ARCTIC MONKEYS: The Car (Domino)
Conclusion: Walks elegantly through the aisles
Valuation: ****
CARLY RAE JEPSEN: The Loneliest Time (Interscope)
Conclusion: Bubblegum star is growing up
Valuation: ***
Once the golden boys of indie rock, Arctic Monkeys bear little resemblance to the gritty Sheffield-based guitar band whose 2006 debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not was packed with songs about taxi ranks and nightclubs in the north.
Their live shows are still glorified parties backed by clouds of dry ice and arena-pleasing singles. The studio has another suggestion: if their previous album, Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, was their most surprising, The Car comes a close second.
Once the golden boys of indie rock, the Arctic Monkeys bear little resemblance to the gritty Sheffield guitar band with their 2006 debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
The lavish arrangements give things a retro feel. There are rich, orchestral strings and analog sounds reminiscent of Bowie in the 1970s
As the sober title would suggest, the band’s seventh LP is more earthbound than its experimental predecessor, which was named after the site of the first moon landing in 1969.
But The Car shares its predecessor’s penchant for ballads and lyrical introspection.
Where he once belted out rock anthems, frontman Alex Turner now sings in a warm, soulful croon.
“It’s not about getting technically better,” he says. “It’s about singing in a way that’s more in tune with what you’re trying to express.”
And what he sings about with studied detachment is the experience of a star who’s traded Sheffield steel for LA sunsets…and is beginning to wonder if the grass is really greener on the other side.
The lavish arrangements give things a retro feel. There are rich, orchestral strings and analog sounds reminiscent of Bowie in the 1970s.
Turner had walked this path before – with side project The Last Shadow Puppets and 2017 LP Belladonna Of Sadness, which he produced for American singer Alexandra Savior – but it’s still a bold move.
Where he once belted out rock anthems, frontman Alex Turner now sings in a warm, soulful croon
There’d Better Be A Mirrorball sets the nostalgic tone. “Dripped through the roof yesterday, but that’s nothing new,” he sings.
The rockstar-ennui feel is even more pronounced in I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am, a portrait of Hollywood hell.
“It’s break, let’s shake some hands,” he snaps, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Things take a darker turn on Sculptures Of Anything Goes, co-written by guitarist Jamie Cook, with Turner looking forward to a life of “village coffee mornings with spies not long reclusive.”
Hidden away in LA, he also likes to look back on the early years of his band. “We got them out of their seats, waving our arms and stamping our feet,” he recalls of “Big Ideas”.
Undoubtedly, The Car is another sure-fire move from a band that refuses to stand still
“Why not rewind to Rawborough Snooker Club? I could pass as 17 if I just shaved,” he adds on Hello You.
Of course, all these seemingly autobiographical homeland thoughts from abroad could be just another clever ruse from a notoriously opaque band.
“If we guess who I pretend to be, will we win a prize?” the singer asks Mr. Schwartz in the penultimate track, hinting that he might be playing the whole thing for a laugh.
Undoubtedly, The Car is another sure-fire move from a band that refuses to stand still.
Turner, who wrote the last Arctics album on piano, delivers superb guitar here on a few tracks, while there are excellent forays into acoustic Latin rhythms (Mr Schwartz) and lush funk (Hello You).
Tranquility Base’s experiments did not hurt Arctic Monkeys’ commercial prospects in the slightest.
That album topped the charts and there are only a handful of tickets left for next year’s stadium tour.
With The Car, they’ll take fans on another stylish ride around the block.
Vancouver singer Carly Rae Jepsen vacillated between shiny bubblegum and unabashed synth-pop. She finally finds the right balance on The Loneliest Time
A talent show hopeful championed by Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen rose to stardom in 2011 with the bubbly Call Me Maybe.
Since then, the Vancouver singer has vacillated between shiny chewing gum and unabashed synth-pop. She finally finds the right balance on The Loneliest Time.
The melodies are catchy if a bit generic, while collaborators like Rostam Batmanglij, formerly of Vampire Weekend, and Rufus Wainwright bring class and credibility.
A talent show hopeful championed by Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen rose to stardom in 2011 with the bubbly Call Me Maybe
Jepsen’s fleeting voice is best seen on Talking To Yourself and The Amusing Beach House, which details online dating mishaps
Her fleeting voice is best seen on Talking To Yourself and the amusing Beach House, which details online dating glitches.
Canadian Wainwright is an unlikely duet partner, but his voice pairs brilliantly with hers on the title track, a disco romp that suggests Jepson is growing up gracefully.
Both albums are out today. Arctic Monkeys will start a tour in Bristol on May 29, 2023 (gigsandtours.com).
Carly Rae Jepsen starts hers in Leeds on February 7 (livenation.co.uk).
Sitting behind his piano is Dylan at his most intimate
LIVE: BOB DYLAN
(London Palladium)
Conclusion: rock legend at its best
Valuation: *****
The last time Bob Dylan performed in London’s Hyde Park was three years ago, the size of the venue combined with Dylan’s reluctance to engage with the audience resulted in a set that lacked nuance and character.
The opening night of his UK tour on Wednesday was different.
Staged intimately, it was a captivating evening. The Rough And Rowdy Ways tour borrows heavily from his 2020 album of the same name, emphasizing that at 81 Dylan remains a living, breathing artist who pleases himself.
The Rough And Rowdy Ways tour borrows heavily from his 2020 album of the same name, emphasizing that at 81 Bob Dylan remains a living, breathing artist who pleases himself
The last time Bob Dylan performed in London’s Hyde Park was three years ago, the size of the venue combined with Dylan’s reluctance to engage with the audience resulted in a set that lacked nuance and character. The opening night of his UK tour on Wednesday was different.
Luckily for fans, Rough And Rowdy Ways was a late-career masterpiece, and the feeling that we were in the presence of greatness was hard to avoid.
Dylan’s death rattle isn’t universally popular, but his vocal performance was outstanding on “I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You”.
Behind a wood-paneled piano, he also sang his way through Johnny Mercer’s 1940s jazz standard That Old Black Magic.
Dylan’s death rattle isn’t universally popular, but his vocal performance was outstanding on “I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You”.
A few cherished oldies have been aired. Dylan is notorious for awkward re-arrangements of old hits, but the twists here worked beautifully.
“I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” descended into a bluesy romp. Watching The River Flow was a hilarious opener.
And when he ended the show with a harmonica solo, he practically let the ceiling rise. “Isn’t that the place you’re supposed to be rattling your jewelry,” he joked, referring to John Lennon’s famous line at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance.
His quip was a playful farewell to a magical return.
(bodylan.com).
SIMPLE MINDS: Direction of the Heart (BMG)
Conclusion: Confident and revitalized
Valuation: ****
Resurrected as a touring act, Simple Minds continue their resurgence with Direction Of The Heart. The Glasgow band’s 18th album was recorded in lockdown, but there’s nothing introvert about the big choruses here. Singer Jim Kerr wanted “a feel-good electro-rock record during the worst of times,” and this ticks all the boxes.
There are throwbacks to hits like Promised You A Miracle. With synths and guitars uniting in a wall of sound, “Vision Thing” is a tribute to the singer’s father, James, who died in 2019. It’s also a poignant sister track to 2014’s “Honest Town,” inspired by memories of Kerr’s mother, Irene.
For those who are suspicious of something too grandiose, there is some subtlety. Drummer Cherisse Osei, keyboardist Berenice Scott and backing vocalist Sarah Brown give the Minds a softer, less tomboyish touch than they did in the 1980s. With Brown at the helm, Solstice Kiss explores the same Celtic-tinged terrain as the band’s 1989 single “Belfast Child.”
But this is a return that largely draws on well-honed strengths. At this show they are still very much alive and kicking.