“Crying Lightning”
from the album Humbug
2009
iTunes
Have the Arctic Monkeys changed? They recorded the majority of their new album in California rather than their hometown of Sheffield, they previewed the new material at festivals in New Zealand rather than the usual sweaty UK toilet venues, and, weirdest of all, they’ve become bosom buddies with bling-loving hip-hop bragger P Diddy. Surely this can’t be the same band who sang about Rotherham, tracky bottoms, and Frank Spencer on their iconic 2006 debut. Might fame and critical adulation have gone to their heads?
It takes approximately 45 seconds of this comeback track to allay such fears. Alex Turner manages to drop the words “pick ‘n’ mix,” “strawberry lace,” and “gobstopper” into the lyrics, while the band have clearly taken tips off producer Josh Homme, juicing up their formerly jaunty indie into something just as atmospheric as the Last Shadow Puppets. The swirling guitar outro and melodramatic non-chorus are the icing on this indie-rock cake. Strange but alluring, sinister but incredibly moreish, the Arctics have struck gold again.