Single Review: Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm
The Arctic Monkeys are back, and what a song to come back with! This is their new single ‘Brianstorm’, the first off the forthcoming 2nd album ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’.
It feels as though they actually haven’t been away for long, as the last single ‘Leave Before The Lights Come On’ was cleverly released between the two albums to quench the insatiable thirst for new material by the Sheffield band. I can’t believe that ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, their first release and the song that propelled them straight to the top of the British music scene, was released in October of 2005! It seems like only yesterday to me.
‘Brianstorm’ gives a great indication of where the band are heading, with it being recognisable as an Arctic Monkeys song while still sounding fresh and new. The single has been available for download since 2nd April, but was only released in physical forms yesterday in the UK. It’s a harder, more rocking song than the Arctic’s usual offerings, maybe to do with new drummer Matt Helders’ influence on the band’s sound, or maybe just a natural progression of the style.
The song is about a guy called Brian (no points for my investigation skills there), who judging by the lyrics of the song is a bit of a pick up artist, dressing in his best gear to impress the ladies. According to Wikipedia, when asked to say a little about the song’s protagonist, lead singer Alex Turner replied, “I can’t remember Brian now… I dunno if he were in me imagination or what… it’s a blank spot in me brain… I think that’s what he ["Brian"] wanted.”
The video is fantastic, and a bit of a departure from the Arctic Monkeys usual offering. There’s been a bit of talk about the band selling out because of the glossy look and feel to the whole thing, and the fact there’s girls dancing, and shaking their booty all over the place. I think that’s a misnomer and in fact the boys are cleverly ripping the piss out of the current music video trend towards showing women grinding, rather than the song’s artist playing and performing the song. Further evidence of this is the way the camera always almost shows the band’s faces but never quite manages it. Whatever the truth, I love it, and think it’s a clever use of the medium.
This song has whetted my appetite to buy and hear the new album, released next Monday in the UK even more than was the case already. It’s a brilliant slice of British Indie music which should set the band up for yet another fantasticly successful year.
Arctic Monkeys, Brianstorm, Brianstorm Video, YouTube, You Tube, Favourite Worst Nightmare, Leave Before The Lights Come On, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, Sheffield, Wikipedia, Alex Turner, UK
April 19th, 2007 at 11:43 am
[...] 04/19/2007 On The British Jukebox This Week… April 19th, 2007 by DaveP After posting my review of the Arctic Monkeys new single ‘Brianstorm’ on Tuesday, I was shocked by the amount of non-British people whose response was “Who are the Arctic Monkeys?” or “Great song, but I’ve never heard of them before“. So, in response I thought I’d better start educating those of you who may not be completely au fait with British music by sharing and recommending a few songs. [...]