Arctic Monkeys releases beautiful, intimate tracks in most recent album, “The Car”

Joylynn Lee

Executive Arts Editor

Arctic Monkeys releases beautiful, intimate tracks in most recent album, “The Car”

Arctic Monkeys newest album, “The Car,” touches on a new side of soft rock with alluring vocals and unique instrumentation. 

Arctic Monkeys is an English rock band consisting of lead vocalist, Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malley, and Matt Helders. “The Car,” is Arctic Monkeys seventh album.

“The Car” was produced by James Ford under the label of Domino. They first rose to fame through their 2013 album, “AM,” debuting tracks like “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” which reached over 900 million streams on Spotify  and “I Wanna Be Yours” which reached over 600 million streams on Spotify. 

Arctic Monkeys have always touched their listeners with calm consistent soft rock, fostering a longing feeling in listeners. “Big Ideas,” is a piece that can transform the environment almost instantly. Turner’s voice beautifully intertwined with stunning violin and piano instrumentation in the background. There were no audible breaks during each lyric sung besides the long pauses for the build up of the instrumentals. 

“Body Paint” is another brilliant piece in this album. The high-pitched tonality of this song mixed with numerous different styles of instrumentation truly portrays the maturity and sophistication of this band. Every pause in this song created suspense and intensity due to the unpredictability of all the pauses. 

Another piece in this album that exemplified sophistication was “Mr Shwartz.” The variance of vocal range and control was audible throughout the entire song. Though the lyrics can be slightly difficult to interpret due to the powerful instrumentation in the background, Arctic Monkeys finds a way to create a long and hypnotizing flow in this piece as well as the others mentioned. 

Lastly, the most significant and jaw-dropping piece in Arctic Monkeys current album is “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball.” The rhythmic pattern throughout creates a perfect mood that gets listeners swaying. The main element that sets this song apart from other pieces in this album is the romantic lyrics that can sway listeners away. A specific lyric exemplifying this was “You’re getting cynical and that won’t do. I’d throw the rose tint back on the exploded view. Darling, if I were you.” This lyric mixed with Turner’s slow vocals truly creates a unique experience. Also, the fact that “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” is the first song on the album, it sets the tone for the album for all listeners. 

Arctic Monkeys showed their evolution from their debut album all the way back to 2013 to their most recent, “The Car.” The passionate vocals sung by Turner and the incredible variety of instrumentals like the violin, piano, and percussion immensely transformed the reputation of Arctic Monkeys. Listeners can hear the incredible maturity through new vocal ranges and the use of new and a variety of musicalities and tones. “The Car” is definitely the most sophisticated album that the Arctic Monkeys have released yet. 

“The Car” was released on Oct. 21 through Domino Recording Company and can be streamed through Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and all other streaming platforms.