Hannah Hecht's Blog

While Indie Rock isn’t the type of music that I would normally pick out, the Arctic Monkeys’ newest album “AM” struck a chord with me. I found myself tapping my foot and rocking along to the contagious instrumental beats, which range from smooth and relaxing to pulse-pounding rock. The lyrics are poetic and meaningful, a far cry from the “pop, lock, and drop it” one-dimensional lyrics of some music out today.

“AM,” released September 9, 2013, is a twelve-track album, the fifth for the British Indie Rock band. It debuted in Britain at number one on the charts, selling over 157,000 copies in the first week. “AM” received a shower of critical acclaim, including a nomination for the Mercury prize and a Brit award for Best British Album. Band members include: Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jamie Cook (lead guitar, backing vocals), Nick O’Malley (bass, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals).

My favorite song on the album was probably “Snap Out of It.” The song is very upbeat and you can’t help but move along with the rhythm. This was the song that made me want to listen to the album a second time, and then a third.

After I’d listened to most of the songs a few times through, I looked up the lyrics and they led me to love the music even more. The lyrics set up a scene, not unlike well-written poetry or prose. No. 1 Party Anthem, for example, automatically introduces you to a place and a character: “So you’re on the prowl wondering/whether she left already or not/Leather jacket collar popped like antenna/never knowing when to stop/ Sunglasses indoors par for the course/ lights in the floors/ and sweat on the walls/ Cages and poles.” The song seems to lament the lack of love that comes with casual hookups.

On the first listen-through, I thought that the songs all sounded similar and that none of them really stood out. However, as I spent more time with the tracks, I realized that the instrumentals are very diverse, while the lead vocals are very similar among the tracks. The lead vocals throughout each song have a narrow range presented in the soft crooning voice of Alex Turner. Turner’s vocals have a purposefully unpolished tinny quality, as if he were singing into a metal toilet paper roll in an echoing basement.

The one track where the vocals really stand out from the rest of the songs is “Knee Socks.” The vocals start out sounding very similar to every other song, but then, around the 2:40 mark, one of the background singers bursts into a quick falsetto repetition of the same lyrics “You and me could have been a team/Each had a half of a king and queen seat/Like the beginning of Mean Streets/You could be my baby.” I really enjoyed this section of the song in its departure from the rest of the album, and it reminded me of a couple of different Justin Timberlake songs.

Despite the unpolished vocals, as an inexperienced listener, I would recommend this album as a great introduction to Indie Rock. 3 out of 4 stars.