Arctic Monkeys
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

The new album by the Arctic Monkeys, titled "Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino", originates from an unexpected gift.

Specifically, we're talking about a piano, a Steinway Vertegrand, given to Alex Turner by the band’s manager for his thirtieth birthday. And this very gift was the spark that ignited Turner's creativity, as he began using it to compose the tracks for the new work, an album that completely diverges from what the British band had done so far and marks a clear line of demarcation with the past.

Five years on from the very successful AM, and produced by Turner himself alongside his now regular collaborator James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco), the Arctic Monkeys return with a completely renewed image; the influences between hip hop and Black Sabbath from the previous work have almost completely vanished, except for the sharp and cutting guitar of the excellent "Golden Trunks", and the new tracks sound so different from the past that for a moment, at the suggestion of guitarist Jamie Cook, they even considered releasing the new work as Alex Turner's solo album, a suggestion rejected by the frontman himself.

It is therefore clearly this revolutionary direction that the leader has decided to imprint on his band, a sound steeped in heavy jazz atmospheres (stemming from the use of said piano in the composition phase); the guidelines move from the British and American rock of previous works to more authorial fascinations (the music press mentions Gainsbourg, Bowie, and Father John Misty as new influences, and rightly so, since part of the album was recorded in France, and you can hear it) and Turner himself cited part of Gainsbourg's work as an inspiration, evident in the sumptuous closing "The Ultracheese", the best melody on the album.

If the opening track, the sticky and jazzy "Star Treatment", is a very clear declaration of intent starting from the sharp lyrics ("I just wanted to be one of The Strokes /
Now look at the mess you made me make"), "One Point Perspective" builds its structure by invading a simple old-style hip hop base with lascivious and striking synths. However, the album’s core is the stellar "Four Out Of Five", which according to early predictions was supposed to be the first single released from the album (the band then wisely decided, given the album's compactness and monolithic nature, not to release any single); a splendid glam piece very close to the latest Bowie, fusing the atmospheres of the underrated "Suck It And See" with the epic influence of the second work by the Last Shadow Puppets, Turner's side band founded with friend Miles Kane. The beautiful guitar progression melts into a sumptuous crescendo finale, sealing one of the best pieces in the band's now over a decade-long career.

"Science Fiction" and "Batphone" with their sound hark back to an overlooked episode like the third album "Humbug"; there, the touch of an old fox like Josh Homme was evident, here among the collaborations are Zach Dawes, Tyler Parkford (members of Mini Mansions, with whom Turner previously collaborated on the single "Vertigo") and Evan Weiss (Wires On Fire). The three enrich with piano, acoustic guitar, and accordion the brief and sharp "American Sports" and the slanted "The World's First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip", with an airy Beatles-like opening in the chorus. James Righton, keyboardist of the Klaxons, contributes with the Wurlitzer to three tracks, while Tame Impala's Cam Avery embellishes with his backing vocals "She Looks Like Fun", a refreshing dive into a predominantly sixties sea. Tom Rowley of the revived Milburn is also part of the lineup.

"Tranquility Base" is a bold album, written and arranged impeccably with very clear ideas, certifying the definitive growth of an already established author like Alex Turner. Whether the Monkeys have another story ahead of them or Turner decides on a solo turn, the pop rock world has the certainty of having found a new talent to rely on.

Best track: Four Out Of Five