Coming from somewhere near the steel city, the release of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was essentially unavoidable. In the post-Libertines wave of indie rock, few could stand out from the hegemonic wave of clean guitars and drug-induced lyrical plagiarism, but somehow, Alex Turner and friends managed to get their debut album a five-time platinum rating, and that's not even considering the various online leaks of their material.
They've come an awful long way since their days of singing about the Northern England club scene, and hence it's only fair to expect the group to have changed. But with their changes, have they subsequently betrayed their origins, and dumped their brashly honest tunes for a more sustainable model of pop? Let's start where it's most appropriate to do so, with Whatever People Say I Am...
This is one of few albums which seems to have appealed to the biggest audiences, and has continued to do so over the past decade. The overt theme of Northern nightlife is ever-present in the album, and is one of few examples that manages to adhere a certain set of ideas throughout all of its tracks. All aspects of a night out are appropriately covered in stark, honest detail. There's the excitement before the storm, the ultimately vain attempts at pulling, and the looming bar scraps. It was a refreshing narrative which we hadn't seen before; an accented adventure around Sheffield, not forgetting the return journey to High Green, via Hillsborough (a line chanted vigorously much to the dismay of taxi drivers persevering through their waves of 3AM piss-heads).
It's certainly made an impact which reverberates through the area, and across the country, to this very day. By having an unparalleled connection to a variety of differing audiences, the band set themselves up for popularity. That and a load of snarky and real people having "You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham," as their Facebook cover picture.
Let's then venture towards the fast and loud distinctiveness of Favourite Worst Nightmare. For myself at least, it's a contender for their best album, only beaten by the completeness, uniqueness and pre-release excitement of their debut effort. That being said, the album managed to have all of its tracks within the UK's top 200 singles list, a feat rarely seen. For me, it wasn't as good as the first, but the overwhelming acclaim and success surrounding the album seem to suggest otherwise. Their second album was exactly what fans wanted; more of the same, with a little bit of safe experimentation thrown in for good measure.
Favourite Worst Nightmare explores the real consequences emerging after a night out, as one matures and experiences both the good and bad parts of life. The sound is heavier, the lyrics are much more emotive and the band is seemingly one which has already began to develop after the release of their debut album just over a year ago. With this effort, they proved they're not a band whose sole purpose is to provide a soundtrack to your night out, they'll soundtrack the love, the loss and the eventual optimism that come after, and connect with the listener in a remarkably distinct manner.
And then we enter a period which I regarded as sincerely mediocre. With the exception of a few individual songs ('Crying Lightning' and 'Pretty Visitors') the album seemed to have mellowed out into an exploratory mess. Moving to America, and getting Josh Homme on board must have ripped the Monkeys from their roots, because to me, this sounded like something which was worlds apart from their own material. Granted, many critics rightfully praised this new-found maturity. But in reinventing themselves, the group were no longer the indie heroes that inspired a generation. They may have perfected their craft in the process, but they also lost that special something that created some amazing tunes and live performances.
To further everyone's varying relationship with the band, Suck It and See served to mix things up even more than with Humbug. Their fourth album seemed to sit in a precarious position, an awkward compromise between pop and alternative which sat in a grey area which no-one necessarily wanted. It seems that Americana was creeping in on Sheffield-born group. What was once a growing influence on Humbug was now seeping into the core of their music. You can hear with the beginning riff of 'She's Thunderstorms' that the position of the group is somewhere new and uncertain, sounding mainstream but with an indie edge which somehow managed to retain their original audiences. So I suppose Turner's increasing bias towards the States wasn't necessarily a terrible idea; it was a new concept which saw some of the best experimentation since the group's conception.
But there's also a sense that the Monkeys simply stopped caring at this point; lyrics, while still cracking, are comparatively lackluster when put the next to those of the first two albums, leading to album which appeared to have no aim, and was subsequently mediocre. Although I must admit that outwardly random tracks, chiefly 'Library Pictures' and 'Don't Sit Down...' certainly did leave an impression; they were cracking tunes which somehow manifested the best of the newly Americanized group and their accompanying care-free lyricism.
And then there's the latest offering from the Monkeys, the simply titled AM. Which, with a few exceptions, seems to have completely abandoned the origins which made the group what they are today. Although admittedly, that is a rather pessimistic perspective to view the album from.
If you wanted to have a gander at the album from a new angle, you could say (and you'd be well justified in saying so) that the band has now come full-circle. They're now the group of mature and developed individuals that they set out to be through their previous two albums. It's the most realised album yet, which experiments with a wide variety of genres; there's a touch of everything in the album, from stonking rock with 'R U Mine?', some 70's influence with 'Mad Sounds' and a bit of hip hop in the surprisingly catchy 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?'. It's safe to say there's a little something for everyone, and while it is a far cry from their earlier work, if you refrain from viewing the album with nostalgic, rose-tinted glasses, you'll have a cracking time.
But of course, you already knew that. AM has been out over two years now, and the group have already done the rounds of touring, with Turner now once again teaming up with the superb Miles Kane for a new stint as The Last Shadow Puppets. So while they've departed for the foreseeable future, what has been the impact of one of the best new British bands in recent memory?
Well locally, the influence of the Arctic Monkeys hasn't been all good. In the time it took to say 'High Green, Sheffield', bands across the country began singing in their native accents, citing the fame and popularity of the Monkeys. As a northerner, once charming and laughable stereotypes have now become a focal point. Have a listen to their debut album, and subsequently everyone south of Nottingham begins to think that a northern individual is on a night out for one of two reasons, to pull, or to scrap, which is smashing.
You had record labels jumping at artists who sounded anything remotely like them, which was expected. But if it wasn't for them, you could've guaranteed that groups like Milburn, or Reverend and the Makers wouldn't have come to prominence as quickly as they did. Not to say they're undeserving, but it's likely that they would've been overlooked for something a tad different. I often find now that fans of the group now fall into two distinct parties; one who think that they're the epitome of the charming North of England, or that they're dislocated dickheads who've lost touch with themselves. And honestly? I don't know where I stand here.
As the line "You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham" is sung with increasing irony, it has become apparent that the group have revolutionised music of the north, and of Britain as a whole. But has it been for the better? Well I suppose that's entirely up to you...
