It's the one where they went to California and came back sounding like a very witty 1960s pop band.
A sun-drenched, melodic yearning that balances vintage pop sweetness with sharp-witted British romanticism.
Recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles with producer James Ford, Suck It and See represents a major stylistic pivot for Arctic Monkeys. Following the darker, Josh Homme-influenced Humbug, the band sought a more 'instant' and 'vintage' sound. The album was largely written by Alex Turner while living in Brooklyn, resulting in a fascinating blend of American surf-rock aesthetics and hyper-British lyrical colloquialisms. Critics, including those at AllMusic and the BBC, noted the album's shift toward traditional pop structures and a 'shimmering' guitar sound reminiscent of The Smiths and Richard Hawley. While it retains some of the band's garage-rock DNA in tracks like 'Brick by Brick', the core of the record is built on melodic ballads and mid-tempo indie pop. It remains a fan favorite for its lyrical depth and its role in bridging the gap between their experimental phase and the global superstardom of AM.
Put this on for
Windows down on a coastal highway as the sun starts to dipQuietly humming along to a melody while the kettle boilsLast light of summer hitting the brickwork of your childhood streetChecking your reflection in a shop window before a first dateThat hazy headspace between a beach day and a night outReading lyrics on the floor while the record spins for the third timeDriving through the suburbs when the streetlights first flicker on
Moments worth waiting for
The way the guitar tone on She is Thunderstorms mimics a rolling weather front.
The sudden, heavy garage rock pivot of Don't Sit Down Cause I have Moved Your Chair.
The heartbreakingly clear vocal delivery on the bridge of Love Is a Laserquest.
Sounds like
2011s production with a 2010s soul
Sits beside
The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths, Truelove's Gutter - Richard Hawley, Strange Pleasure - Still Corners, The Coral - The Coral
Lyrical territory
love_romantic, love_lost, nostalgia
03Deviation
Suck It and See · vs · Arctic Monkeys
Artist
This Album
Medium Energy
Energy · ↓ −16% less than usual
On this album, medium energy sits about 16% less prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
