Arctic Monkeys
Who The Fuck Are The Arctic Monkeys

I like the Arctic Monkeys: I like them because the more you listen to their songs, the more you appreciate them, and I'm beginning to think that those who don't like them probably haven't given them enough listens. It annoys me all the Indie fundamentalists who consider them just another piece of Albion garbage promoted by NME.

Compared to the entire new British Invasion involving bands like Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, The Kooks, The this, The that, they have something more. They've brought back that way of playing the guitar that's so simple yet effective because of it, with those playful and syncopated rhythms that would get anyone moving; I like them because they are so quintessentially English, with their deliberately emphasized Northern accent. I like them because their singles remind me of the Oasis ones, with that attention to B-Sides that are sometimes better than the singles themselves, and this EP is, in my opinion, the demonstration of that.

A few months after the worldwide success of "Whatever people say I am that's what I am not," the Sheffield quartet wanted to delight us again with this little product, which strangely went a bit unnoticed compared to their debut album and the follow-up "Favourite Worst Nightmare," but that doesn't mean it's inferior; "The View From the Afternoon" we already knew it with its guitar interplays and its magnificent drums, but it's the remaining songs that still amaze us: "Cigarette Smoker Fiona," an evolution of an old group demo, is a rush of adrenaline, powerful and biting. Alex Turner is a poet; you can love or hate him but not ignore him, his lyrics are snapshots of daily life, and his somewhat hoarse yet bright voice delivers them excellently. And then we face pop masterpieces like the subsequent "Despair in the Departure Lounge" and "No Buses."

A final appeal to Indie purists: listen finally to the title track, almost 6 minutes of pure genius, a goosebump-inducing lyric, two songs in one, and a guitar part at the end that floors you with 3 notes, like all the Arctic monkeys' songs... the choice is yours, otherwise, keep listening to your damn Dream Theater (now this isn't referring to the Indies)...

IT'S ONLY BRITPOP BUT I LIKE IT

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