Further proof behind my theory that everything Josh Homme touches turns to gold, Suck It And See, the latest by the Arctic Monkeys is a rollicking tour-de-force that’s equally planted in the world of QOTSA as it is surf-rock. While Mr. Homme only adds his vocal talent and not his production skills on Suck It…, his presence is felt throughout. Listen to “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” through “All My Own Stunts” (With it’s tinny opening riff that goes into pure stoner sludge) during the middle portion of the band’s fourth album and tell me I’m wrong.
Humbug showed that Arctic Monkeys were indeed growing not only as songwriters but as musicians and Suck It And See goes further to confirm it. The brash lads from the UK peek out on “Library Pictures” but for the most part, if you were looking for Whatever You Think I Am part 2, you’re in the wrong place because those lads have left the building.
The album starts quite sinister actually with the opening riff of “She’s Thunderstorms” but lets up pretty quickly. “Black Treacle” follows the mid-tempo theme until the Beach Boys meets Beatles meets Black Sabbath single “Brick By Brick” chimes in (And check out the sick guitar solo breakdown towards the end and tell me they’re not channelling QOTSA).
Suck It And See is by no means Monkeys-through-the-motions. It’s a step beyond for the UK quartet and features the group continuing to take risks in their sound while not alienating long-term fans.