On Oct. 21, 2022, Arctic Monkeys released their 7th studio album, The Car. With a band like the Arctic Monkeys, it’s only sensible that any release from them would be anticipated. This was guaranteed with the announcement of this album, however it was not only driven by the status and pure talent of the band but also due to the time between the previous album, which was released in 2018. Four years between, left a lot of people wondering what their new sound would be like and also reminiscing on their old materials.
Not greeted most kindly, this album has been called boring by fans. Or calling the band to start retiring on Twitter tweeting “It’s a solid 3/10 lads. Well done on smashing it again.” Another went to go and trash it saying, “Is the title “The Car” an advisory for where the album shouldn’t be listened to as it will make people want to drive themselves off a bridge?” People tend to exaggerate on Twitter, but the hatred of the album seemed apparent when I was doing my research for this album. I even asked my friends who are fans of the band and they stated that they couldn’t even finish the album.
I wouldn’t go far and say that The Car is my favorite album of the band but I think it deserves its flowers. It did not make me want to drive off a cliff, instead, it made me appreciate the ability of the band to create a scene. I listened to this album back in December of 2022, meaning that I wasn’t around for the hype around its release which I think did give me a different perspective than other fans. In December the days are quiet and cold and having the songs off this album play in the background made it seem nostalgic and cozy.
“There’d Better Be a Mirrorball,” the second single of the album, sounds so beautiful and that’s the only way I could describe it. I pair it with walking outside at night in the city after a snowstorm or sitting inside near a window as it’s snowing. Cheesy, but beautiful and this is due to the instrumental at the beginning of the song. It starts the tone of the album well. Alex Turner, the band’s frontman, created the instrumental in the past and revealed the song was the first thing written on the record. “Feels like a theme “ he stated and I agree. I love the line, “So do you want to walk me to the car?” in the second chorus, it’s sung over strings in the back, which makes it seem warm and charming. “Hello You” was also created in the past long before the creation of this album, and then was brought back when doing The Car. I love the lyrics to the song, it’s cute. An image of seeing your significant other is something I imagine when listening. “Perfect Sense,” the last song on the album, is what I would say is the perfect ending. Sonically it sounds nostalgic to me. When listening, I conjure an image of two characters saying goodbye to each other after experiencing a grand adventure. “Sculptures of Anything Goes,” sounds eclectic and bizarre. I remember when listening to it for the first time I was confused as to where the song would go and how the instruments were used to create the song. I found it to be a drum machine through a Moog synthesizer.
There are fun elements in the album sonically. Strings are used throughout the album which is a factor I love. I think strings do a great job of emphasizing emotion and this is easily done in The Car. The Moog, an instrument I hadn’t heard before this article, is one I grew to love, due to it being used in songs like “Sculptures of Anything Goes” and “Body Paint.”
Lyrically this album is interesting. There were words and references used that I didn’t know prior, which made it confusing to understand but I didn’t mind. I was able to learn new things. “Dubbin,” used in “Mr. Schwartz,” which I thought was slang, turned out to be a product for polishing leather. Also, some things were made up, such as people. The song “Mr. Schwartz,” is not about a person the band knows but someone made up. “Lego Napoleon Movie,” used in “Hello You” was an idea. Alex Turner imagined there to be a Lego version movie of Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon. Another thing made up is some of the stories within the songs. This album is not reflective of the band’s life, which I think can be fun for the listener. I admire it when artists don’t write about their lives. It means that there’s no limit to the material they choose to write about. When you follow an artist you can conjure what their song is about, when fictional you have no idea and it’s fun to see what story the lyrics make up.
When I asked my friends as to why they didn’t like the album, one said “I just didn’t like how different it sounded from their old sound.” I think that was deliberate and a factor I love. One can’t expect one to follow the same sound as before, that can be mundane. I think it shows the band’s ability to push themselves for new results and develop a wider range in their field. When asked about the difference in drumming from past work and in The Car, Matthew Helders, the band’s drummer, revealed that it was a challenge and that the drumming could seem technical to the naked eye, “but in this album, it was more of a challenge to do.” Throughout the album the drumming tends to respond to the movement of the song, it’s entertaining.
I think my friend’s opinion resonated with a lot of fans who disliked the album. I also think that many people need to accept change or start entering things with no expectations. I believe that’s why I was able to appreciate what the album gave me and not compare it with anything else. I think it is easier said than done, especially when there’s an abundance of great songs done by the band in the past.
I think another thing people need to realize is that despite all the changes, The Car was still created by the band that they respect and love. Alex Turner stated that when creating the album they made decisions and followed it “as it becomes what it wants to become. The decision to follow that or not is based on an instinct (or individual instinct).” He went on to say that the process is still the same as it was in 2006, “listening to instinct feels like it hasn’t changed.” The Car is an album that is different from the others but still carries the same heart. One that can vividly set a scene, expose you to new instruments, and overall one that doesn’t deserve its hate. I hope in the future people recognize this album in a positive light and give it its flowers.