STORY / ERICA HAWKINS
PHOTOS / AYSIA MAROTTA
Two years ago, for his 30th birthday, lead-singer, guitarist, and Sheffield post-punk street poet, Alex Turner, was gifted a Steinway Vertegrand piano. The Arctic Monkeys frontman stored it in the âLunar Surface,â his Los Angeles home studio christened after the conspiracy theory that Stanley Kubrick faked the Apollo moon landings. What ensued next was a cosmic conception of sorts – a combination of science fiction, space exploration, and a mythical earth exodus resulting in the bandâs late-70s style, piano lounge serenade of a sixth LP, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.
The album opens with Turner reminiscing over meandering keys and soulful backing vocals, âI just wanted to be one of The Strokes  / Now look at the mess you made me make /  Hitchhiking with a monogrammed suitcase, miles away from any half-useful imaginary highway.â Those lyrics are just about the only reminders on the LP of the sound the band are known for. Their last release, 2013âs bombastic, guitar grating, and critically acclaimed AM did explore R&B and hip-hop themes, but at its core, was still sonically and lyrically the musings of an indie rock band at its prime.
The bandâs debut, 2006âs Whatever People Say I am, Thatâs What Iâm Not, was the fastest-selling debut album in British history, an introduction that persuaded us to make eyes with drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook, and bassist Nick O’Malley, on the dance floor, while being charmed by the clever, metrical, yet well-grounded lyrics of Turner, then, just a blue-collar English lad. But they say LA can do things to you, and now that theyâve decided to call those illustrious Hills home, theyâve landed on Tranquility – an album literally and figuratively out of their world. As Turner eloquently puts it, “It’s got more chords. And space shit.â
Those aforementioned chords and âspace shitâ are at their best and brightest halfway through the album on the satisfyingly psychedelic, âFour Out of Five.â Itâs an invitation to a Taqueria, but not just any taqueria, itâs one on the moon – and not just on the moon, but on the rooftop of (you guessed it) the Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Unlike the other cute new places popping up and gentrifying the moon base, the restaurant, called the âInformation-Action Ratio,â (named after the concept coined by Neil Postman that being able to access endless information in excess can be harmful; paralyzing us from deciding on what is actually important) is well reviewed – âand thatâs unheard of,â Turner croons. The band chose âFour Out of Fiveâ as the first song to promote from their album, but notably, the band decided not to lead with any singles – corroborating the belief that the album is meant to be devoured not a la carte, but as a full course meal (one I assume would be served at a well-reviewed taqueria, on the moon).
The bandâs embrace of a new nostalgia; one thatâs somehow retro and paradoxically in the future, is perplexing but suites them well. The songs may play like the out of touch ramblings of a rock star with too much time on his recently well-versed in piano playing hands (like when Turner ask to be kissed under the moonâs side boob in the albumâs title track), but itâs the band at their most acutely aware, a side effect from reading science fiction (also the name of a track) and being emerged in American cynicism. In âGolden Trunksâ there’s the leader of the free world comically dressed as an overzealous wrestler. Then thereâs the opening frivolity of âOne Point Perspective,â where Turner sings, âDancing in my underpants / I’m gonna run for governmentâ. Not to mention, the menacing and strategically repetitive, âShe Looks Like Fun,â a lyric by lyric review of scrolling through someoneâs compelling Instagram persona. The protagonist sings each caption confidentially, âSmile like you’ve got a straw in something tropical / I’ve got the party plugged right into my skull  / Wayne Manor, what a memorable N.Y.E.â It reiterates the overwhelming content stimulation we currently find ourselves in, and that they named a taqueria after.
Thereâs also the winding, introspective, boozy ballad, âUltracheeseâ. Itâs reminiscent of the band’s previous album bookends, the forlorn and cinematic â505â and the slow dance inciting âNo. 1 Party Anthem.â The track tells the story of a not so current friend and clearly lost love, with Turner belting out with all the swagger of a love scorn lounge musician, âWhen you were just trying to orbit the sun / When you were just about to be kind to someone / Because you had the chance.â
Though the tone change may be staggering for some, Turner is still unwaveringly clever. He may be leading the band on an unconventional and in some ways defiant path, but in a day and age where formulaic songs lead to chart-topping success, itâs refreshing that Arctic Monkeys arenât afraid to embrace their evolving influences and push their art. They didnât release AM 2.0, to the chagrin of guitar rock purist the world over, but thereâs something to be said for leaving it all behind (earth included), and confidently starting over in a futuristic daydream. Serge Gainsbourg would be intrigued, Bowie would be pleasantly bemused, and earth dwelling music connoisseurs should be elated.
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