R U Mine?

Alex Turner warned you. He explicitly said “don’t sit down ‘cause I’ve moved your chair.” so what did the world do? They sat down, hypnotised by the reckless serenades of ‘Suck It And See,’ settling into it like a comparatively more comfortable armchair than 2009’s ‘Humbug.’ That is until unexpected release of significantly vowel-less ‘R U Mine?’ which knocked everyone tumbling to the floor as if they’d been kung fu fighting on their roller-skates in a thundersuckle fuzz canyon. 

For many, Arctic Monkeys still had a lot to prove, if the haircuts and the deemed “thoughtless” artwork and provocative album title weren’t enough, they certainly stepped up their game with a set of brand new songs accompanied by videos directed by the brilliant Focus Creeps which see Matt Helders star in their own somewhat soft porn series. 

But as usual, they can’t stop there. Currently residing in LA, recent photos see Alex’s chest straddled by a mystery girl with fox coloured hair at the airport and a week later, with the release of “R U Mine?” it’s probably safe to deduct that, yes, yes she is. (Just incase you're not certain, she makes a guest appearance in the video itself. I'll let you do the math.) Call me selfish, but after Alex & Alexa’s split last summer, the er..second thing that I thought of obviously after how sad it was, was the potential musical & lyrical gold dust to be had from their 4 year relationship, but it seems like it’s more lust rather than love-lost that seems to be taking up most of his time and song subjects. Forget the motorbikes and the new tattoos, the band are proving themselves to be more contrary than ever with their music, reaching into the depths of their roots, we see a more developed sound that’s reminiscent of the early days of “Whatever People Say I Am…” but with more bite if that’s possible. Spending time with Sheffield Superman Richard Hawley seems to have had a huge influence on them, ‘R U Mine?’ sounds deep & gritty, the ultimate culmination of Turner’s riddling witty lyricism and Helders white knuckle ride of drum beats. It’s proof that they haven’t lost their sense of humour, as aptly put by Nick O’Malley, they “never lost form”. True to that, there’s no waiting around for the song to get started, Matt Helders’ pounding staccato drum beats lead the way for Alex’s riddles to set in full flow. Kicking into the chorus, the drumming gets heavier and steadier, cue the catchiest two-line hook; “I go crazy ‘cause here isn’t where I wanna be/ Satisfaction feels like a distant memory.” It might take a while for you to get your tongue round it but the moment you hear it it’s nigh-on impossible to get it out of your head, not that you really want to. Lo and behold, three minutes and twenty seconds later, you knew it all along, that question mark really wasn’t necessary for a rhetorical question, they just want to hear you say it, yes we most definitely are theirs, I.D.S.T. This certainly stands them in good stead for the rock n roll hall of fame but the real question here is, in five years time will it be, “where the fuck’s Richard Hawley and why does he look like Alex Turner?” 

I'm a puppet on a string, Tracy Island time-travelling diamond coulda shaped heartaches, come to find you fall in some velvet morning years too late, she's a silver lining, lone ranger riding through an open space in my mind. I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be, and satisfaction feels like a distant memory. And I can't help myself, all I wanna hear her say is "Are you mine?"