Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (2009) [Domino] // Grade: C-

I was recently told that the sound of the Arctic Monkeys doesn’t translate to an American audience, that you need to have shared the experience of growing up a bored Northern English youth to fully appreciate the band. Maybe there is some truth in this statement, because hard as I try, after three studio albums, I still don’t get the appeal and frenzy associated with the Arctic Monkeys.

Humbug, the newest from the Brit rockers finds the Sheffield quartet teaming up with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme for production duties on a slick, but ultimately unfruitful third studio release. The band dials down the rock, favoring a Morrissey-like introspection that feels forced and will bore even the most hardcore Arctic Monkeys fans. The album’s biggest pitfall is its lack of melody, a claim that would not hold true for their previous releases. The allure of the Arctic Monkeys lies in the youthful exuberance present throughout their 2006 debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Age and maturity seems to be leading the band in a new direction, but they needn’t give up their spark along the way.

The Arctic Monkeys abandon nearly everything fans are accustomed to with Humbug, but songwriting has always been their strongest suit, and if you can get past the album’s lack of hooks, their lyrics are as potent as ever. “Cornerstone” gleams, a single ray of light radiating from within the otherwise dismal Humbug and the intensely dark, “Pretty Visitors” grinds with rowdy fervor.

Humbug is the followup album no one expected from the Arctic Monkeys. The band shifts gears too drastically to successfully bridge the darker, self-reflective sound of Humbug with their earlier work. If the Arctic Monkeys can find a way to merge the euphoric and the subdued on future releases they will easily create the best work of their career. But until they can strike that balance, their one-sided sound will continue to fall flat.

- Scrooge McFuck