It seems that no matter how much the Arctic Monkeys have matured as a band (and they have, considerably) their song’s lyrics are still celebrated, condemned and misinterpreted in equal measures. Humbug, the third studio album from Sheffield’s favourite rascals, sees their songwriting skills evolving once again, and with this process comes a whole new set of have-a-go interpreters. Take, for example, the guy who posted a thread entitled ‘Humbug – The Sexual Voyage’ on the Arctic’s official forum, prompting a glut of horny teens to respond with their own ideas of how “this album is chock full of knob references” or, perhaps an even more insightful quote: “I can’t believe I just realised the term ‘crying lightning’ means Alex spunking on a girls face. Genius.” Not being a personal friend of Alex Turner’s, I’m not at liberty to decipher what ‘crying lightning’ actually means, but I’d be willing to bet it doesn’t mean spunking on a girls face. Considering that the lyrics adorning Humbug are probably the most ambitious that Turner has ever written, I’ve taken umbrage to them being reduced to mere metaphors for bodily functions. Sure, the album overall is the darkest, sluttiest and grimiest offering we’ve had from the band, both lyrically and musically, but let’s not go oversimplifying it.
The deliciously sinister nature of Humbug has been widely accredited to Josh Homme, who whisked the Arctic’s off to the Mojave Desert to work his production wizardry. What Homme has not done here, thankfully, is turn the band into a troop of QOTSA clones. His presence is definitely felt on tracks such as Dangerous Animals and Potion Approaching but it’s delicate enough not to trample on the band’s identity. The other aspect of the album focuses on 60s-inspired psychedelica. Perhaps this is why, at times, Humbug feels more like a follow up to The Last Shadow Puppets 2008 album The Age of the Understatement than anything the Arctic Monkeys have previously released. This is particularly apparent on the beautifully naive Cornerstone – a skilfully woven tale about the pains of a broken heart that is rich with lush orchestral sounds. Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford (who also produced The Age of the Understatement) can be thanked for this particular facet of Humbug.
Humbug is likely to be a divisive album amongst Arctic Monkeys fans, as it does see a metamorphosis of the quartet from too-clever-for-their-own-good youngfellas to a (slightly menacing) bunch of brooding blokes, but chances are it’ll win most of the on-the-fencers over in no time.
