“Right then lads, I’ve got a cracking concept for a new
album. It’s literally all me with dry, self-aware witty lyrics and some piano
in the background. It’s basically a solo album but if we act like we were all involved
we can make a few million bob off it each. So, what do you say then, Lads? ….Lads?”
This is how I imagine Alex Turners proposal for Tranquillity base hotel &
casino went something like. Even the album title stinks like the work of a self-professed
musical genius.
5 years after the release of their all-conquering fifth
album, “AM” Arctic Monkeys are back. Well, sort of. Their new album, “Tranquility
base hotel &casino” may be credited as an Arctic Monkeys album but do not be
fooled, this is the Alex Turner show. Everything is focused around his voice and
attempted tongue-in-cheek witty lyrics. At no point does this feel like you’re
listening to an Arctic Monkey’s album. Now I’m all for bands evolving and changing
their sound, trying something new and fresh. But this isn’t that. It would in
no way sound out of place as part of The Last Shadow puppets discography. In
fact, Tranquillity base Hotel and & Casino could well be 11 songs written
by Turner during the recording of Everything you’ve come to expect that didn’t
make the final cut.
By no means is this a bad album, it’s just not ground breaking and it’s certainly not an Arctic Monkeys album. Had it been released as a solo album or as a Shadow Puppets one I would feel very differently about it. But as we know ladies and gentlemen, context is absolutely everything. Anyone who disagrees clearly hasn’t tried telling a joke at a funeral.
Alex Turner’s attempt of tongue in cheek, dry humoured lyrics
doesn’t have its desired effect and at times are so self-aware/tongue in cheek
they end up being horrifically cringe inducing. Take the opening lines from 'One
point perspective.' “Dancing in my underpants,
I'm gonna run for government, I'm gonna start a cover band an’
all”. They lack the finesse and wit for it to really hit home, especially in contrast to the slickness that we've been accustomed to over the past 12 years. This coupled
with Turners weak voice coupled with his LA/Sheffield bastard child of an
accent throughout means it just comes across as sleazy. Obviously, it would be unrealistic to
hope for a Whatever people say I am… part 2 when Alex Turner is 31 and he isn’t
writing songs which encapsulated youth in the manner that fake tales from San
Francisco and the ilk did; but this is such a nothing record it has no oomph,
nothing memorable and very little groove. To me, its elevator music, bloody good
elevator music but elevator music nonetheless.
There are some good tracks, “four out of five” comes
together nicely and has a strong finish and “she looks like fun” has a dark, heavy garage-like riff driving it home as its backbone
and it’s possibly the best Turner’s voice sounds on the album. In fairness there
aren’t any really awful tracks but very few natural stand outs either, everything
sounds ‘okay’ but not much else. I can’t help but feeling that everything this
record, everything Alex Turner is striving to do has already been done 10 times
better by Father John Misty and he’s never going to come close.
