In a review of a record by Arctic Monkeys the word hype should be mentioned at least once. With hypes, their debut was (2006) after all. In addition, this record inspired a stream of new British (in turn hyped) bands to play raw punk funk and pop with lyrics about everyday, booze-drenched adolescent life. It is forgotten that this Sheffield-based group around singer, guitarist and songwriter Alex
… Turner was already widely known via the internet before the media got wind of it. It is therefore not surprising that successor Favorite Worst Nightmare is at least as good as the debut album and does not suffer from a 'successor syndrome' anywhere. The group toured almost continuously in 2006 and that can be heard from their tight and solid playing with which they already come crashing into the opening track Brianstorm. Turner bites as always in sharp observations like Teddy Picker and Balaclava. He has not seen the Sheffield pubs of yesteryear, but with his Arctic Monkeys he fortunately just kept himself on this rock-solid successor. (MR)more
