Sydney, AU (EMI MUSIC AUSTRALIA) - With so much news surrounding the debut album release from the
Arctic Monkeys you could be mistaken for being a tad cynical…but with UK punters buying more than 360,000 copies in the first week and thereby simultaneously pushing ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' to the top of the UK chart first week out and smashing the record for the fastest-selling debut album then you may want to reconsider!
The record for the fastest-selling debut album dates back to March 2001 when reality show group Hearsay's debut "
Popstars" sold 306,631 copies.
For the inhabitants of the British Isles, the second half of 2005 belonged to one band and one band only. A group of four friends, barely out of high school in their small industrial satellite town in the North of England, who burst into the national consciousness in a way not seen since the heady days of punk rock.
Without anyone suspecting it, Yorkshire - a part of the country forever associated with the word 'grim' - had quietly been nurturing the country's most exciting new band. Arctic Monkeys sprang forth, fully formed and seemingly effortlessly, into the limelight. They came armed with infectious melodies, brilliant crashing guitars and the kind of unifying lyrics with which an entire generation could identify.
Their early shows quickly became euphoric gatherings of jubilant fans. Their demos - given away free at gigs and then subsequently as downloads on their website - became immediate collectors items. Before the music industry suits in the nation's capital had even heard murmurs of what was happening, kids the length and breadth of the country were driving hundreds of miles to attend their shows.
A rapid A&R chase followed, but the band continued to display unprecedented street smarts. Wielding a healthy mistrust of the industry, the media and just about anything other than their own music & fans, the band eventually signed to respected longstanding British independent Domino (home to Franz Ferdinand, The Kills, Four Tet, Sons & Daughters et al). Their first single for the label -'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' - managed the unimaginable: It entered the UK singles charts at number one. Arctic Monkeys weren't just the 'next big thing'; they were a bone fide phenomenon.
Musically, the lads share a love of The Smiths, The Clash and The Jam (and sure, they may boast a healthy passion for Oasis, System Of A Down and Queens Of The Stone Age) but in no way were The Monkeys ready to simply regurgitate the well-trodden Brit-rock path. Rather, they spent their school days listening to Roots Manuva, Braintax and other stuff on [UK hip hop label] Low-Life, not to mention Lyricist Lounge compilations and releases from Rawkus Records. Another unique influence was the poet John Cooper Clarke. In fact, it's 19 year old frontman Alex Turner's lyrics - smart, sharp, crushingly witty and spiked with small town frustration - that have caught the attention and imagination of their fans almost more than the music itself. Alex doesn't sing about a life of aspiring rock stardom.
There aren't any rock stars ‘round his way. He sings about unforgiving bouncers, grumpy cab drivers, crushes on shop girls, kids 'who like to fight with pool cues in their hands' and daily life in a town where 'there's only music so that there's new ringtones'. He's singing about a town in the North of England, but really, he could be singing about anywhere. Being young, bored and broke is a universal malady. In that way, Arctic Monkeys share a lineage with everyone from The Ramones to Eminem. But then again, whatever we say they are, that's probably what they're not…. 7
Album: 'WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT', out Feb 18, 2006
Single: 'I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR' out Feb 11, 2006
