AM

Over the last eight years, the Arctic Monkeys have gone from spastic punk, to doomed stoner rock, to sparkling guitar pop, to their fifth album's skinny-jeaned funk. On AM, the quartet, now based in Los Angeles, offer a paranoid, haunted collection that goes beyond the sweaty clubs and furtive flirts into the hotel rooms, after parties, and bad decisions that can follow. But the quartet isn't giving into the mindless grandeur of rock'n'roll as much as they're working within its confines to mine new territory; over the last eight years, as they've gone from spastic punk, to doomed stoner rock, to sparkling guitar pop, to this new album's skinny-jeaned funk, Arctic Monkeys have stayed close to the spirit of their debut's title while minimizing its excess at the same time. — Pitchfork Arctic Monkeys - AM Review