ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Arctic Monkeys

From the moment they burst onto the scene with their exhilarating debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not - indie rockers Arctic Monkeys have been on a roll.

Not only was it the fastest selling British debut album in history - ousting Oasis’ Definitely Maybe from its former, fabled perch - but it also spawned classic teenage tales of lust, laughs, mischief and mayhem like ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, ‘Still Take You Home’ and ‘Riot Van’, which effortlessly combined irreverent wit with colloquial charm. It’s a winning formula that served them equally well on their chart-topping, follow up albums Favourite Worst Nightmare and Humbug.

Arctic Monkeys -  I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

With their current collection, Suck It And See, however, Arctic Monkeys have wrung the changes, redefining and refining the way they write and record songs, as their impish ringleader Alex Turner explains.

“In the past, most of our tunes have come out of our soundchecks, rehearsals or generally just mucking about. It meant we’d always have a magic bag of riffs or drumbeats to draw on, and then try to puzzle together in the studio, to make songs out of", he reveals. “Only one or two things on the first three albums came from the more traditional approach of writing a song in its purest form - by coming up with the chords, melody and lyrics first. But, this time, most of the album was done by that more classic approach, which was a very different way of working for us”.

The result is a stash of songs that still bristle with their usual humour, verve and panache, but are also more polished and potent. That’s evident on playful tracks like ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ and ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’, which showcase the act’s growing maturity as musicians, but also retain the inimitable qualities that have made the Arctic Monkeys one of the brightest British bands in a generation.

Arctic Monkeys - Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair

We've got 5 copies of the Arctic Monkeys new album Suck It And See to give away. Click here to enter.

PLUS! Read our full feature on the Arctic Monkeys in the latest issue of Rip It Up out now.

By Des Sampson