Arctic Monkeys need no introductions on these pages unless you have been living in a cave in Afghanistan for the past few years. I must confess I was almost frightened off by all the press build up and was frankly quite sceptical before I heard them expecting another twee indie band for the NME to proclaim “Saviours Of The Universe, (and inventors of the AIDS vaccine)”.
Whilst on holiday abroad later in the year I was listening to a local radio station and a song came on unannounced and boy did it rock. The drums were thunderous and the guitars were jangly and unusual. Even better they were spiced by a chorus that sprayed melodies left right and centre. When the DJ announced this was ‘The View From The Afternoon’ my jaw dropped. It was time to give their debut a chance with no prejudices.
So I went out and bought ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not‘ and caught them live in Italy and soon enough tracks like ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco’ were regular fixtures on my car CD mixes. Yet again the band were able to blend their quiet-loud approach to perfection whilst managing to slip in an occasional shout-along.
I have never been to Sheffield but somehow I can completely associate with the band both musically and lyrically drawing parallels to my own life (how presumptuous). I think it’s a testament to the strength of this album that the media that year all named different tracks from the album as their “Best Of Year” lists. Simply, there are a load of standout tracks that any budding songwriter would love to call their own.
The scary thing is these boys are in their early 20s and just getting started.
