Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band that consists of Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malleyand Matt Helders. Their first album holds the place of the fastest-selling record by a group ever. The album sold 363,735 copies in its first week. Their new album, The Car, is Arctic Monkeys’ seventh studio album, and it was written by the main vocalist Alex Turner. 

Their music has previously been classified as indie rock/pop, but The Car has more of an R&B/soul vibe to it. It’s much more retro than their prior albums. I prefer their more indie rock albums, but the Arctic Monkeys are a phenomenal group who can make any genre sound good. 

The first song on the album, “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball,” is the slowest one by far. This song showcases how talented the band is even when they do different styles of music. “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” is heavy on the soul genre. In this song, as well as “Jet Skis On The Moat,” in the background you can hear the wah-wah guitar, which is essentially an electric guitar effect that adds a funk element to a song. 

In between “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” and “Jet Skis On The Moat,” there’s my favorite song, which is called “Sculptures Of Anything Goes.” This song is in the alternative/indie genre, which I prefer over the soul genre. Arctic Monkeys said that this song is “reminiscent of the ‘AM’ sound,” which is one of their most popular albums. This song is about the vocalist blaming their partner for their failing relationship. 

After these songs comes “Body Paint” which is another favorite. This is another mix of alternative and R&B. It’s about deception and how you feel when you know your partner is lying to you. Next is “The Car,” which is another slow, emotional song about a failing relationship. It seems that a lot of the songs in the album are about doomed relationships, which can get repetitive. 

After “The Car,” there’s “Big Ideas.” This song can be interpreted in many ways. Some people believe it’s a sort of goodbye, while others believe it’s simply about how Turner has ideas that are too big and that don’t work out like he hoped they would. I really enjoyed this song and liked the deeper meaning. 

After “Big Ideas” comes the track “Hello You.” This song has a slightly quicker pace, and while I was indecisive about it at first, it grew on me. It isn’t the type of music style I usually like, but as I started listening to the lyrics and instruments more, I started to enjoy it a lot. The instruments are different and fun. 

The next song on the album is “Mr. Schwartz.” Although it may seem like it is, this song isn’t based on a real person. Turner says he sees Mr. Schwartz as some sort of “backstage handyman or film crew member.” The song starts off slow, and gradually speeds up in tempo. 

The last song on the album is called “Perfect Sense.” This is another slow song with more classical instruments. The common interpretation of this track is that it’s about the things people have to do in order to sleep at night. This isn’t my favorite of the album, but I do enjoy it, especially when I pay attention to the lyrics. 

All in all, this album is very different compared to their last albums, but Arctic Monkeys are talented in any genre. It took a couple listens to get used to it, but in the end I really enjoyed it. 

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars