2 albums out today

And probably the most eagerly anticipated two of the year from my point of view.

But I’m still away on Robben Island, so here’s what other people have had to say about them:

The Car – Arctic Monkeys

The Car is Arctic Monkeys’ weirdest album, and it’s their most overtly melancholy work too — like James Bond themes for a terminally depressed spy. It’s certainly the saddest-sounding music Turner’s put his name to since the dusky tunes he contributed to the soundtrack for Richard Ayoade’s Submarine in 2010.

and (of course) True North – a-ha

“There’s no audience, it’s us, the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and a live band,” he expands. “But what we wanted to realise was an audio-visual experience where the music was at the centre. It seemed a nice change from what we’d done before.”

Alongside the 12-track album, therefore, came a raw and powerful film directed by long-time a-ha collaborator Stian Andersen, shot in Bodo, 90km above the Arctic Circle in the north of Norway – already screened and positively received in selected cinemas around the world last month.

I have a Stian Andersen print on my wall just behind me (I’m writing this on Tuesday), bought from the man himself, and featuring yours truly at a recent a-ha concert.

Lifestyles of the rich and the famous, hey?

There’d Better Be A Mirrorball

New Arctic Monkeys. And they’re keeping it ever so South Yorkshire, with a real Pulp-style drumbeat, some soaring Tony Christie orchestral backing, and those Richard Hawley lounge lizard vocals.

It’s like the best Bond theme you ever heard: very, very chilled. I think it’s great.

New album The Car is out in October, and will hopefully be filled with this sort of emotion-filled, easy listening vibe. Lovely stuff.

Day 505 – 505

Day 505 of lockdown. I’ve been doing just about as much as I can around the house, and now I’m feeling it.

Time then, if I’m going to have anything at all left for watching the first Premier League match of the new season this evening, for a really lazy blog post.

I’ve always loved the way this track warms up as it progresses.

But the truth is, even having dropped this from the Sheffield legends in here, I’m going to be asleep before kick off tonight.

More tomorrow.

Bank Holiday DIY

It’s Bank Holiday Monday in the UK – their equivalent of one of our public holidays (specifically the one we had last Tuesday). But this one is the first proper one of Spring there, and is widely regarded as an opportunity to spruce up the house and garden ready for the day they call Summer.

In honour of this, poet Brian Bilston has helpfully rewritten the lyrics to Sheffield band the Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 hit I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor with a DIY slant.

Just in case you don’t know the original, here it is:

Legendary sounds.

And here are Brian’s alternative lyrics, delivered in jpeg poetry form:

Very, very, clever, as always.

Happy Holidays, UK readers.

2018 album news

Lifted (in part at least) from the BBC 6 Music article 18 albums we’re looking forward to in 2018. As ever, their selection does differ somewhat from mine, but there is still some correlation.

I heard the “new” Manic Street Preachers single International Blue for the first time yesterday (hey, it’s been December) and I was instantly hooked. Described – accurately – as a sister song to this immortal classic:

…it promises much for their Resistance is Futile album, due early April.

We’re also “promised” offerings from Sleaford Mods, Muse (who knows what we’ll get this time: I’m going for a glam rock orchestral rave electronica classical piano opus), hometown boys the Arctic Monkeys and the rest of those Belle and Sebastian EPs.

That’s a lot of potentially great music to look forward to. 2018 could be almost as good as several of the previous years have been.