Good morning sneakerbike massive. Wake up! You’ve overslept.
… to the tunemobile Robin.
The Arctic Monkey put out their second album a couple weeks back, and I’ve finally had a chance to give it a listen. I loved the first album and on first listen I can’t help but have mixed feelings about this one. The instrumentation and production is tighter which is to be expected from a bunch of lads who only learned to play a few years back. The short little surf guitar solos are still there in respectfull number and duration. Thankfully they don’t wank on forever. The lyrics are still just as witty but somewhat more obscure in their content. The vocals are well recorded. Maybe a bit too well recorded. I miss the slop and imperfection from the last album. It sounds as if the rest of the band has magically learned to sing back up as well. The vox are buried a bit in the mix which suits some bands fine but not the Arctics who rely on that bit of south Yorkshire twang. There’s something else that bothers me about the album. Almost every song is the same tempo give or take about 5 bpm. A neat but boring little trick for giving the album cohesion but does nothing to help any of the tracks stand on they’re own. I think it might take a few more listens for me to really appreciate this album but overall they’re still making some of the best music today and they’ve done it with very little gimmick and without reinventing the wheel.
I chose this cut because it takes advantage of what they do best. It may be because it’s more loosely held together and reminds me of their first album that it stands out but I’ll take it regardless.
Arctic Monkeys – Flourescent Adolescent
I’m loving this band. The Maccabees are another Brighton based band. Their album ‘Colour it In’ is consistently solid from start to finish. Buy it. I’ve talked about the fine art of girlfriend mixtapes in the past. This is a definite contender for the leadout spot.
The Maccabees – First Love
Speaking of girfriend (or boyfriend for that matter) mixtapes I’d be stupid not to include this track and so would you. It’s only two minutes long and filled with pure joy. “I wish that I could keep you in my pocket – so I could play with you all the time – wrap you up in a little old blanket – chocolate, raspberry, lemon, and lime – cuz your mine”
We’ve featured Muscles on here before and back then I couldn’t find anything about him. Well times change. He’s rolling with some big heads now, touring with soulwax and signed to Modular for an upcoming release. I absolutely can’t wait to hear what that’s about.
Muscles – Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon and Lime
Speaking of girlfriends (and slick segues for that matter) If sneakerbike had a girlfriend it would be the lovely Khantavy who has turned us onto some amazing tunes in the past. This is no exception. Happy Birthday K.
Matt and Kim, who lately have been making a name for themselves with their fun pop punk sounds, and remix masters Flosstradamus, who sneakerbike have bigged from day one, collide here. The result is simply put, a tune.
Matt & Kim – Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix)