It might not seem like Arctic Monkeys have been around long enough to blow through a number of music industry clichés, but they’ve already had a massive debut, safe-playing sophomore release, and a departure of a third album that shot for a larger, slicker sound than the one the band broke through with. Now, only five years after their much-loved first album, Arctic Monkeys have been talking about going back to basics on last month’s Suck It and See. The band’s clever Brit-rock has always felt like it’s ahead of the curve, so perhaps it’s only fitting that their career follows suit.
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 3, 2011.