Originally published in print in October 2023.
While the Arctic Monkeys had experienced success in the UK since their debut, it was the energetic riffs and addictive rhythms of the band’s fifth album AM that pushed them towards worldwide success. It topped the charts in over a dozen countries and marked the band’s first significant breakthrough in the US. September 2023 saw the ten-year anniversary of this iconic album, and while the band has somewhat departed from its psychedelic rock sound with its orchestral new release The Car, the continued popularity of AM still proves the album’s everlasting appeal and ability to survive today’s music climate.
Arctic Monkeys formed in Sheffield in 2002, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Andy Nicholson, later replaced by Nick O’Malley. Their energetic rock ‘n’ roll sound coupled with Turner’s fun and punchy lyric delivery led the band to become an instant success in the UK, with their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British music history. Later albums were just as well received as the band became a household name in the UK. Their third album Humbug saw an evolution of the band’s initial punk rock sound, as Turner’s rapidly delivered vocals became slower, and the band’s overall sound became darker and heavier. The band’s next album Suck it and See was similarly popular, however Turner felt that once the band began playing it live, it ‘exhausted itself quite quickly.’ This led the band to write their 2013 single ‘R U Mine?,’ and with its fresh new R&B inspired sound it became the band’s highest charting single since ‘Crying Lightning’ from their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare. As a result, ‘R U Mine?’ evolved into the band’s biggest and most ambitious release yet, AM.
Turner had become dissatisfied with the limitations the band created for itself in the making of their previous music, saying, ‘We used to go into the studio with the stage in the back of our mind. Like, “We’re this rock ’n’ roll band, and we’ve got these certain ceilings and parameters that we impose on ourselves.” But this is the first time we’ve decided, “Let’s just make something that we haven’t made before.”’ AM marked this pivotal change in direction and saw new sounds that the band had never experimented with previously. They drew influences from genres like R&B and Hip-Hop and music legends such as Black Sabbath, Outkast, Aaliyah, and Michael Chapman. In the creation of the band’s most iconic song ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ Turner stated that the idea behind the track was to ‘take the compositional perspective of an R&B producer and apply that to a four-piece rock ‘n’ roll band.’ The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was also a significant inspiration for the album, with guitarist Jamie Cook saying that it was one of the only albums they listened to while recording AM. Turner’s spellbinding lyricism poetically captures universal themes of love, longing and heartbreak, citing inspirations such as Lil Wayne and Drake. Keyboard instruments were utilised more and more in the album, hinting at the band’s piano-driven future. The album was successful in the UK, with the crowd chanting back ‘Do I Wanna Know?’s iconic riff during the band’s performance at Glastonbury only a week after the song’s release. Most significantly, AM marked the first time the band reached the top ten in the Billboard Charts, proving it to be their first significant breakthrough in the US.
While the album faced mainstream success, AM became more than its music, evolving into a cultural identity for young people. The Arctic Monkeys were one of the first ‘internet bands,’ building a community on Myspace in the early 2000s, and then exploding in popularity on Tumblr in the mid 2010s after the release of AM. Tumblr is a blogging site which became a home for youth culture and fan communities, transforming the way people were discovering new media. Alternative and Indie artists such as Lana Del Rey, The 1975 and The Neighbourhood were particularly popular on the platform, and along with the Arctic Monkeys, became staples of a new indie and soft grunge subculture that was developing among young people using the site. The minimalist sound wave album cover became part of an aesthetic, posted alongside black and white pictures of Doc Martens, fishnet tights and alternative song lyrics. As other platforms became more mainstream and user friendly, Tumblr decreased in popularity. However, especially as these bands are making comebacks and moving away from their older music, this aesthetic has somewhat resurfaced on TikTok and Instagram with ex-users nostalgic for their 2014 sounds.
The Arctic Monkeys have transformed over the course of their seven albums, aesthetically and sonically, however the most prominent development has been their change from the psychedelic rock AM to the completely piano-driven Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Five years after the release of AM, the band came back with a concept album that took their music in a completely new direction. Inspired by Sci-Fi, 1960s film soundtracks and Jazz, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was polarising for the band’s fans, with many criticising the ‘horrible new sound,’ which Turner reflects on in their newest album, The Car. The Car continued the band’s exploration of this new orchestral influence, with songs like ‘Sculptures of Anything Goes’ seeing an almost complete departure from their initial sound, leaving fans nostalgic for the familiarity of AM.
Since its release in 2013, AM still remains the Arctic Monkeys’ most popular album, with its songs frequently taking up more of the band’s concert setlists than The Car and Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino put together. This album saw the band’s discovery of how to appeal to both casual listeners while staying familiar to their fandom. While they could have decided to stick to this foolproof formula in their new releases, they chose to continue their tendency since their debut to evolve and change their sound. And what is more true to the Arctic Monkeys than unapologetic exploration of what they can create through their music?
WORDS: Kate Glynn
