Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys > Reviews > These cold sounding Monkeys are really hot!!!!!!!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Fantastic debut British album
Disadvantages:	No lyrics, just cruddy pictures of the band !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have to admit I heard the Monkey's debut song (When the sun goes down) without realising who was singing it, then I was hearing all the hype about how great this band The Arctic Monkeys are. When I realised what style of music the band done I bought their album (after waiting a week or so for it to be released) and I loved it.

● Music Style ●
For me, The Monkeys are everything that I hoped The Streets would be without any of the weirdness that is in some of The Streets music. Lyrically the two bands are very similar as the monkeys sing about issues that are very down to earth (eg fighting after having a few drinks, pulling in clubs) What makes this a real winner is the combination of really good lyrics (that are sung well) and also the music itself is done very well with some really nice guitar chords that follow the tempo of the songs perfectly. Most of the time the music isn't louder than the singing, so it sits nicely in the background and then comes to the foreground for you to appreciate it when there is a break in the lyrics.

● Track Listing ●
After the track title I will give a brief description of the track and then a rating out of 10.
1) The View From The Afternoon : Kicks the album off with a strong start, after a powerful musical intro it slides into the first verse. Some nice lyrics, but certainly not the best on the CD. 6
2) I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor : If you have only heard the Sugababes cover on radio 1 then try and blot that out of your mind!! This song is perfectly suited to the style of sorta half singing/half talking. It is extremely upbeat, quick and gets you singing along before you realise it! 7.5
3) Fake Tales Of San Francisco : The first slow paced song, singing all about a wedding, there are some nice lyrics "As the microphone squeks, a young girls telephone beeps and she's dashing for the exit, oh she's running to the streets outside. Oh you saved me she screams down the down, the band were f****** w*** and I'm not having a nice time" 7
4) Dancing Shoes : This is one of the rare tracks where the music stays loud with the singing (although not overpoweringly so) with some nice guitar chords being repeated. The lyrics are all about a guy and a girl in a club. 7.5
5) You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me : Although this isn't a bad song, to me it's nothing special. The lyrics don't really mean too much, its a nice quick song and easy to sing along to. 6
6) Still Take You Home : This is another fairly quick tempo song, sing about taking a girl home from a pub/club. It has really good lyrics and some really punchy music between the verses. 8
7) Riot Van : This song is slow through and through and is really good. Fantastic lyrics singing about running away from police and drinking. Even in the breaks between verses the music stays a very slow beat. 8
8) Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured : A song about getting a taxi home after a night out. Great lyrics and a good tempo, it speeds up a little towards the end of the verses. Very easy to sing along to. 8
9) Mardy Bum : This is my pick from the album (aside from When The Sun Goes Down). For any people from the South who don't know (like I didn't) Mardy is a Northern word for moody. This song is about a relationship that is going bad and remembering good times. The lyrics are very catchy, I think (and hope!!) this will be the next single. 9
10) Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But.... : An OK song this, I think they are going for a song that sounds a bit 'Rocky' It feels to me like they wrote the music first and then tried to fit in lyrics for it. The main feature of this is powerful guitar riffs, but unfortunately for me, it just doesn't work. 6
11) When The Sun Goes Down : I probably don't need to tell you but this is The Monkey's debut no1 single (UK chart) Definitely the best of the Monkey's work has gone into this one, the lyrics are faultless in style and original content (prostitutian) and the music complements the singing prefectly. 9.5
12) From The Ritz To The Rubble : a quick tempo song, speeding up in places. Singing about the pubbing/clubbing scene and bouncers. A good song but nothing outstanding. 7.5
13) A Ceratin Romance : Starts off quick with music but then slows down a bit, has the longest intro of all the tracks at over a minute before any lyrics kick in. Some really good lyrics to this fairly slow paced song and easy to sing along to. I think this might do well if it is realeased as a single. 8

● CD case ●
I was going to rate the cover/inlay design as mediocre because the inlay booklet is a glossy 12 page with pictures and nothing else, some lyrics would of been nice. But then I realised (I think at least!) that each picture trys to give a graphical representation of the track. For some it works, tracks 2,4,6,7,8 and 9 for the other tracks you couldn't say that the picture links to the lyrics. So for that effort I upped the rating to satisfactory. There are two options available when you buy the CD, there is the standard plastic jewel case or a cardboard covered style case with a plastic CD tray inside. I don't know if there are any differences between the two, I got the cardboard version.

● Summary ●
This is a fantastic debut album and I can see why it sold so many copies in the first week of release (I think it went straight to no 1 on the UK album chart) If I could only use one sentace to describe The Arctic Monkeys it would be : Imagine The Streets, but more mainline pop