HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: AM – Arctic Monkeys
September 2013 will live in infamy for indie music lovers. THE 1975’s self-titled, LORDE’s Pure Herione, and HAIM’s Days Are Gone would all be released within just a few weeks of each other, giving fans of all branches of alternative music something to sink their teeth into. While all these albums would prove to be massively successful and influential in their own rights, they would soon be overshadowed by one of arguably the most iconic albums to come out of the 2010s; ARCTIC MONKEYS’ AM.
The album was a complete overhaul of their existing sound and proved to be a career-defining release. A band that was once a ragtag bunch of northern working-class boys was now a refined group that carried themselves with the same energy and class as James Dean, even down to their heavily gelled hairstyles. Their raw, rough and ready garage indie sound had quickly become a thing of the past, with a more polished and diverse sound that allowed audiences to hear the full range of influences for the band becoming more apparent. This new sound was incredibly well received by critics and fans alike, with NME already hailing it as “absolutely and unarguably the greatest record of their career,” before it was even released to the masses.
Fans, however, helped AM to take on a new form that would cement ARCTIC MONKEYS’ place in the cultural history books. In large part, this is due to the aesthetic overhaul that was brewing deep in the trenches of Tumblr.com. While their peers were spending time on Vine watching the early social media stars of the day, those who saw themselves as outsiders chose to flock to the blogging website instead in a desperate bid to find others who saw themselves in the same way. The site was largely divided by interest, with a clear disconnect between those who saw the site as a place to post their passions or hobbies, and those who saw the site as a glorified, edgier version of Pinterest.
The latter took to AM like moths to flame, reblogging gloomy images that matched the dark aesthetic of the album that really spoke to them and their feelings. Lyrics from tracks like I Wanna Be Yours and Arabella would find themselves edited onto images that can be described as sup-par at best but fitted the Tumblr aesthetic and turned into lock screens, phone cases or simple posts. Blogs would be filled with images of smoking, drug use and tattoos, giving the teens who desperately wanted to be the “cool” kind of depressed, a way to express what they thought isolation and misery truly felt like, without actually having to feel the emotions that come with it.
These images portrayed a more captivating and luxurious version of a lifestyle that was so often desired as a way to make the poster seem more interesting. On a site where so many people were trying to outdo each other and post the most ludicrously boring, yet attractive, images AM would thrive. Not a day would pass for many users where their timelines would not be littered with text posts of lyrics to Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High, because there is quite simply nothing edgier than the song’s context – just reading the lyrics can give you a pretty good idea of its meaning.
There is absolutely no doubt in anybody’s mind that ARCTIC MONKEYS can thank Tumblr for the success and legacy of AM. The album may have instantly proved itself to be timeless, blending fuzzy classic rock riffs with a modern punch, but there is no way it would have had the commercial success it has had over the last decade if not for its devoted fans. These fans were quick to identify themselves as such, showing love for AM in all forms – commercially, it remains one of the bestselling vinyl albums in the UK.
Many who may love an album in their teens that shapes their subsequent music tastes are unlikely to look on the same album a decade later and feel the exact same way that they did then. AM allows listeners to be transported back to those moments that were filled with fake leather jackets and bad coif hairstyles that tried to emulate Alex Turner’s iconic Danny Zuko-esque updo. It was a chance for them to see their deepest desires and own experiences of depression, loneliness and heartbreak, no matter if they were pure fantasy or real life.
While AM proved to be the breakthrough that ARCTIC MONKEYS needed to appeal to the masses, it has evidently proved to be both a blessing and a curse. In the decade since its release, the band has released two new LPs, yet nothing has come close to the same response AM received. Since its release, the band chose to move in an entirely different sonic direction, disappointing fans old and new. The breakneck speed at which they are able to change styles is impressive, though it isn’t something fans are ready for quite yet, even if their apparent high point was ten years ago.
AM was originally released on September 9 2013 via Domino Recording Company
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