You cannot fully appreciate this album on your first listen. “Tranqulity Base Hotel and Casino” is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. No effort is involved at all, you just gotta sit back, relax, and let the energetic music wash over you. See, turning on “AM,” you’re immediately struck with the full, easily likable force of pop rock with a dash of 50s retro. It wasn’t “AM.” It wasn’t even attempting to be “AM.”
When I first listened to it, I was admittedly a little disappointed, though I couldn’t place exactly what about the album was disappointing me.
“AM,” I think, is a fantastic primer to the band’s work, accessible, catchy, and instantly understandable. This is Arctic Monkeys’ first album since their 2013 hit “AM.” I was introduced to the band by that album, like many people were, charmed by their swagger-filled alt rock sound behind the crooning, smooth vocals of lead singer Alex Turner. I originally had a different idea for this week’s post, but after I realized that Arctic Monkeys’ new album “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino” was going to be released this week, I dropped everything to write a review of it.
