By Liz Belilovskaya

Arctic Monkeys’ new album Suck It and See is a wonderfully cool record with different types of music arrangements and vocal styles. Imagine The Strokes, Oasis and The Smiths embarked on a colorful love affair with notes and range. The Arctic Monkeys would be their somewhat odd but totally gifted and smooth love child.

Suck It and See is not extremely diverse but they keep it spicy by flaunting different styles and compositions. “She’s Thunderstorms,” the first track features a cool intro, steady drums and acoustic, studio sound, with carefree lyrics like, “I’ve been feeling foolish, you should try it.” The vocals are confident and relaxing, making foolishness sound like a swell idea. “Black Treacle” has a different texture, with its more aggressive, dark calm and coarser delivery.

“Brick by Brick” is an 80’s flashback feature, a new-wave, deep voice and distant sound. The middle of the song surprises with mellow singing. “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala” is sort of similar to the first song with soft story telling vocals with a retro twist. “Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” is an acoustic sounding track with dark vocals.

Whimsical titles continue with “Break the Mirror, Roll the Dice.” It’s a relaxed track but rhythmic and fairly groovy. Following is “Library Pictures,” a fast, enthusiastic groove with set drumming that slows toward the middle but recovers for the finale. “All My Own Stunts” is declarative with great percussion and complementary guitar; one of the best tracks on the album.

The next few songs are similarly great. “Reckless Serenade” has a nice base, with a Weezer-style feel, with a playful, yet skillful approach. “Piledriver Waltz” is soft, distant and slow with the vocals coming at you in waves. That restless irreverence returns lyrically with, “Your waitress was miserable and so is your food, If you’re gonna try to walk on water make sure you wear your comfortable shoes.”

Melancholic vocals push “Love Is a Laserquest” over steady percussion. It doesn’t pick up in predictable intervals; a nice element of surprise. The title track, “Suck It and See” summarizes the album well with its soft vocals blanketed by a melodic track. “That’s Where Your Wrong” has an overall similar feel to other songs on the album.  The talent in the  album is clear because when the band made the album they kept the music interesting, the vocals diverse and the arrangement of the songs, smart.

Suck It And See is a refreshing and truly enjoyable album with three main strengths: smart melodies, well-tempered, talented musicians, and tasteful vocals. Guitars are splattered across the landscape with a 1950’s bluegrass feel, modernized with a few synths and strong percussion. The lead singer is a man who knows his limits and does not stray into unknown and probably inappropriately aggressive tones, choosing to focus on the elegant. The wild ass titles add to the fun and the color of the work, raising the fun quotient. It’s a hell of a sweet ride. Makes you almost want to follow the title.
out of 5

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