The Car. Arctic Monkeys

With The Car Arctic Monkeys sets another giant step in its career. No, this album has nothing to do any more with how the band began but can be called the culmination of the process the band underwent after the release of 'Favourite Worse Nightmare'. Alex Turner has released his inner crooner and has the songs to accompany this transition.

On 'Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino' (2018) this transition was audible also, but in hindsight the album was a bit forced where the melodies were concerned. They sounded fantastic but didn't have the suaveness The Car has. This album is pure sophistication.

In my review of one of the singles, I already wrote that I could imagine the song being song by the likes of Frank Sinatra. And this is, I think, true for more on The Car. This album is pure nostalgia for an era long gone and more from the Arctic Monkeys' grandparents youth then their parents'. With small hints by way of modern sounds, The Car is pulled into the third decade of this century.

Arguably, Arctic Monkeys is the most relevant rock band of the 21st century. Where originality, development and individual songs are concerned there are not many rivals. Having come on the scene with a huge bang, slowly but surely a development was set into motion, with highlights and stumbling forwards.

The question, is Arctic Monkeys still a band is a justifiable one. On stage certainly but on record? This album is fully Alex Turner and his ideas. In that sense the comment I've read Arctic Monkeys has become The Last of the Shadow Puppets is understandable as well. The 60s nostalgia of Scott Walker, etc. Yet, The Car's music goes far further back. Is it even nostalgia when hardly anyone who lived through that era in music as an adult isn't alive any more?

Musically, I am totally alright with The Car. The band and added musicians are in great form. The music progresses slowly and the songs keep growing with each spin. On LP and with a headset on, the listening experience is exquisite. My mind and The Car become one with ease.

To wrap up I'm coming back to The Beatles. Alex Turner does everything more or less on his own and is not challenged in the way John and Paul, and to a lesser extent, George, challenged each other. Yet, Alex Turner is developing in the same way, albeit in a far slower tempo. Listen to 'Body Paint' and you'll know what I mean. The Beatles influenced, including George Harrison style guitar solo, and yet with an immense richness of itself. 'Body Paint' is the kind of song I hoped Arctic Monkeys would come up with. (And, yes, I would have loved a new 'Dance Floor' or 'Teddypicker', sure.) The Car is the step forward made possible by 'Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino'. The stumbling forward towards the great leap. That is after all what The Car is. (The Beatles had finished its career in the same timespan.)

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