Who is Arctic Monkeys

Snarly and stone-sharpened, the Arctic Monkeys open their sophomore effort with "Brianstorm," a bracing blast of guitar fractures and rhythmic herky-jerks. Alex Turner's voice is the centerpiece, scoured the way the Streets' Mike Skinner's quick. Favourite Worst Nightmare moves from frontal blast quickly to the lean, mid-paced pop nugget, "Teddy Picker," which even with its clear guitars and straight rhythms still has Turner's tart intonation piercing the air. The tugging bass and guitar of "Fluorescent Adolescent" show shades of the retro-soul tip that drives Amy Winehouse (and Lily Allen), showing that the Arctic Monkeys have a taste for the dancefloor that spans generations, even if their guitars can cut across each other with relentless jaggedness while Turner's caustic pipes lasso the ears. Nightmare expands the band's reach, as when "Do Me a Favour" goes wonderfully haywire from tumbling rhythm, clear-guitar, and fluid narrative to a cresting blast of guitars--big and brawny and borne from the merely tumultuous, like the band itself. --Andrew Bartlett

While this sophomore release is unmistakably Arctic Monkeys, everything's a little more muscular and aggressive. Each song is embedded with revelatory moments, as if some sort of critical mass is achieved through skillful song craft and sharp arrangements until an explosive release of energy or emotion is inevitable. Arctic Monkeys have exceeded expectations with this record.

Hot on the heels of their shock UK No. 1 single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not confirms Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys as the UK underground's most proselytizing young preachers of the DIY gospel. Marrying nervy, caffeine-and-cigarettes indie clatter to conversational, pretense-free lyrics and the occasional burst of off-the-cuff eloquence ("No time for Montagues or Capulets/Just banging tunes and DJ sets," proffers "Dancefloor"), it's an instant, pulse-racing hit.

No question, the Monkeys are more sinners than saints. The opening "The View from the Afternoon" predicts a ruckus with a whole lot more grit than the Kaisers can muster, while on the mellow "Riot Van," a tale of underage drinking and cop-baiting culminates in a messy beating in the back of a station wagon. Look beyond the Arctics' bristly, laddish exterior, however, because it's actually affairs of the heart that comprise this album's secret core: see the sweaty-palmed "Dancing Shoes," bearing testament to the trial of nerves that is pulling in a suburban indie nightclub, or "Mardy Bum"--a tribute to a moody girlfriend that, for all its witty barbs ("I've seen your frown and it's like looking down the barrel of a gun"), is tinted with sweet affection. --Louis Pattison


Musically, there are bits of The Stone Roses, "What's The Story Morning Glory", and "Nevermind". As catchy as those reference points are, it's the songwriting that has won the band a fiercely dedicated following; a mix of the observational storytelling of Davies and Weller crossed with the harsher documentary eye of Mike Skinner of The Streets and "Ghost Town" era Specials. Two #1 UK singles. Press already lined up with Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, and Interview, to name a few. Three more US/Canadian tours planned for this year, including headlining Domino's label showcase at SXSW.