Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

Anyone who has paid close attention to the utterances and activities of Alex Turner over the past couple of years won’t be taken aback by Humbug. The Arctic Monkeys mainman has made no secret of his admiration for Scouse psychedelicists The Coral, while his affection for 1960s stylings were laid bare on the creatively rich Last Shadow Puppets diversion. Thus it comes as no huge surprise that the pithy kitchen-sink punk drama of yore has been largely discarded in favour of deeper, richer and more lysergic textures. Recorded in America with QOTSA singer Josh Homme and Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford, the album showcases a band at the top of their game. On opener, My Propeller, Turner’s menacing croon makes clear his progression from Sheffield sixth-form poet to fully formed singer. The record is equally confident elsewhere whether on the elegiac and wistful Cornerstone or the Doorsy closer The Jewellers Hands. Humbug proves that it’s possible for a phenomenon to grow older gracefully.