Arctic Monkeys

On their third release, the Arctic Monkeys go for a beefier, more atmospheric rock sound, though Alex Turner's word-rich songwriting and tart Northern vocals still hold sway. The thrill of the new is gone now, but this is still a band worth listening to. The lighter, somehow less thick songs on the second half of the disc really come through -- "Cornerstone," "Dance Little Liar," and "Fire and the Thud" prove that their instincts may be better than those of their name co-producer, Josh Homme.

The history of rock is full of "Eureka!" flashes of brilliance. Chuck Berry had the idea to
fuse country with the blues. Bob Dylan took folk music electric. Nikki Sixx realized that the
line "I'd say we've kicked some ass" could rhyme with "I'd say we're still kickin' ass." For
the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner, the big light bulb idea came in 2005: Get huge by thinking
small. Write scrappy little Brit-punk tunes about the humdrum town you're stuck... More >