PO Soon: Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

[lethalenforcer 3,001]

Just now, Vega said:

Is AM hooky for you? I think it's incredible that it has been their best selling album ever, personally i don't find it memorable at all apart from a few songs.

It's radio-friendly. Their shows this past weekend in CA were dominated by songs from AM, people in the US ate that album up sadly.  I loathe the production (and overall sound) on so much of AM, and they drove the falsetto into the ground. Awful. New album is a lot better than that but it could/should have been a solo Turner LP.

[Vega 119]

1 minute ago, lethalenforcer said:

It's radio-friendly. Their shows this past weekend in CA were dominated by songs from AM, people in the US ate that album up sadly.  I loathe the production (and overall sound) on so much of AM, and they drove the falsetto into the ground. Awful. New album is a lot better than that but it could/should have been a solo Turner LP.

I see what you mean, i like the sound of it, too. Could have been much better though, songs like fireside and snap out really stand out as big positives imo. I wouldn't desribe myself as a big fan of theirs but i'm still excited to hear this new one on friday!

[daegor 1,080]

Love AM, never expected that I'd see a similar album made again given how deep into their discography they were before AM appeared.  It was pretty obvious that it was an experiment.  I'll check out the new album in proper quality, but I'm not expecting to enjoy it given I've never liked anything they've done before AM.

 

For those debating the qualities of AM (or lack there of), I got into it because it's catchy as fuck and Turner's voice on it is amazing, I also really like the simultaneously melancholy and upbeat presentation, both sonically  and lyrically.  I found the the vibe he had on AM he passed to Alexandra Savior so I'm happy with (at least) two albums worth of that sound.

 

It makes sense that if you were a fan prior to AM you could be turned off by it.

Edited May 7, 2018 by daegor

[AdamJNovak 103]

I'll give my two cents. I'm an old school Monkeys fan. Their early stuff Eps, big fan of their first four albums. A few tracks off of AM were good, but overall, I wasn't a giant fan of that record. Not to mention, their fan base took a real turn for the worst. Now when you see them, it's just a bunch of fangirls on their phones taking pictures of Alex. After the first two listens of this album, I'm again, not really a fan of where they're going. Lyrically, it's not strong (that right off the bat lyric about The Strokes is extremely cringeworthy. Not to mention "kiss me underneath the moon's side boob"... Come on AT. 

 

As many have mentioned, it feels like this album shouldn't be an Arctic Monkeys record, but more so an Alex Turner featuring the Arctic Monkeys release. I wouldn't be surprised if they break up or go on an indefinite hiatus after this album cycle. I know he's trying to showcase his Bowie influence, but it doesn't really work here. I do feel like over time, this has potential to grow on me a bit more, but for right now, I'm not a fan. 

[lethalenforcer 3,001]

 

7 minutes ago, daegor said:

I found the the vibe he had on AM he passed to Alexandra Savior so I'm happy with (at least) two albums worth of that sound.

I think some of what he took away from working with Savior has carried onto the new album.

 

2 minutes ago, AdamJNovak said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they break up or go on an indefinite hiatus after this album cycle.

This feels like an end to me. We'll see.

[youspinmeround 1,236]

2 hours ago, lethalenforcer said:

 

This feels like an end to me. We'll see.

Or they just continue on putting out un-interesting music but playing arenas/stadiums like Black Keys, Kings of Leon, U2. 

 

We have to keep in mind that mainstream continues to have a huge audience that pay top dollar for crap entertainment.

 

Was their decision to not release a single pre-album an idea to try and present this as a full work piece or realizing that it doesnt really have a "single"?

[zuck 193]

5 hours ago, lethalenforcer said:

People that came to this band with AM will be far more easily defeated by an album that isn't as immediate or hooky. The majority of those same people are unable to fathom how anyone can even enjoy Humbug.

 

Wait, there's people who don't like Humbug?

[lethalenforcer 3,001]

1 hour ago, youspinmeround said:

Or they just continue on putting out un-interesting music but playing arenas/stadiums like Black Keys, Kings of Leon, U2. 

If this new album was essentially AM2 but lazier I'd be convinced they just want to fill arenas. But to go piano-driven wordy concept album after "breaking" it in the States? Not saying the direction is necessarily good/successful but I suppose I give Turner credit for creating what interests him.

Maybe most telling will be what comes next and if he creates AM2 if this one fails.

 

1 hour ago, youspinmeround said:

Was their decision to not release a single pre-album an idea to try and present this as a full work piece or realizing that it doesnt really have a "single"?

"Full piece" approach. They've had a video for Four Out Of Five completed for quite a while now, which I think is the most obvious single on here by far.

 

 

6 minutes ago, zuck said:

Wait, there's people who don't like Humbug?

Crazy right?

 

 

[AdamJNovak 103]

I actually canceled my BullMoose order. After a few listens, this really isn't for me. 

[colbourne25 85]

38 minutes ago, AdamJNovak said:

I actually canceled my BullMoose order. After a few listens, this really isn't for me. 

Same.

[SpinAgain 2]

https://spinagainrecords.weebly.com/store/p153/Tranquility_Base_Hotel___Casino_(Clear_Vinyl)_-_Arctic_Monkeys_.html for anyone in canada! 31.75 tax in

[DecayToDeath 1,884]

On 4/4/2018 at 8:26 PM, DecayToDeath said:

Let's see if they can keep up the streak of making each album worse than the last

Well, I can't tell yet if it's worse but it's certainly not any better than AM. It feels like AM without guitars or hooks, really. Oh well, didn't expect much anyway.

[youspinmeround 1,236]

4 hours ago, lethalenforcer said:

If this new album was essentially AM2 but lazier I'd be convinced they just want to fill arenas. But to go piano-driven wordy concept album after "breaking" it in the States? Not saying the direction is necessarily good/successful but I suppose I give Turner credit for creating what interests him.

Maybe most telling will be what comes next and if he creates AM2 if this one fails.

 

Disagree with you again. This essentially is AM2 without hooks. It has the same safe formula driven music with an emphasis on Alex voice and R&B type influences. I didnt think their lyrics could get any worse than I Wanna Be Yours was but they topped that. This is exactly what will sell and is a safe play. Perfect record for the mid aged parents who want to seem edgy to their co workers who are unaware of the band to take their teenage kids to a show

 

You are acting like they just dropped Satanic Majesties after Between the Buttons.

 

What exactly is failure of an album these days anyway? The bands I compared them to with their safe rock now(KOL, Black Keys, U2) all fill arenas but sell fractions of what they used to. Its not like AM sold 15 million copies

[lethalenforcer 3,001]

55 minutes ago, youspinmeround said:

Disagree with you again. This essentially is AM2 without hooks. It has the same safe formula driven music with an emphasis on Alex voice and R&B type influences. 

If that’s what you hear. It seems to me like they ditched nearly everything that made AM qualify for radio play. Sounds more to me like a wordy Mini Mansions-inspired take on Everything You’ve Come To Expect.

 

55 minutes ago, youspinmeround said:

I didnt think their lyrics could get any worse than I Wanna Be Yours was but they topped that. 

I Wanna Be Yours was a recitation of a famous poem by John Cooper Clarke, not original lyrics. Either way - he was a big inspiration for the new album which explains why you enjoyed the lyricism so much!

[hxcoliver 47]

I’ve yet to hear the leak, want to wait for the proper release. I just saw them in Hollywood and the new songs sound super chill. Not as guitar driven as any of their other stuff. 

To me AM is definitely their weakest, and I hate suck it and see. AM is just too mainstream and I feel that’s when they got super huge and popular and every fan girl started wetting their pants over him, when I know for a fact they didn’t pay attention to him during favorite worst nightmare or humbug. I’ve loved them since I first heard them in high school when their first album came out. Crazy how popular they got after AM, I don’t expect them to their awesome old days, but I have hopes for this new one. 

[DecayToDeath 1,884]

4 minutes ago, hxcoliver said:

Not as guitar driven as any of their other stuff. 

You can say that again

[cobannaboc 82]

Anyone hitting up the AM pop-up shop and able to grab one of the gold copies of TBHC for me? Will pay you cost of record + extra (negotiable) for your troubles! Also willing to trade for it!

[xpacinox 6]

4 hours ago, cobannaboc said:

Anyone hitting up the AM pop-up shop and able to grab one of the gold copies of TBHC for me? Will pay you cost of record + extra (negotiable) for your troubles! Also willing to trade for it!

how did you know that the y have gold vinyl for sale at these pop up stores?

[e_pott 0]

6 hours ago, cobannaboc said:

Anyone hitting up the AM pop-up shop and able to grab one of the gold copies of TBHC for me? Will pay you cost of record + extra (negotiable) for your troubles! Also willing to trade for it!

Desperate for a copy or two myself! Please PM if anyone is going to one of these pop ups!

 

Will pay handsomely

[aju2streets 183]

Has anyone gotten a shipping notification in the US for the silver pressing from Domino?

[lethalenforcer 3,001]

5 hours ago, xpacinox said:

how did you know that the y have gold vinyl for sale at these pop up stores?

Someone on reddit/amus (who usually knows these things) said they'd have ltd gold vinyl and cassettes.

 

25 minutes ago, aju2streets said:

Has anyone gotten a shipping notification in the US for the silver pressing from Domino?

Still waiting, but I saw that they finally started to trickle in this morning for others.

My clear copy from BM shipped a little bit ago.

[Sh100by 3,982]

Think I'll finally move on from Humbug and try out Suck It and See. Did that album ruin everyone's life like AM or is it safe to listen to?

[YouTwo 600]

8 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Think I'll finally move on from Humbug and try out Suck It and See. Did that album ruin everyone's life like AM or is it safe to listen to?

Suck It And See was a little bit of a return to form but not nearly as good as their first two.  

[lethalenforcer 3,001]

9 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Think I'll finally move on from Humbug and try out Suck It and See. Did that album ruin everyone's life like AM or is it safe to listen to?

What YouTwo said pretty much. SIAS is a harmless shimmery guitar album. Some pretty good stuff on there.

[DecayToDeath 1,884]

11 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Think I'll finally move on from Humbug and try out Suck It and See. Did that album ruin everyone's life like AM or is it safe to listen to?

SIAS is "AM lite" imo