Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand...

It’s weird. Almost every “critical” review I’ve read about British band Arctic Monkeys’ debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not cites their disdain of rock critics, yet invariably heaps a tons of praise on them. Talk about self-deprecation. This type of hype usually forbodes a dud of an album, but in the Monkeys’ case luckily they do merit some of the lauds. However best British album of last year? Hmmm.

Coming from a garage-rock-type beginning with unequaled grassroots support from the Internet, the band shares a lot in common with another teen post-emo group, Fall Out Boy. There’s the loquacious and witty song titles, like “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” and “You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me”, with some titles only fleetingly alluded to (if at all) in the lyrics. Then there’s the uniquely juvenile yet learned perspectives; even though the Monkeys’ songs portray lower-middle-class hooligan-type life, they don’t fall into the normal repetitive clichés found in other youth-driven genres (say heavy metal lyrics). “I Bet You Look Good…” was a smash not only because its rawness, but also its genuineness. “Fake Tales Of San Francisco”, along with “Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong” are great anti-culture rants, encouraging one to forgo the direction of what “corporate hipness” tells one to do. Human interaction is assailed in cuts like “Still Take You Home” and “When The Sun Goes Down”. But the highlights of the album is “Riot Van”, which most effectively paints the picture of British street life with a bit of heart, and “Mardy Bum”, strangely named for an almost-love song. While the album doesn’t contain any knockout punches, it’s very good, consistently good, and a much more satisfying listen than even the Libertines, who come to my mind when listening to this. This time, you can believe (at least some of) the hype.

Grade: B
Best Cuts: “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”, “Fake Tales Of San Francisco”, “Riot Van”, “Mardy Bum”

Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not hit #24 in the US and #1 in the UK.
"I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" hit #103 pop, #7 modern rock, and #1 in the UK.
"When The Sun Goes Down" made #1 in the UK.
"Fake Tales Of San Francisco" made #40 modern rock.

Listen: "Mardy Bum" (link)

Buy: You can pick up Whatever You Say I Am... at sites like here and here.

Clips: First off, a live clip of the lead single "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor"...

next up, the video for "When the Sun Goes Down"...



and here's a clip for "Fake Tales Of San Francisco"...



and as a bonus, the non-album single "Leave Before The Lights Come On"...