AM
by Arctic Monkeys
  • Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Sep 10, 2013
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 847 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 770 out of 847
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 847
  3. Negative: 32 out of 847
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  1. PipePanic
    Jul 29, 2014
    10
    Anyone who likes music must check this out. Really. Its that good. It told me that music is not dead. So buy it. Or don't, if you hate music. There is someone out there. Just saying.
  2. ericakriner
    Dec 23, 2016
    10
    On the surface, AM can sound like your typical rock album with catchy hits and a few 'deeper' songs to balance things out. Arctic Monkeys are not this band, and they did not make this album. Instead, what they made was a tribute to Rock N' Roll. They take us back to the period of music where rock was upbeat and sexy. They took us back to Elvis, and to the era of greased hair and leatherOn the surface, AM can sound like your typical rock album with catchy hits and a few 'deeper' songs to balance things out. Arctic Monkeys are not this band, and they did not make this album. Instead, what they made was a tribute to Rock N' Roll. They take us back to the period of music where rock was upbeat and sexy. They took us back to Elvis, and to the era of greased hair and leather jackets. The perceived simplicity of AM captures this perfectly, while still remaining fresh and original in the process.

    AM is the sort of capstone project which people will point to decades later to say "that's the moment that music changed". If these next few years see the rise in leather-clad crooners with a penchant for cigarettes and dark party hits, you'll know why. Arctic Monkeys has become the band that sets the standard for everyone else.

    But with this album, it's easy to focus solely on Alex Turner and forget that it's the music which makes the man. Matt Helders, in particular, shines on this album. R U Mine? has some of the most exciting drumming to grace the mainstream in years. The guitar solo in Arabella is irresistible. The bass is hot and heavy through the entire album, and this all culminates into one sound that is entirely cohesive.

    Finally, this review wouldn't be complete without touching on the lyricism of this album. If you are looking for the same lyrical stylings of Favourite Worst Nightmare, look elsewhere. But just because these lyrics feel different doesn't make them inherently BAD. A better word is 'deceptive'. Remember that this is a tribute album to the greats, who created relatively simple music in the lyrical sense but broke new ground musically. Alex Turner was not writing a Bob Dylan album, but rather, an Elvis album. And to do that, you have to rely on your words in different ways.

    What gives him away, however, is the cleverness of it all. When Turner says "simmer down and pucker up", he creates equal opposites - the same sort of literary device found in the most sophisticated poetry out there. When he sings "Forever isn't for everyone, is forever for you?", my English Lit-trained heart heaves a heavy sigh of pure joy. And the album is filled to the brim with lyrics like these; lyrics which sound simple but are infinitely more difficult to write than most of us can imagine.

    Even as Alex Turner croons in Arabella "take a sip of your soul and it sounds like", he invokes a sense and then Jamie Cook comes in to finish the thought. If you study poetry, you know just how intense these lyrics are, and just how impressive it is that Turner managed to show his ability while remaining true to the spirit of 50s rock.

    It's clear that AM reaches higher and travels further than any of its predecessors. What is unclear is how anyone could feel otherwise.    … Expand
  3. desgrasz
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    uauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuauuau.
  4. Firet
    Aug 13, 2019
    9
    Before listening to this album i had only listened to their first. I feel there is a great difference in their sound, it doesn't have fast and distorted songs like the first album but i could say it's even better.
    There's a lot of great baselines (Fireside, Why'd you only call my..., Do i wanna know?)
    Most of the songs from this album are some their biggest hits. I think this album has a    Before listening to this album i had only listened to their first. I feel there is a great difference in their sound, it doesn't have fast and distorted songs like the first album but i could say it's even better.
    There's a lot of great baselines (Fireside, Why'd you only call my..., Do i wanna know?)
    Most of the songs from this album are some their biggest hits. I think this album has a great personality.    … Expand
  5. SweatBag
    Nov 21, 2019
    10
    Stinky Pinky...

    I was sitting alone when i first heard this record.
    A clock tick caused me to seize up. Naturally i had to stop
    10/10 would get lit again.
  6. Chompski
    Jul 5, 2020
    10
    R U Mine is the first ARCTIC MONKEYS song I heard. And AM - is the first their album I heard. And it is best for me. One love.
  7. emmeybal9211
    Jun 9, 2021
    10
    Gelmiş geçmiş en iyi Rock albümlerinden birisi 10/10 şarkılar , 10/10 flowlar ve muhteşem sound. Herkes dinlemeli, dinletmeli
  8. vinichful
    Jun 23, 2021
    8
    I think what's more impressive about this album is Alex Turner's vocals. I feel like I'm having an orgasm listening to his voice.
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Awards & Rankings

90
#90 Best Album of 2013
13
#13 Most Discussed Album of 2013
15
#15 Most Shared Album of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Q Magazine
    Jan 27, 2014
    80
    AM continues a pattern, then: every couple of years, the Monkeys make a great album, sounding tighter and more telepathic with each release. [Oct 2013, p.97]
  2. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 4, 2013
    78
    AM's a heavy seduction, restless and all the better for it.
    Read full review
  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    Sep 25, 2013
    90
    In the end AM not only signifies a career-defining moment that neatly places the band on a proper pedestal for all to admire--this is where not only Arctic Monkeys have come but in many ways, how they’ve masterfully conquered and continue to simply win.
    Read full review
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