Turner is the louche, troubled guy at the piano, trying to say something of existential worth in a devalued, cheesy, light entertainment medium. But it is set, sonically and aesthetically, in a cocktail lounge, looking back on the home planet with a seething croon. This is another record, tangentially, about coupling and uncoupling in LA, as songs like Science Fiction (“I must admit you gave me something momentarily in which I could believe”) and Batphone (“I’ll be by the batphone if you need to get a hold”) attest. Give yourself up to one of our very greatest songwriters, and then it’s a riveting and immersive listen ![]() There’s a taqueria on the roof, too, scoring four stars out of five (“and that’s unheard-of”, vamps Turner). If you’ve been to Niagara Falls, you’ll have a flavour. It’s an awe-inspiring place, somewhat despoiled by humans and their need to build hotel-cum-casinos near the Sea of Tranquility. Instead, singing guitarist Alex Turner has taken his muse off into space – the moon, specifically. All contribute to the vibe – not least, in soulful falsetto backing vocals – but their instruments are not slamming up against your chest cavity and dislocating your spleen. Guitarist Jamie Cook, drummer Matt Helders and bassist Nick O’Malley are here, but they are muted, repurposed. The low-slung She Looks Like Fun opens with a very rock band-y “one, two, three, four”. ![]() Sure, there’s a fuzz-toned guitar on Golden Trunks. Five years on, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino totally strips out the rock from the Arctics’ offering.
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