album front-row represent. The video is creative, clever and focuses your attention on the beat and light vocals.
PS: "Why'd you only call me when you're high", is genius because this song uses the former as a background score, to set its base.
AM, like most other Arctic Monkeys albums, is a story that you very well know, but want to be told. So pay attention. Each song spills into another and the lyrics seem seamless. It is consistent and clear in instrument, drunk in vocals and a fun time overall. AM is the boy who got handed his cigarette too soon, and just in the moment of a cough, he exhales sharply and it hits him.
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| Copyright : Domino, Graphic artist(s), Matthew Cooper, Source : Wikimedia |
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