Saturday, 14 September 2013

Review: Arctic Monkeys Discography


Arctic Monkeys have never made a perfect album and they are not a particularly great band. They are a good band and have made some good albums, though. In another time of British music (though I find when people make these kind of links, they rarely hold any kind of weight) Arctic Monkeys would perhaps be that band that would have a few hits and a record you'd maybe quite like - this may be now the very case, but Arctic Monkeys success seems to go further and wider than that. A consistent string of number one albums almost tells the story about Arctic Monkeys but denies some of the truth beyond the surface. Generally speaking, Arctic Monkeys are well-liked mainstream rock band and people seem to like to see them do well because their humbly working class origins. The attention waned on 2009's Humbug slightly, I should know, I was there to see it - but Arctic Monkeys, post-Glastonbury and all, are arguably the most popular they have ever been now since their initial 2006-2007 ascendancy. 

Sunday, 8 September 2013

Review: Reflektor - Arcade Fire (Single)


The returning of some of indie rocks finest in 2013 has been something of a mixed bag. There was the reformation of cult legends My Bloody Valentine in February, met with a quietly rapturous reception for their album mbv. At another end of the spectrum, Vampire Weekend produced arguably their best work with Modern Vampires of the City and The National followed up the a string of highly-acclaimed with the seemingly solid Trouble Will Find Me. Elsewhere bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs and supergroup Atoms For Peace returned with output that wasn’t bad, but hardly consistently to the standard that you know both band’s could produce.