The boys from Sheffield are finally about to unveil their latest venture. Their album, The Car, releasing on October 21, will be the seventh studio album by the equally shy and bold British rockers Arctic Monkeys.

Coming out of the days of early internet fame, the British rockers took us on a wild ride from pop punk-garage rock through slick and stylish ballads. Having released two singles from their upcoming album, there’s hints already of their new sonic avatar.

The first release, There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, starts off with a subtle symphony of strings, synths and keys that already defy any expectations the listener is harbouring. An emphatic transition leads us to a hidden place where Alex Turner’s voice booms, smoothly posing questions of self and romantic doubt.

The lyrics are quite personal, yet deeply universal. Alex opens with a warning (unsure to whom) against being emotional and then laments, “So if you wanna walk me to the car, you ought to know I’ll have a heavy heart. Can we please be absolutely sure that there’s a mirrorball?” The scene of a beloved leaving is painted with painful beauty, but Alex is still hopeful there’s a silver lining.

Arctic Monkeys are back with a new album, the ‘cinematic’ The Car, whose first two singles provide ample evidence that they don’t like to stay in one place

The video matches the tenderness of the song. Opening with a film-like grid, the song title appears as it would on the big screen. Cut to a close-up shot of Alex’s eyes drowned in melancholy. The rest of the video is mostly filled with clips of recording sessions as the four of them play their instruments and tinker with their equipment.

With just the band themselves shown in the music-making process, the video lends itself a do-it-yourself aesthetic. With many shots in black-and-white, and different gradings, the cinematic presence of the sound and picture is felt. The symbolic walking away from and across the camera make the themes of leaving and longing indelible. The song fades with a similar grid from the beginning, creating a bookend effect.

While thoroughly enrapturing, it’s not a surprising style that the band is presenting. Alex Turner has briefly described the forthcoming album The Car as ‘cinematic’. But even if this deliberate choice had gone unmentioned, their evolution does reveal a love for cinematic storytelling through music.

Arguably their most globally popular song, 505, from Second Worst Nightmare (2007) has a direct sample in its intro from Ennio Morricone’s theme for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, the 1966 spaghetti western classic directed by Sergio Leone. The theatricality that an appreciation of cinema gives their music is also highlighted by the dark opera-sounding Crying Lightning from Humbug (2009). The gothic vampire-romance Dracula Teeth is another example, albeit being from Alex Turner’s side project The Last Shadow Puppets’ second album Everything You’ve Come to Expect (2016).

Nothing embodies their cinematic ventures like Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino (2018). Their last album created a conceptual world set on the moon, inside the titular resort. While initially divisive, Tranquility Base is their space age-inspired, lounge pop masterpiece. It is full of references to sci-fi literature and cinema. The lyrics also contain philosophical takes on humanity, relationships, religion, technology and lunar living.

The Arctic Monkey’s second single from the current album, Body Paint, plays like the reply of a deserted lover, an answer to the previous single. The song opens with baroque pop keys, and Alex delivers accusations and suggestions in his balladeer voice. “So predictable I know what you’re thinking” is the one-line chorus.

After another verse, we enter a Beatles-like bridge with colourful instrumentation and vocal style. “There’s still the trace of body paint on your legs, and on your arms, and on your face,” Alex bellows, as the refrain breaks down into pure rock energy. The continuation of using celebratory, ‘party’ symbols, i.e., mirrorballs and body paint, is part of the songwriters’ imaginative retelling of tragic, romantic tales.

The video is even more cinematically ambitious than the last. Opening with mid-century experimental film-style shots, we see a frame seemingly inspired by Hitchcock’s North By Northwest. Then we get a look on all sides of the filmmaking process. From the front of the camera to the back, the lab, and in the seats as the audience. There is also a screen motif present, referencing the obviously cinematic theme.

Quite a cinephile fantasy plays out in the music video as we enter the finale laden with a carousel effect. The ending brings together a mix of old and modern camera work to create something truly original, especially for the Arctic Monkeys. With Matt and Alex leading the finale visually, the video really explores the fundamental effects pictures have on the minds that view them.

Such eloquent and confident exploration of uncharted territory can only be expected from artists that remain true to their changing selves. Their fast-tempo early music shifted in the late 2000s, after meeting Josh Homme. The sound became slower and sludgy, owing to the California desert rock scene. Humbug (2009) and Suck It and See (2011) came as results.

Their most famous sound and album came with 2013’s AM, which focused on the beat from the drums and bass. Blowing everyone away with its psychedelic and blues rock tracks that resonated lyrically, it unexpectedly revived rock music itself.

All this continued creative success, reflected in the charts, has a lot to do with Alex Turner’s maturation as a songwriter. Along with Jamie Cook (guitars), Matt Helders (drums) and Nick O’Malley (bass), Alex has helped create a discography which mirrors the journey they have all been on.

Nothing can be more admirable than artists continuing to make good creative choices that are truly reflective of what is inspiring them. I did not expect them to go back to sounding like anything before Tranquility Base. How could they? That album shows a change in the sensibilities of those who made it. It convinces the listener that, far from experimental dabbling, it is where they are. Creating a project like this leaves a lasting effect.

Arctic Monkeys are back and don’t be surprised that they are not where you left them.

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 9th, 2022