The Car
by Arctic Monkeys
  • Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Oct 21, 2022
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 289 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 231 out of 289
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 289
  3. Negative: 34 out of 289
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  1. All_ButTrU4
    Oct 21, 2022
    6
    Artic Monkeys return eyes set on continuing the captivating left turn they risked in 2018 but now with a sophisticated lush string form. It's smooth and concise allowing you to pass through each song like listening to a movie's soundtrack. Turners voice is a smooth riveting baritone that guided by all the right words flourishes in interesting ways. Arguably amongst there best
  2. Craigdimas
    Nov 3, 2022
    5
    A very rare instance of the spin-off project swallowing the main band. Some people have compared this to lounge music - which isn’t really accurate. Whilst the style and tempo are very lounge, it lacks the compositions and melodies of lounge music.
    Alex Turner’s vocals are mostly great, it’s beautifully played and produced, but nevertheless is surely indulgent, pretentious and mostly    A very rare instance of the spin-off project swallowing the main band. Some people have compared this to lounge music - which isn’t really accurate. Whilst the style and tempo are very lounge, it lacks the compositions and melodies of lounge music.
    Alex Turner’s vocals are mostly great, it’s beautifully played and produced, but nevertheless is surely indulgent, pretentious and mostly dull. Body Paint is the highlight.    … Expand
  3. petrichor1975
    Apr 5, 2023
    5
    "The Car" is a collection of soft-rock and lounge pop ballads that spark minimal interest and does little to entertain its audience. The glitz and buoyancy of "Tranquility Base..." is still here, but the excitement of the instrumentation of that record is scaled back immensely. The only enjoyable track on here is "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball". It feels like the Arctic Monkeys should've"The Car" is a collection of soft-rock and lounge pop ballads that spark minimal interest and does little to entertain its audience. The glitz and buoyancy of "Tranquility Base..." is still here, but the excitement of the instrumentation of that record is scaled back immensely. The only enjoyable track on here is "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball". It feels like the Arctic Monkeys should've pursued another musical direction rather than continuing in the sphere of the music on "Tranquility Base..."… Expand
  4. Hotdoc
    Nov 9, 2022
    5
    Sounds okay until you pay attention to the lame lyrics.
    All the songs sound the same and Alex Turner has little variety in the way he sings throughout the album. AM is so much better.
  5. TheedmondX
    Nov 7, 2022
    6
    Si a este álbum mamador, le ponen el nombre de otra banda nadie diría que es un buen álbum...aburrido, música de elevador, un título insulso y una portada mala....no todo lo que es aburrido es arte señores
  6. nickipedia30
    Oct 24, 2022
    5
    The car is an album which exists and it doesn’t really invoke a response deeper than that. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either. I think that this album will definitely be enjoyed by some people for its place in the Lounge music genre. But it will probably be disliked by most Arctic Monkey fans because it is not ‘AM’.

    All jokes aside, this album does have a very consistent, smooth, and    The car is an album which exists and it doesn’t really invoke a response deeper than that. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either. I think that this album will definitely be enjoyed by some people for its place in the Lounge music genre. But it will probably be disliked by most Arctic Monkey fans because it is not ‘AM’.

    All jokes aside, this album does have a very consistent, smooth, and tranquil sound from start to finish and is also exceptionally well produced. My problem is that it is just a bit too easy to tune in and out of listening. The consistency of this album is so immaculate in reality it is just extremely dull and repetitive self-plagiarism. Each song has a painful lack of identity and character, feeling more like a re-skin of the one you just heard before. What is frustrating is that there are occasional moments of luscious ear pleasing orchestration on this album, most noticeably towards the second half of the track ‘There’d Better Be A Mirror Ball’ and the title track ‘The Car’. These string performances stand out as the most characteristic part of this album, but even still they feel like they can never truly flourish as the musicians are very much trapped in the Alex Turner show 2.0 after Hotel Tranquility Base and Casino started this exact problem. This album would achieve so much more if there was some passion and variety integrated into Turner’s vocal performance. I don’t think there was a single note/lyric which he held for longer than 2 seconds, and as such it plays more like a monotone slam poetry session. The lyrics on this album are mostly fine, but they can be a little on the nose or hard to really care about at times. Some tracks like ‘Body Paint’ do create a sense of story telling intrigue and would actually be quite pleasing to hear again - if another band covered the song. I have no problem with a band evolving sonically and experimenting in new genres, it just feels like this album was a really half-arsed attempt at that. This is the sort of album someone could have on and you could guarantee no one would really notice.    … Expand
  7. liamc2e1
    Oct 24, 2022
    6
    the problem with this album is that it just doesn't match Alex's style, the past 2 albums have been like this and although I liked tranquillity, I didn't like it as much as the first 5. However, I really like that they are experimenting with new styles and ways to produce these tracks. Don't get me wrong, I love monkeys a lot, but I wish we could have a new album with the same hype as the past 5.
  8. Kallebe9
    Oct 26, 2022
    6
    Parece que o album foi feito só pra ter coisa nova, não chega a ser ruim mas é bem generico, quem gosta da banda acredito que va gostar do album, mas não me agradou muito, achei legal porém esquecivel
  9. ING45
    Apr 16, 2023
    4
    evreyone says that we should never expect another AM or wtpsiatwin because they always have a distinct sound with each record.

    However , that is not the case with the car,which does not even sound like the arctic monkeys but more of a cover band trying to rip off the magic of tranquility base. Evreything they tried making with this record has already been done better by the last shadow    evreyone says that we should never expect another AM or wtpsiatwin because they always have a distinct sound with each record.

    However , that is not the case with the car,which does not even sound like the arctic monkeys but more of a cover band trying to rip off the magic of tranquility base. Evreything they tried making with this record has already been done better by the last shadow puppets Unlike tranquility , which had a cohesive theme and a cool concept that immersed you in the sci fi world created with care by Alex Turner , this new record doesnt have a concept , or a purpose , its just a bland attempt at art rock , with the orchestra putting in more work than the band itself and barely any interesting guitar bits or drum fills Evrey song just builds up without ever reaching a climax and Turner has a horrible barritone voice with bad attemps at falsetto    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Most Discussed Album of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Record Collector
    Nov 7, 2022
    80
    The Car is a slick mover, immaculately appointed and often beautiful. What it’s driving at, though, can feel naggingly elusive.
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  2. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 31, 2022
    80
    There is one salient, nailed-on fact about this enigmatic album, however. It’s how easily its most anthemic cuts will slot into those revved-up Arctic Monkey festival set lists.
    Read full review
  3. AllMusic
    Oct 26, 2022
    70
    Turner seems to be angling for atmosphere, not hooks, with his melodies. The free-floating croon helps The Car amiably drift in space but it also highlights how the record could use a couple of elements to bring it back to earth.
    Read full review
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