It's like a 1970s spy movie soundtrack if the spy spent the whole time thinking about his feelings.
A sophisticated, cinematic melancholy that feels like watching the sun set on a golden era.
The Car represents the culmination of Arctic Monkeys' transition from Sheffield indie-rockers to sophisticated art-rock architects. Recorded across Suffolk, Paris, and London, the album was produced by James Ford and features intricate orchestral arrangements by Bridget Samuels. While its predecessor, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, was a sharp pivot into sci-fi lounge music, The Car grounds that experimentation in a more organic, soulful soundscape. The album is characterized by its use of space, with Matt Helders' drumming becoming more economical and textural, allowing the strings and Turner's baritone to take center stage. Lyrically, the record moves away from the conceptual framework of a moon colony toward more grounded, albeit still abstract, reflections on performance, memory, and the passage of time. It received universal acclaim for its technical ambition and stylistic cohesion, cementing the band's status as restless innovators who prioritize artistic growth over commercial safety.
Put this on for
Headlights cutting through a foggy coastal road at 2amDust motes dancing in the light of a closing hotel barWatching a city skyline from a balcony while the party diesEmpty parking lot silence after the engine finally cuts outRain streaking the window of a train moving through the countrysideLast glass of wine before the sun comes upThat specific feeling of being a stranger in a familiar town
Moments worth waiting for
The sweeping orchestral swell that introduces the mirrorball motif in the opening track
The sudden, jagged electric guitar solo that erupts through the lush strings of Body Paint
The Moog synthesizer's low, ominous throb providing the spine for Sculptures of Anything Goes
Sounds like
2022s production with a timeless soul
Sits beside
Scott 4 - Scott Walker, Sea Change - Beck, Histoire de Melody Nelson - Serge Gainsbourg, Everything You've Come to Expect - The Last Shadow Puppets
Lyrical territory
surreal_abstract, nostalgia, self_examination
03Deviation
The Car · vs · Arctic Monkeys
Artist
This Album
Low Energy
Energy · ↓ −42% less than usual
On this album, low energy sits about 42% less prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
