Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, the debut album from Arctic Monkeys, was released in the United Kingdom a month ago, and even before it broke the U.K. debut album sales record, it had already become a clich?? to discuss Arctic Monkeys' breakout success.
Still, there is no point in stubbornly ignoring the fact that the band has earned numerous comparisons to The Beatles, even if they come from a country where the music media often resemble characters in Monty Python's 'Life of Brian,' rallying behind whatever hapless artist comes to their attention.
Despite the nearly incomparable amount of hype surrounding Whatever, the Arctic Monkeys bear close resemblance to virtually every other notable act to come out of Britain wielding guitars in the past few years. Describing the band is actually easiest in relative terms. They're cleverer than Kaiser Chiefs but not so much as Art Brut, less-gifted songwriters but tighter musicians than The Libertines and less-adept disco-punks than Franz Ferdinand. Anyone unfamiliar with the aforementioned bands would do better to check them out (except Kaiser Chiefs) before picking up Whatever, as their influence on this album stands out like passages in bold type.
The Arctic Monkeys' lack of innovation doesn't mean Whatever is a wasted effort, however. Most of the 13 tracks deserve more than a few listens, and even the more forgettable songs are well done. The album's first single, 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor,' blends the band's influences more thoroughly than the rest of the album and carries one of the year's best similes: 'Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984.'
However, the first track, 'The View from the Afternoon' may be the group's strongest showing, coupling sprinting disco drums with a back-and-forth guitar riff that nods to The Futureheads.
On 'Mardy Bum,' the band scales down the distortion and tempo for a completely undisguised, though fairly convincing, Libertines knock-off (the best of three on the album). But it is hard to be critical of Arctic Monkeys for closely aping so many of their contemporaries, as they just might be the best imitators around. Still, there are enough uninspired stabs at Franz Ferdinand-style disco-punk to make one wish the band would take a few steps back from their record collection.
In the past six months Arctic Monkeys has been catapulted from virtual unknowns with a few tracks circulating on the Internet to one of the most sought-after bands in the world. It's an awkward transition to make for a band that has not been around long enough to pull together an original sound, but Whatever shows enough promise that if the band survives their own hype, the follow-up album just may justify it.
