To the delight of followers and fans alike, Arctic Monkeys recently announced their seventh studio album, The Car, which will be available to binge from 21st October. The band released the first single from the album, There'd Better Be a Mirrorball, on Instagram, teasing fans with a taste of what's to come through a cinematic clip of the official video, complete with peculiar frames and a vintage ambience, in true Alex Turner style.
After listening to the new track, it's apparent the band's intention is to catapult their listeners into yet another new realm of music, reinventing themselves as virtuosos of a hauntingly romantic style, with the prominence of piano and eerie instrumentals. The melancholic one-minute-long intro is almost spellbinding; the solemn sound is charmingly hypnotic, with magnetic, short and sharp instrumentals, and the addition of abrupt pauses, causing an intensifying, mysterious tension before the voice we all know so well interrupts the sorrowful, gothic melody.
As soon as Turner’s vocals begin, I'm consoled with the same mournful comfort the soundtrack of 2010’s coming-of-age film, Submarine, provides, which consists solely of Turner’s debut solo EP, combined with a reminiscence and recreation of earlier 20th century jazz. The amorous wordplay, seductive tenor and velvety instrumentals are delicate, similar to Submarine tracks, Glass in the Park and Hiding Tonight, whilst also possessing subtle similarities to Last Shadow Puppets, Sweet Dreams, TN. These resemblances are nothing but praises to the band, with both the Everything You’ve Come to Expect album, and the Submarine soundtrack being huge successes.
The Car, comparable to the impression Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino conjured, has indirectly, yet officially, told listeners to kiss goodbye to the lovable scoundrels who dominated the early 2000s, with their fast-paced, sporadic, grungy nightclub tunes, and morph ourselves into enthusiasts of revitalised jazz, strewn with seductively poetic lyrics and compelling compositions.
Arctic Monkeys are the visionaries of the music scene, with the ability and bravery to redirect and re-establish their style whenever, and however, they wish. The sheer genius behind each album has shone through and overridden their consistent shifts in genre, allowing fans to absorb new music and material, despite the change. Their versatility throughout the years has defied current trends, much to their success, and has granted the band with nothing but admiration for being able to maintain their distinct uniqueness by creating faultless music. The Car certainly has a lot to live up to if There'd Better Be a Mirrorball is anything to go by, but, as always, I doubt the band have any intentions to disappoint.
Listen to There'd Better Be A Mirrorball and watch the official video below!