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Jul 6, 2011If that score at the top of this review seems unfriendly, it's not because they've grown boring or predictable; it's just another step in an ongoing process.
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Jun 30, 2011While the design is a bit different, the result is still another awesome album to add to Arctic Monkeys' arsenal.
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Jun 21, 2011On its fourth LP, Arctic Monkeys combines its clever, tongue-in-cheek wordplay with a wider variety of sounds than it ever used on its other releases.
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Jun 9, 2011The record itself brims with endlessly replayable details, some goofy and some poignant, both in frontman Alex Turner's always keenly observed lyrics and in the band's ever-proficient music, the latter of which ranges here from muscular glam-rock to chiming indie pop balladry.
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Jun 8, 2011Ponderous sobriety will never be the way of the Arctic Monkeys, and their prodigious cheekiness has hardly been tempered much on Suck It and See. But Alex Turner and his bandmates are clearly expanding their abilities and getting better at focusing their fire with every release.
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Jun 7, 2011The album won't blindside you or beat you over the head with anything - but it'll sure leave a mark.
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Jun 7, 2011Suck It And See is an almost seamless step forward, reaffirming the notion that the band's shelf life is probably much longer than initially estimated. More importantly, it proves they still have places to go.
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Jun 7, 2011Even if Suck it and See didn't shape up to be as fine an album as it proves to be, the quartet behind it deserve major credit for their ensuring that any conversation about them has to do, first and foremost, with their music.
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Entertainment WeeklyJun 7, 2011It hits hard, but the boyish energy of their early work is still missed. [3/10 Jun 2011, p.112]
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Jun 7, 2011The Monkeys' cheeky verbosity marks them as distinctly British, as does their preference for retro-leaning guitar pop.
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Under The RadarJun 6, 2011Arctic Monkeys continue to carve out a consistently thrilling career on possibly their best record yet. [May 2011, p.75]
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Jun 6, 2011While the reins of pomp have certainly been reined in somewhat, it's hard to shake the suspicion that Suck It and See is further evidence that Arctic Monkeys are still Britain's best guitar band--albeit one that'd be even better if they ever decide to truly lunge into the unknown.
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Jun 6, 2011With their fourth album, they settle nicely into a solid career as a guitar rock band as interested in frantic danceable rhythms as smoother, but still fidgety, ballads marked by lush, reverb-laden crooning.
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Jun 6, 2011So the odd mis-step aside, the death of Arctic Monkeys appears to have been greatly exaggerated. Rather, this is another intriguing evolution for one of the country's great bands, and a shot in the arm for Britain's rather moribund 'indie guitar' scene.
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Jun 6, 2011There is a sweet strand of diversity, subtle or otherwise, permeating the record and points towards the coming together of comfort and talent.
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Jun 6, 2011After an opinion-dividing experimental phase with 2009's Humbug, roar back to melodic life on their fourth album.
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Jun 6, 2011Suck It And See may be at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Humbug--it's concentrated and purposeful where its predecessor sprawled--yet it still demands attention from the listener, delivering its rewards according to just how much time you're willing to devote.
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Jun 6, 2011While the album may not push these strengths far enough, it definitely doesn't suck.
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Jun 6, 2011What is clear is that the Arctic Monkeys of 2011 have produced, probably by a significant margin, the best British Rock 'n' Roll album you will hear this year, and on top of that there's the comforting sense that Suck It And See will only age well.
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Jun 6, 2011It's a shame that the group has completely ditched their indulgent psychedelic frills, but it's also wonderful to have Turner immersing himself in beguiling pop songwriting again. It's invariably what he does best, and Suck It and See contains truly superb pop moments in abundance.
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Q MagazineJun 3, 2011This push 'n' pull between pop and rock, sweet and sour, is a motif throughout but, crucially, Suck It And See also comes with a spacedust kick. [July 2011, p. 104]
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Jun 3, 2011Suck It blends the deliberateness of that record with the fleet-footedness of their still-stunning 2006 debut Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and follow-up My Favourite Worst Nightmare.
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Jun 3, 2011It would be churlish to suggest Suck It And See is Arctic Monkeys' finest record to date. By the impeccably high standards they've set so far it ranks as a good rather than great album, and only deepens the mystery as to where the Arctic Monkeys may venture next, both as a group and in their various solo guises.
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Jun 3, 2011Suck It and See's worst crime isn't overindulgence, but occasionally sounding ordinary.
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Jun 3, 2011In an age where even Britpop corpse-botherers Brother trumpet their desire to collaborate with Odd Future, the Monkeys have made a record heavily indebted to late-'80s indie and a small group of white, male '70s singer-songwriters: Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Leonard Cohen.
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Alternative PressJun 3, 2011[Turner's] newer sound, along with more layered arrangements, lends itself nicely to Arctic Monkeys' take on pop, balladry and stoner rock. [Jul 2011, p.106]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 310 out of 367
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Mixed: 50 out of 367
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Negative: 7 out of 367
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Jun 11, 2011
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Jun 7, 2011
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Sep 1, 2013