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68 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Overhyped by the UK press but still pretty good, March 3, 2006
The Arctic Monkeys have rocketed to the top of the UK music scene on the basis on a couple of great singles, and when their debut album was released a few weeks ago, it broke the record of the one-week sales. NME declared "Artic Monkeys have delivered a Definitely Maybe" (referring to Oasis' debut album). Not so fast...
"Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (13 tracks, 41 min.) brings basically a great bar band delivering mostly up-tempo songs about the life of 19 and 20 yr. olds (which is what the band members are). Track 2 "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is the break-out single and an irresitable 3 min. blast of great music. While the first half of the album staggers a bit, the second half truly takes off with the pensive "Riot Van", followed by the best track of all, "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured", a slightly reggae-flavored track that delights and delivers. Other stand-outs follow: "Mardy Hum" is a mellow singalong, and "Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But..." is the meatiest track of all. "When The Sun Goes Down" is the other attention-grabbing single, quite good.
In all, this is quite a good album. But to say that this equals the towering "Definitely Maybe" does disservice to Arctic Monkeys. Let these guys (kids, really) develop and let's see where they go from here.
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32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best new band in ages, Believe The Hype!, February 21, 2006
By now you have heard about the Sheffield, Britain Arctic Monkeys unless you have been living under a rock. They had the quickest selling debut CD in the U.K. They are storming the world right now and are the next big thing. How did this all start? They played amazing live shows and the crowd felt a strong presence and they created a small fan base. Quietly the band spread throughout the U.K. through word of mouth. Next they handed out demo's and hosted songs on myspace. Next thing you know, they are being hyped as the next Beatles!!! (Fame wise, not musically!)
First they started out with a catchy single "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" to get they're name out and just show that they can plain rock out. Next they release "When The Sun Comes Down" to show they can play a different type of song. That quickly hit #1 in the U.K. charts and soon enough everyone in the world practically heard about Alex Turner's Arctic Monkeys. 2 band members are only 19 years old (Matt Helders, Andy Nicholson) only lead singer and guitars Alex Turner (band leader and writer), and guitarist Jamie Cook is 20.
This CD is one of the greatest albums that I have heard in a long time. Now, may in be something totally unique and experimental like the Flaming Lips? No, but it does what it wants to. Just plain rock out and create songs that people can just enjoy and dance to. There are tons and tons of potential hits in the US such as I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, Fake Tales Of San Fransico, Still Take You Home, Mardy Bum, Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong, When The Sun Goes Down....etc.
The best songs on the album, or the strongest IMO are The View From The Afternoon, and A Certain Romance. They are just the strongest lyrically and strongest structured.
The Arctic Monkeys just won best British Breakthrough Act at the Brits Awards. There is no weak song on the album, you may even find that the songs that aren't getting much play may end up being a personal favorite to you. Ignore the hype for 40 minutes and just decide for yourself and enjoy the biggest new band in the world. Believe the hype, the Arctic Monkeys are fianlly here.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
What they are not, April 3, 2006
I managed to miss the hype. Maybe it has something to do with not living in England, or not being that interested in MP3 file sharing. Instead, I bought this CD based largely on reviews comparing the Arctic Monkeys to bands like Oasis, or Franz Ferdinand.
Maybe that was a mistake? This band doesn't remind me at all of those bands. Rather than the Beatles-inspired hard rock melodies of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys are nearly all rythmn section outside of the musical bridges, which are closer to Gang of Four, but lack the sparceness and originality that made that band interesting to me. Occasionally the singing will stumble near a pleasing tune, but then the vocalist seems to get bored, and he's off on some improvisation.
The saving grace of this band are the lyrics, which I find to be quite witty. But to me it's not enough. Folks interested in the "not quite singing clever lyrics" genre would do better with Art Brut.
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