Matt Helders’ moody drumming not only revealed him as an unassuming star, but also laid the musical foundations for the sleazy R&B blues of 2013’s critically acclaimed AM. You can trace the roots of what Arctic Monkeys would become in Humbug’s ten brief but captivating tracks.
Today, Humbug is seen as a bridge between the old Arctic Monkeys and the new, with the band sloughing off their indie-punk origins in favour of a more experimental, worldly approach. He adopted more of a global rock voice without selling out to the US fraternity. To cope with the band’s newly bulked-up sound, Alex Turner adapted his singing voice his vocal register becoming deeper, less frantic and, as a result, entrancing. Where early Arctic Monkeys spoke to the specifics of south Yorkshire, Humbug feels universal. The lyrics on the band’s first two albums were incredibly localised – right down to particular streets in Sheffield – but the language of Humbug had a sort of covert relatability. You might not be able to say exactly what it means to have a game called Crying Lightning, but as the song’s distorted production marches on, its psychosexual power-play narrative becomes increasingly clear. “ My propeller won’t spin and I can’t get it started on my own/ When are you arriving?” he beckons on My Propeller, hinting that self-gratification just won’t suffice. That air of lust is carried by Turner’s equally provocative lyrics, which became less parochial and more poetic. Potion Approaching and The Jeweller’s Hands were like nothing the band had done before – the tracks’ brooding basslines and slow, percussive strut lacing the album with a sensual energy. Instead there were gnarled, low-end riffs ( Crying Lightning, Dangerous Animals) and psychedelic surf sensibilities ( Fire and the Thud and Dance Little Liar), which provided a dark, pendulous depth without ever sacrificing their tender touch. Humbug was a radical departure from the high-pitched, spindly guitarwork of their first two albums. Arctic Monkeys, it turned out, could not only keep up with the best of them, but also give them a run for their money. But the move worked out better than anyone could have anticipated. To New York and Burbank, and also to Joshua Tree – the spiritual home of American desert mysticism – where they worked with rock royalty Josh Homme, a man whose greased-up aesthetic probably would have sent their younger selves sniggering to the nearest exit sign. Even when they tried to rock out – as on I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor or Brianstorm – they sounded agreeably scrappy, as if their proud Yorkshire upbringing wouldn’t allow them to submit to the gods of mainstream music culture. Far from being a notoriously tricky third album, Humbug instead injected new energy into a band, who, perhaps unknowingly, were angling to rebuild.Īcross their first two albums – 2006 breakout Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare – Arctic Monkeys were pure northern England an indie guitar act with razor-sharp humour, songs packed with shrewd kitchen-sink commentary and punky, bugged-out musical skills to match the head rush of a Saturday night out in Sheffield. In hindsight, it could easily have served as an alternate name for Humbug, the band’s eventual third album, which came out three years later and questioned everything that we knew about Arctic Monkeys. Released in April 2006, the title poked fun at their meteoric rise while goading those who predicted an equally swift decline.
Just in case their debut album hadn’t let the world know what Arctic Monkeys were about, the band followed it up three months later with an EP wryly titled Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?.
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