Facing the third album blues, the Arctic Monkeys turned to Josh Homme, the Queens of the Stone Age mastermind renowned for his collaborations but untested as a producer. On first glance, it’s a peculiar pair – the sons of Paul Weller meet the heavy desert king – but this isn’t a team of equals, it’s a big brother helping his little brothers get out there and make something weird. Homme doesn’t imprint his own style on the Monkeys but encourages them to follow their strange instincts. Wading into the murky waters of HUMBUG it becomes clear that the common ground between the Arctic Monkeys and Mr Homme is the actual act of making music, the pleasure of not knowing what comes next when an entire band is drifting around the unknown.

Since so much of HUMBUG is about its process, it’s not always immediately accessible or pleasurable to an outside listener, nor is it quite the thickly colored freakout Homme’s presence suggests. The Arctic Monkeys still favor angular riffs and clenched rhythms, constructing tightly framed vignettes not widescreen epics, but they’re working with a darker palette and creating vaguely abstract compositions, sensibilities that extend to Alex Turner’s words too, as he trades keen detail for vivid scrawled impressions. Every element of the album reflects a band testing its limits, seeing where they could go next.

Whatever this band is doing seems to be working out alright for them, with adoring fans and a world tour, what’s more to want for the Arctic Monkeys?

Professional Reviews
Billboard – “The Monkeys still favor angular riffs and clenched rhythms, constructing tightly framed vignettes not widescreen epics, but they’re working with a darker palette and creating vaguely abstract compositions…”

Pitchfork (Website) – “It’s their loosest record yet by far….The guitars in particular have a snapping, reverberant desert/surf tone that fuels the band’s descent into night.”

Record Collector (magazine) (p.80) – 3 stars out of 5 — “Turner can floor with his wordplay….Plus the chops, particularly of drummer Matt Helders, who does well not to buckle under Homme’s glare, are, frankly, amazing throughout.”