Some of our songs are more enjoyable than others: Alex

Arctic Monkeys’ new album has ballads and psychedelic themes.

LOS ANGELES: They have recorded in America, and front man Alex Turner lives in Los Angeles, but the Arctic Monkeys remain a British rock-and-roll phenomenon.

None of the four members — all from Sheffield in northern England is even 30, but they already have five albums under their belts after surfing on an internet-built fan base to stardom — one of the first rock groups to do so.

On stage during their current tour to promote new album AM, Turner sports an Elvis Presley-style pompadour and swivels his hips. Famed for vocals inflected with a Yorkshire accent, his spoken voice is these days overlaid by a California drawl.

While other rock groups of their generation have morphed into more electronic or synthesised sound — following the dance-floor trends of the day — the Arctic Monkeys have gone the other way, with more distorted guitar, powerful bass lines and Matt Helders’s signature percussion.

They have consolidated their formula on their latest album — which ranges from ballads to psychedelic themes — and returned to the top of the British charts.

How did you escape from the synth-fever we had a few years ago?

Turner: Oh, synth-epidemic. I didn’t know it was going on actually. We just keep taking the tablets, I suppose, drinking plenty of water... It seems like when a guitar band get the synths, it’s like it’s not enough. That’s not something that was ever on our agenda. But I’m not going to rule it out, I’ve got nothing against.

You seem to have struck a balance between musical independence and commercial success. Does it have something to do with being on a mid-sized label?

Turner: Perhaps it has something to do with that. Laurence Bell, from Domino, who owns the company, was who came to sign us in the first place. He allowed us to try different things and ... I think working with him helped us to achieve that balance you are talking about.

You seem to have a lot of respect for your old songs. How do you feel today when you’re playing Teddy Picker or Dancing Shoes?

Turner: Some are more enjoyable that others. Sometimes it’s tough to get through one of the old ones ... You know, you don’t feel like that anymore. When you tell the same joke 600 times, you won’t hear what it is anymore, but then sometimes like the 601st time you might see something in it you didn’t before.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2013.

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