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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by Arctic Monkeys in Music

May 14, 2018 (Updated May 15, 2018)  
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by Arctic Monkeys
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by Arctic Monkeys
2018 | Indie, Rock
5
7.2 (13 Ratings)
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Eh?
So the new Arctic Monkeys album is finally here, after half a decade of speculation and anticipation and I don't think it's what anybody wanted. Most fans expected another guitar led record to follow up 2013's AM but this instead record sounds a bit like the smiths or pulp, but not as good as either of them and with a significantly less amount of guitar.

Music critics seem afraid to commit one way or the other, with most reviews from popular publications containing a verbal bashing in the body of the review, before summing it up with a positive conclusion and overall score. It's as if they don't like it on the surface, but deep down they don't have the heart to give an Arctics album a bad review.

Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with the Arctic Monkeys' music. I adore their first album so much. For me, that record was a beacon of light in a murky, mediocre musical landscape when it dropped and I genuinely thought these lads were going to be the next Oasis. I was then let down consecutively by every subsequent release as I watched this band squander their potential to become one of the most overrated groups in the industry. I did like Don't Sit Down from Suck It and See and I am a fan of Alex Turner's side project, the Last Shadow Puppets and despite my better nature, every time the Arctics release a new record I vainly get my hopes up only to be inevitably let down upon hearing it.

This album is basically the polar opposite of Whatever People Say I Am, which I fell in love with because it was an album for belting out while banging on the table with a pint in your hand at the pub. This album is for sitting with a glass of wine on your posh veranda of self indulgence.

In terms of his vocal performance, he sounds great on some tracks and elsewhere, the cheap Bowie impression really starts to grate, with 4 Out Of Five being the worst offender.
The worst thing is, it isn't a bad album, it's just painfully mediocre, which isn't really good enough. They kept their fans waiting for 5 years, didn't release any singles before the album and cryptically teased us for ages, to release this? A weak, bland rag of mediocrity?

After a few listens through, I like some elements of it. The mixing is nice and some of the hooks are pretty clever, but overall I can see what they were trying to do here and they just missed the mark. There is a difference between challenging your listeners and being tone deaf to what it is that they want to hear.