Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

Review of Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not by Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
An album review by
16 Jan 2006
ARTIST: 
Arctic Monkeys
RECORD LABEL: 
RELEASE DATE: 
Mon 16th Jan 2006

They probably enjoyed all the hype in the beginning you know. Now, though, with Domino being forced into rush-releasing their debut album due to rampant internet leakage, the weight of expectation must surely be giving these four Sheffield lads some sleepless nights. After months of hype, file-sharing and name-dropping, the day of reckoning has arrived for Britain’s most blogged band.

Not that you’d sense any of this burden from listening to Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Marrying social commentary a la Mike Skinner or Billy Bragg to the gritty, anarchic pop sensibility of past heroes like The Buzzcocks, The Clash, or even Nirvana, the band create a racket that is equal parts danceable and thought-provoking.
If anything, inevitable comparisons with The Libertines actually serve to underline the brilliance of this debut. Admittedly, on the likes of ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ and the lovelorn ‘Mardy Bum’, the likeness is perhaps justified, but elsewhere the sonic approach is more measured and controlled than that of their overly-chaotic Southern forebears. More importantly, though, whereas Barat & Doherty’s Albion was a Blakeian otherworld that all fans tried to relate to but few actually could, Monkeys frontman Alex Turner & co. mine more familiar terrain: bouncers, taxi queues and council estate ennui provide source material for kitchen-sink tales that Morrissey would be proud of. There’s anger too, in ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’s savage put-down of phony rivals “with their trilbys and their glasses of white wine”. Elsewhere, panic-at-the-disco anthems like ‘Dancing Shoes’ and chart-topping single ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ act as startling reminders of the band’s youth - two of the four are, after all, still in their teens.

 

Despite what your broadsheet of choice may lead you to believe, only time will tell whether Whatever People Say… will prove to be a turning-point in the resurrection of British rock. For now, though, Arctic Monkeys have delivered a taut, urgent shot-in-the-arm that should at least help stem the flow of mediocre Razorlight clones masquerading as bands. In other words, this is an album that simply had to be made. 

Mini review

The hype which surrounded the release of this debut record is well documented, as is the subsequent success of the Sheffield quartet. But simply put, this is one of the best debut albums ever released – full stop, end of story. With unnerving confidence, a bunch of teenagers stood way out from the crowd thanks to cutting and evocative social commentary and a raw sound. They’ve proven to be consistent in their (prolific) output since but it’s hard to overstate the impact Whatever People Say I Am had on the last decade. (Eamonn Halpin)

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