Arctic Monkeys
Leave Before the Lights Come On

Eight months have now passed since the release of Arctic Monkeys' debut album, ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'', and its memory is still vivid in the minds of those who have always loved them, as well as in the minds of those who turned up their noses, not finding anything exceptional in the Monkeys. In the meantime, however, Alex Turner and company released an EP of five songs, four of which were previously unreleased, ''Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?'', which, however, did not obtain the same positive reception as the album.

And so in mid-August 2006, they released the single ''Leave Before The Lights Come On'', which is not included in any album. The track is one of the best released by the band so far. In some ways, it recalls ''Mardy Bum'', the standout track from ''Whatever People...'' (even though it wasn't released as a single), due to its immediate guitar riff, which characterizes most of the song. Matt Helders’ drumming is excellent as usual, continuing to prove to be the band’s added value. The lyrics are brilliant and fresh and, following the same line as the first album, tell of infatuations and amorous problems, yet in a more mature key, demonstrating a further improvement of the young band from Sheffield. The masterpiece of the track is undoubtedly the crescendo finale, typical of the Arctic Monkeys (see ''A Certain Romance'' and ''From The Ritz To The Rubble''), beginning with the intertwining of Turner’s and Jamie Cook’s guitars, to which the drums are added, leading to the final explosion, as if to indicate ''the lights coming on.''

As the first B-Side, the Arctic Monkeys chose to cover ''Put Your Dukes Up John'' by Little Flames, a semi-obscure band that, according to his words, happens to be Turner’s favorite band. This cover does not differ much from the original version of the track, except for the substitution of the female voice of the Little Flames with the male voice of the Arctic Monkeys. The song is not bad, and it even has a chorus that quickly sticks in your head, although it doesn’t present anything innovative. It’s worth noting that the guitarist for Little Flames is the same Miles Kane who would go on to form The Last Shadow Puppets with Alex Turner in 2008.

The second B-Side, and the concluding track of the CD, is another cover, ''Baby I'm Yours'', a song written by Van McCoy and made famous by the sixties R'n'B singer Barbara Lewis. The song is very sweet and melodic, quite different from anything the Arctic Monkeys had produced until now, also because the cover preserved that sixties sound and was not played in the ''Monkeys style,'' so to speak.

In conclusion, a good single: each of the three songs, but especially the first and the third, presents very valid elements. For once, we shouldn't consider the evaluations of magazines that deem releases like these commercial. We should focus more on the songs, and in this case, the songs are there, they are indeed.