Arctic Monkeys | Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

2/10 spaced out.

Ever since their groundbreaking debut album “Whatever People Say I am…” (with the notable exception of 2013’s career highpoint “AM”), Sheffield foursome the Arctic Monkeys have been slowly sliding into tedium with every passing effort. Gone were the sharply observed tales of modern British teenage life, and in their place came a more Americanized rock sound – all greased quiffs and leather jackets. Not quite the end of the world, but certainly not up to their earlier brilliance.
Here though, on “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino”, even the rock bits have been scrubbed out, and what’s left is essentially teen-idol front man Alex Turner doing cheesy lounge hits on a 70’s piano. It’s a bold move, but one that ultimately just comes off as both boring and frustrating for fans who remember The Fake Tales of San Francisco and A Certain Romance.
On “TBH&C” each track dutifully marches into the next with little to differentiate between them and with precious few highpoints to look forward to. One Point Perspective and the slinky title track both stand out somewhat (no hard thing), but this is mainly because Turner’s new campy singing voice isn’t quite as irritating as on all the others.
There’s no nice way of saying it, “TBH&C” is quite simply an awful collection of songs that may well spell career suicide – let’s hope they come to their senses next time round.
Dan Ashcroft
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