Brit Music Scene

Josh Homme & James Ford On New Arctic Monkeys Album

Posted: 29 Jul 2009 01:21 PM PDT

Arctic Monkeys blew everyone away when they crashed on to the Brit Music Scene in 2006 with their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. It’s an album that was amazing then and is still great to listen to now. They followed that up with the equally fantastic Favourite Worst Nightmare in 2007 and are now preparing to unleash their third studio album on the world.

Humbug is the name of Arctic Monkeys’ new record and it’s due out between August 19 and August 25 depending on where you live. The album’s cover has already been revealed, and some of the tracks have been leaked on to the Internet prior to release. The album was recorded in its entirety in the U.S., with Josh Homme of Queens of The Stone Age co-producing alongside James Ford, who produced The Last Shadow Puppets’ album.

Homme and Ford have recently spoken about working with Arctic Monkeys, what drew them to do so, and what the album is like. Homme told GQ magazine (via NME):

“I was sucked in at first by the lyrics. Alex sounded like a rare poet playing music – he has a special gift for the gab. [And Matt Helders is] one of the best drummers in rock ‘n’ roll.”

“This is the record where they get weird, grow up and trip out.”

While Ford spoke to BBC Newsbeat:

“Some will love it and some maybe won’t.”

“It’ll definitely surprise people, especially people who are familiar with things like ['I Bet That You Would Look Good On The] ‘Dancefloor’ and stuff like that, [they] might be quite taken aback.”

“They're progressing and moving forward trying to change, push themselves and push their audience which I think is rare in a lot of bands today. They've just got more relaxed with themselves - they're comfortable doing what they're doing. “

It sounds as though Arctic Monkeys have changed their sound somewhat for this new album. Although there were differences between their first and second albums, this sounds, from what Homme and Ford are saying, much more of a radical departure from their early sound.

I’m not too sure what to think about that. I’m all for bands evolving rather than remaining stale and producing the same album time after time (think U2) but it can go horribly wrong and leave early die-hard fans left scratching their heads (think Bloc Party).

I wonder too how much of an effect Homme’s involvement has had on the sound and feel of the record. Are we in for some hard Queens of The Stone Age style tracks? Regardless, I’ll be first in the queue to get hold of the album in August because their back catalog suggests Arctic Monkeys new album will be something special.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene