[TuneOTD] Arctic Monkeys - BRICK BY BRICK

Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Genre: Indie/Rock
Location:  Sheffield, England, UK.
Label Type: Indie
Record Label: Domino
Website: http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/arcticmonkeys
Myspace: www.myspace.com/arcticmonkeys

Arctic Monkeys are back with the mundane and soulless track, Brick by Brick. Having left Uncle Josh’s pocket the boys have inherited the ‘Clones of the Stone Age’ influence of their last album Humbug. Whilst the biased fanboys will devotedly defend the track and the band, Brick by Brick  attracts criticism as Alex and Co have failed to return to what once made them a great British band.

What made them great was not the anti-social behaviour that they promoted in their first album or the rebellious words in their second but the raw and masterminded lyrics and unique themes that were relevant to the audience. All that this new track brings is a sombre and uninspired chorus (the constant repletion of “brick by brickkkkkkkkkkkkk....” quickly wears thin) which conforms that the Arctic Monkeys have lost their way on their early sound and substituted the rebellious fun for a more serious approach.

The song opens with a punchy opening guitar riff that immediately disappoints fans of the earlier albums as we learn that they completely abandoned the spirit of what made them originally great. Musically the song isn’t bad and this would fit into well with another band but it just doesn’t fit into what we desire in an Arctic Monkeys song. When will they learn? We want an Arctic Monkeys album, not an attempt to emulate Franz Ferdinand who, let’s face it, are in no position to be flattered by such imitation. Any compassion we may have quickly diminishes as soon as Matt Helders opens his gob. Alex Turner has stepped aside on the verse to allow the drummer to have a turn, instantly bringing a slighter grittier tone to the song.

The song is rumoured to be just a teaser of what the album, due in June, has to offer. This presents a conundrum for the fans which will still remain divided by the Arctic Monkeys: is it better to have this bollocks as part of the album or better to have an album full of this that can be cast aside as we return to what was?

Suck it and See!

Andy Belcher