arctic phoneys - luther
The new, and only, album from the Arctic Moneys is, I think, really good. I was completely prepared to hate it long before I got my hands on it. After all the hype-ridden euro mags I read, I was pretty sure that anything that rises to popularity of that level that fast had to be a pile of crap. But I was wrong, it's damn good, especially for a first album. The music is tight, the lyrics are genuine and clever, and the sound is just different enough from their obvious influences that it all meshes together into a congruent, entertaining, varied record. I am anxious to see what they do in the future.
My problem with the AM's isn't their record at all, it is a cog in the hype machine that bore them into this mainstream world that they now dominate: In almost every article that I have read, it is pointed out that they are just these regular Joes from small-town Engla-scoti-ire-yorkshir-land, young kids who have been friends forever and. . . have only been playing their instruments for a "couple" of years.
The first clue is that this is a load of monkey crap is that there is never even an attempt to be specific about how long they have been playing, though if it is such a point of interest, you would think someone would have nailed down a timeline. The second problem is that, as you listen to the record, you realize that these guys are good, I mean, like, real good; especially the drummer (who is claimed to have been playing the shortest amount of time). I can understand natural talent, of course, which is evident in the songwriting and structure, even if it was just one of the kids, but all of them? Come on! I translate that "couple" years into seven or eight years of music classes that our rich parents (because 90% of working musicians are from rich families because they don't have to have real jobs (like all the other arts)) put us in and then were groomed for stardom. Or something to that effect.
The company or publicists or whoever told them to work that angle seems to think that it lends them some sort of punk/natural rock n' roll/DIY streetcred; but I say it's pretty detracting from the fact that they just make good, catchy tunes. I just find myself being like "Whateeeever!" every time I put the CD in, or when there's a good solo, or a weird breakdown.
So, I hope that I haven't detracted from the experience for you, but come on, just listen to these:
I Bet That you Look Good on the Dance Floor - 
When the Sun Goes Down -