Back in the days, the appeal of Arctic Monkeys was their witty and observant, pretty forthright tunes about going out and about in Sheffield, downing Carling's, smoking weed and picking up girls. But even then, at age 19, Alex Turner in glimpses ('Riot Van', 'When The Sun Goes Down', 'A Certain Romance') showcased his skills as a lyricist in between all the 'Still Take You Home'-like yakety-yak (which was good too!).
These days, with all four monkeys having turned 25, and having released four studio albums, it's still Alex Turner who's the absolute centre of attention (although he does lend it to Matt Helders on 'Brick By Brick'), but the how-to-pick-up-hot-chicks 101 has been replaced by poignant poetry about love, loss and life. We've seen glimpses of it all throughout, but Suck It And See is where Turner really trumps as a master of the English language, and that's what ultimately makes this album worthwhile, and almost on par with its three predecessors. The music is at times a bit boring, and at times tries too hard, but the lyrics are absolutely masterly, peaking with the absolutely dazzling pair that is 'Love Is A Laserquest' and 'Suck It And See', with passages such as these:
"Do you still think love is a laserquest,
or do you take it all more seriously?
I've tried to ask you this in some daydreams that I had,
but you're always busy being make believe."
"Your love is like a studded leather headlock,
your kiss it could put creases in the rain.
You're rarer than a can of Dandelion and Burdock,
and those other girls are just post-mix lemonade."
and the absolute winner:
"That's not a skirt girl,
that's a sawn-off shotgun,
and I can only hope you've got it aimed at me."
To dissect the album a bit more, I would say it could be divided into four parts. The first are the very delicious and promising openers, 'She's Thunderstorms' and 'Black Treacle', both of which are just very well-crafted indie rock tunes with a sixties twang. Then comes the sort of schizoid and cacophonous middle part running from the hard-to-hate 'Brick By Brick', through the weirdly-slotted 'The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala' to try-hard energy outbursts 'Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair' and 'Library Pictures'. I like 'Don't Sit Down...', but I really find a few of these tunes a bit misplaced, the same way 'Pretty Visitors' was slightly misplaced on Humbug.
After this comes the part where the album really takes a dip. 'All My Own Stunts', 'Reckless Serenade' and 'Piledriver Waltz' are all pretty forgettable tunes in the general tempo and feeling that seems to carry on through the majority of the album - pretty laid back, and focusing on the melody and Turner's lyrics, both of which don't really hit home on these tunes. On a 12-track album, were all of these really necessary?
Anyway, all good things come to those who wait, and that's especially true with Suck It And See, whose three arguably best tunes are the three last; 'Love Is A Laserquest', 'Suck It And See' and closer 'That's Where You're Wrong'. '...Laserquest' is absolutely on par with Turner's finest ballads such as 'Only One's Who Know' and 'Fire And The Thud', and 'Suck It And See' is, as I mentioned above, lyrically in a league of its own.
It's often the case that fans of a band's early stuff become more and more reluctant as time passes, which is really a shame. There's no reason why talented musicians and songwriters shouldn't be able to take a left turn and keep themselves relevant, instead of meandering along in the same old territory. Yeah, there's no 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' or 'Brianstorm' here, but Suck It And See is a more than adequate - but admittedly less than brilliant - collection of songs from a band, that continues to be one of the most foolproof around. This is the new incarnation of Arctic Monkeys, for better or worse, and I really think people should throw their prejudices over board and just suck it and see - you never know...
