I’m probably the last guy that should be reviewing this, the third album from the Arctic Monkeys. You see, I’m a massive fan of these Yorkshire guys. They were the first band I ever really got into and as such am fiercely protective, refusing to countenance any criticism of them. However, this album is really something quite different and as such it leaves one with an almost clean slate from which to start a review of them.

The Arctic Monkeys shot to fame on the back of bootlegged cds, an internet wildfire and sharp observational lyrics from their front man, Alex Turner. The aptly-titled Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not spoke to thousands of teenagers and upon its release shot to #1 in the album charts. This debut blockbuster was followed up a year later by Favourite Worst Nightmare. Although slightly less successful, it nonetheless cemented them as one of Britain’s most exciting bands. In the intervening years Alex launched his side project The Last Shadow Puppets, where he showed a penchant for more relaxed and less blunt, in-your-face lyrics. This, the third offering from the four Yorkshire lads, clearly leans more in that direction than either of the two albums from the band itself

Does this make it better or worse I hear you say? Well, truth be told I'm not sure. The more I listen to it the more it grows on me but it isn’t the same Arctic Monkeys I fell in love with. Gone is the razor-edged guitar riffs and pounding drums and in comes more a thoughtful and considered sound, much like Alex’s lyrics. No more do we have sharp social observations but what we get is a more poetic form of lyrics. This is not to say that his lyrics are now indecipherable, the lead song from the album proves that if nothing else; My Propeller is without a doubt one of the band’s filthiest songs and leaves little to the imagination with lyrics such as, “you’ve got to make your descent slowly and oil up those sticky keys” and “My propeller won’t spin and I can’t get it started on my own.”

The song Cornerstone is one of the standout tracks. It tells of a lovelorn man looking for women who look like his ex, and asking them can he call them her name. It has a very natural feel to it and it is noticeable that the three tracks that are produced by James Ford, producer of the previous two albums, have a more relaxed vibe to them. Josh Homme’s influence is evident throughout the album however, with the remaining tracks all produced by him. The guitars have a more muscular feel to them and a rockier sound is in evidence in these tracks. He has expanded the band’s sound and while it in some cases succeeds - Pretty Visitors being an obvious example - in others it just doesn’t seem to work all that well, with Fire and Thud and Potion Approaching being the cases in point.

In summation, while this album showcases Alex’s maturity as a songwriter not enough of the songs are standout trademark monkey songs; Fire and the Thud and Dance Little Liar are songs saved only by Turner’s lyrics. While certainly not their strongest album to date, it is their most mature, something of an oxymoron the reader will no doubt note.

Humbug is an album that strains for maturity while trying to maintain the cocky nature of the previous two albums. Although at times it attains this balance, in songs such as Cornerstone and Crying Lightning, in parts it feels lopsided and unsure of what it wants to be. I predict it will be seen in the future as an album of progression rather than a turning point or a seminal moment in this band's career trajectory.

Make no mistake however, these guys still have a bright future ahead of them and once they get that balance right it will be an album worth waiting for.

- Brian Mahon

Below: Check out the first single from Humbug