AM (Arctic Monkeys album)
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''AM'' is the fifth studio album by English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
. It was produced by James Ford and co-produced by Ross Orton at Sage & Sound Recording in Los Angeles and
Rancho De La Luna Rancho De La Luna is a recording studio in Joshua Tree, California that was founded in 1993 by Fred Drake and David Catching. After Drake's death in 2002 to cancer, the studio was operated by David Catching and Drake's collaborators Tony Mason ...
in
Joshua Tree, California Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the High ...
, and released in September 2013 through
Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...
. The album was promoted by the singles "
R U Mine? "R U Mine?" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It features lyrics written by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, as well as music composed by the entire band. The song was released as a digital download in the United King ...
", "
Do I Wanna Know? "Do I Wanna Know?" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys written by Alex Turner. It was released on 19 June 2013 by Domino Recording Company as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' AM'' (2013). It received a digital dow ...
", "
Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It was released as the third single from their fifth studio album, '' AM'', on 11 August 2013. It was written by the group's lead vocalist Alex Turn ...
", " One for the Road", " Arabella", and " Snap Out of It". It features guest appearances by Josh Homme,
Bill Ryder-Jones William Edward Ryder-Jones (born 10 August 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, music producer and composer from West Kirby, Merseyside. He co-founded the band The Coral, together with James Skelly, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and Ia ...
, and Pete Thomas. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of genres, including psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, desert rock, R&B, and
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
, ''AM'' notably marks Arctic Monkeys' first venture into hip hop. The band took a different approach to recording the album in comparison to their previous album, '' Suck It and See'', with more emphasis into creating a "studio album" according to frontman
Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...
. The band incorporated new instruments on the album, including the piano, organ, Hohner Guitaret, and vintage drum machine. Thematically, the album concerns frustration surrounding tainted
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
,
sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
and
loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
. Commercially, the album has become one of Arctic Monkeys' most successful albums to date, topping charts in several countries, and reaching top ten positions in many more. Topping the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, it sold over 157,000 copies in its first week and also went on to be one of the UK's best-selling vinyl albums of the decade, selling 73,000 units. In addition, the album became the band's most successful in the United States, with the single "
Do I Wanna Know? "Do I Wanna Know?" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys written by Alex Turner. It was released on 19 June 2013 by Domino Recording Company as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' AM'' (2013). It received a digital dow ...
" being the first song by the band to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the album topping four ''Billboard'' charts and being certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
in the US in 2017. The album received critical acclaim, with critics praising its darker and groovier sound in comparison to the band's previous records. It featured in many year-end lists as one of the best albums of 2013, including the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
who named it the best of 2013. At the
2014 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2014 was held on 19 February 2014. It was the 34th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and was presented by James Corden for the fourth consec ...
, Arctic Monkeys won British Album of the Year for ''AM''. It was also nominated for the 2013
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
and received a Best Rock Performance nomination for "Do I Wanna Know?" at the
57th Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time. ...
in 2015. ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' hailed it the best album of the decade and, just a month after its release, ranked it 449 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' ranked it 346 in their 2020 edition of their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.


Production


Title

In an interview with
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, Arctic Monkeys frontman
Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...
said that the album title was inspired by the
Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
's 1985 compilation album '' VU'': "I actually stole it from the Velvet Underground, I'll just confess that now and get it out of the way. The 'VU' record, obviously." He went on to say: "Did we cop out? Yeah! Summat about it feels like this record is exactly where we should be right now. So it felt right to just initial it." Turner later revealed that the band had nearly titled the album ''The New Black'', after a guitar amp they used in the recording process: "I got this old
Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a rang ...
thing that we recorded a lot through. There's no knobs, just two holes. And this little black amp that became known as The New Black. Crossed me mind to call the album that."


Josh Homme contribution

Speaking about Josh Homme's contribution to ''AM'' with Zane Lowe, Turner said: "The Josh thing was very much a case of one of us returning a back scratch to the other", referring to his appearance as a
guest vocalist In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
on the
Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout mul ...
album '' ...Like Clockwork'' earlier in 2013. Turner continued: "He came down and sort of got us out of a little rut. It's just fun, it's friends, extended family now –
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
came round, had a fun night. His contribution to our record is really exciting, it's probably my favourite. The 30 seconds that he's in there is just, I dunno, it's like something that I've never heard before. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but you know what I'm saying." In an interview with '' 24sata'', Turner mentioned that Homme would appear in the song "Knee Socks". On 4 July 2013, Homme mentioned ''AM'' at the
Rock for People Rock for People (RfP) is a large open-air summer rock festival in the Czech Republic. The festival began in 1995 in the town of Český Brod, and in 2007 it was moved to an unused airport in Hradec Králové. Headlining acts have included Muse, ...
festival in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
: "I sang on the new Arctic Monkeys record. It's a really cool, sexy after-midnight record. It's called ''AM'', so I guess that's really obvious. And it's really good. It's really good. It's not disco s such but it's like a modern, dancefloor sexy record. It's really good."


Musical style

The album draws inspiration from various musical genres, including
indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
, psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, desert rock, R&B,
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
, and hip hop. In the first interview of the AM press campaign, Alex Turner told journalist Matt Wilkinson of
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
that the album sounded "like a Dr. Dre beat, but we've given it an
Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...
bowl-cut and sent it galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster", adding that it "sounds less like four lads playing in a room this time. Essentially, that's what it is, but if you can find a way to manipulate the instruments or the sounds to the point where it sounds a bit like a hip-hop beat that'd be boss in your car, then I think there's something quite cool about that." Turner also cited Outkast, Aaliyah,
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
, Captain Beyond and
The Groundhogs Groundhogs are an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963, that toured extensively in the 1960s, achieved prominence in the early 1970s, and continued sporadically into the 21st century. Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals) is the sole c ...
as influences. Guitarist Jamie Cook also cited ''
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...
'' as an inspiration for the album, saying that it was one of the only albums they listened to while recording ''AM''. Arctic Monkeys took a different approach to recording ''AM'' in comparison to their previous album, '' Suck It and See'', with Alex Turner stating that it is much more a "studio album". The band incorporated new instruments to record the album; they used keyboards such as piano, organ, and celeste, a Hohner Guitaret,Arctic Monkeys
 and a vintage drum machine. Recording was done differently as well; producer James Ford stated that, instead of the "live" recording technique of the previous album, this album was recorded mainly with bass guitar and drums laid down first with emphasis on groove. Helder's drum kit was often set up in unconventional ways to achieve different sounds. Guest musicians Josh Homme,
Bill Ryder-Jones William Edward Ryder-Jones (born 10 August 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, music producer and composer from West Kirby, Merseyside. He co-founded the band The Coral, together with James Skelly, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and Ia ...
, and Pete Thomas were featured on the album. Thematically, the album concerns frustration surrounding tainted
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
,
sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
and
loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...
.


Promotion


AM Tour

The AM Tour—with over 150 concert dates in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand—was held to promote the album. It started on 22 May 2013 in
Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...
. The next year, the band shared a short documentary film via their
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel to mark the end of the tour in its South American leg, featuring a performance of "
R U Mine? "R U Mine?" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It features lyrics written by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, as well as music composed by the entire band. The song was released as a digital download in the United King ...
" at its final date on 15 November 2014, in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.


Artwork

On 15 July 2013, the album cover artwork was revealed. On 2 September 2013, Arctic Monkeys revealed a track titled "I Want It All" during a XFM radio show, and exclusively played "One for the Road" on
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show. The waveform depicted is characteristic of an amplitude modulated (AM) signal, and shows "AM" in the centre, depicting the album's name.


Other live performances

Arctic Monkeys were scheduled to perform on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on 9 October 2013, but had to cancel as Kimmel's guest, rapper
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
, talked for too long. The band performed "Do I Wanna Know?" and "R U Mine?" on the show's outdoor stage a week later, on 16 October 2013.


Singles

The first single from the album, "
R U Mine? "R U Mine?" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It features lyrics written by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, as well as music composed by the entire band. The song was released as a digital download in the United King ...
", was released digitally on 27 February 2012. On 21 April 2012, it was released physically for the
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
as a limited edition double A-side purple 7" vinyl. "R U Mine?" was released as a single on 2 March 2012. "
Do I Wanna Know? "Do I Wanna Know?" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys written by Alex Turner. It was released on 19 June 2013 by Domino Recording Company as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' AM'' (2013). It received a digital dow ...
", the second single from the album, was released on 19 June 2013. The song received significant airplay, including joining
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
's "B List", and later moving to the "A List". It was certified Silver in the UK, indicating an excess of 200,000 sales (becoming the fourth Arctic Monkeys single to do so), and has also been successful internationally. The third single from ''AM'', "
Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It was released as the third single from their fifth studio album, '' AM'', on 11 August 2013. It was written by the group's lead vocalist Alex Turn ...
", was released on 11 August 2013 as a single, together with an accompanying music video. The song was leaked online on 29 July 2013, but quickly taken down. The song debuted at number eight in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Arctic Monkeys' first top 10 single since "
Fluorescent Adolescent "Fluorescent Adolescent" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It was released as the second single from their second studio album '' Favourite Worst Nightmare'' (2007). It was released on 9 July 2007 in the United Kingdom. The so ...
" (2007). The fourth single to promote the album, " One for the Road", was released as a digital download and 7" vinyl on 9 December 2013. On 28 January 2014, " Arabella" was released to radio in Italy; the same month, the band confirmed that it would be released as the fifth single on 10 March 2014 in the United Kingdom. It impacted contemporary hit radio on the scheduled date, though a planned 7" vinyl release was cancelled. " Snap Out of It" impacted contemporary hit radio in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2014 as the album's sixth single.


Reception


Critical reception

''AM'' has received critical acclaim. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 36 reviews. Simon Harper of '' Clash'' magazine states: "Welding inspiration from hip-hop greats with rock's titans, ''AM'' is built upon portentous beats that are dark and intimidating, yet wickedly thrilling." Ray Rahman of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' gave it an 'A−', and opined that "''AM'' mixes
Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
melodies,
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
riffs, and playful grooves, and has fun doing it." '' Time Out'' said of the album: "One of Britain's greatest bands just got greater in an unexpected but hugely welcome way. Single men, I urge you: put down ''
FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...
'' and pick up ''AM''." In their 10/10 review, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' wrote that ''AM'' is "absolutely and unarguably the greatest record of their career." In his 8/10 review, J.C. Maçek III of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' praised Turner for being "at his most poetic to date", and called the album "a wonderfully cohesive and diverse album that fits together incredibly well." Tim Jonze of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' noted that the album "manages to connect those different directions – the muscular riffs of ''
Humbug A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclama ...
'' and the wistful pop of ''Suck It and See'' – with the bristling energy and sense of fun that propelled their initial recordings." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
agreed, stating, "Neatly splitting the difference between the band's two personalities -- the devotees of barbed British pop and disciples of curdled heavy rock -- AM consolidates Arctic Monkeys strengths, a tricky task in and of itself, but the band pushes further, incorporating unapologetic glam stomps, fuzzy guitars, and a decidedly strong rhythmic undercurrent." ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
''s Ryan Dombal called ''AM'' "paranoid and haunted." In his review of the album, Matt Mason of '' Q'' gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote:
Not afraid to explore but never radical for the sake of it, the Arctic Monkeys have delivered another triumph. Some of their iridescent energy has been tempered by age, but it's been replaced by the craft and confidence that made their 013's
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
set so compelling. Not for the first time, they sound like the best band in Britain.
In retrospect, ''NME'' classified ''AM''s songs as "the tales of wasted phone calls, drunken lunges and late-night confessions." By the end of the decade, according to ''NME'', the album "became the soundtrack for countless nights out, hook-ups and comedowns in every town and city of this country".


Accolades

At the 2013
NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...
, Arctic Monkeys were nominated for Best British Band. "R U Mine?" was also nominated for Best Track, and won the award for Best Music Video. ''AM'' was nominated for the 2013
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
for best album, becoming the third Arctic Monkeys album to receive the nomination, after their debut album ''
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006 by Domino Recording Company and on 21 February 2006 in the United States. The album includes their fir ...
'', and its follow-up, ''
Favourite Worst Nightmare ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' is the second studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 April 2007 by Domino Recording Company. Recorded in east London's Miloco Studios with producers James Ford and Mike Crossey, the albu ...
''. The album's second single, "Do I Wanna Know?", won the Best Track award at the 2013
Q Awards The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
. "Do I Wanna Know" was also nominated as the "Best Rock Performance" at the 2015 Grammy Awards. At the
2014 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2014 was held on 19 February 2014. It was the 34th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and was presented by James Corden for the fourth consec ...
, Arctic Monkeys won in the British Album of the Year and British Group categories, becoming the first band to ever "do the double" (that is, win in both categories) three times (
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
and
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus ...
did it twice). ''NME'' ranked ''AM'' number 449 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, after it only being out for a month. The magazine also announced its list of 50 Best Albums of 2013, with ''AM'' taking the top spot: "''AM'' felt like a genuine evolution for the Monkeys, and one that wasn't without risk. Its success, however, rested on the two things that had always made them special: Alex Turner's wry way with words, and his way with a tune." In 2019, the album was ranked number 1 on ''NME''s list of Greatest Albums of the Decade. In 2020, the album was ranked at number 346 in the third edition of ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ''AM'' boasted a great amount of riches on both counts, with ''NME'' writing "''AM'' is the album against which everything else will now be measured." 17 music journalists of the Polish media company
Agora SA Agora Spółka Akcyjna (Agora SA) is a Polish media company. Agora and ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (''The'' ''Electoral Gazette'') were created on the eve of the parliamentary elections in 1989. ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' became the first independent newspape ...
(''
Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of " real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the ...
'', Gazeta.pl, TOK FM) placed ''AM'' at number two in their ranking of 10 Best Foreign Albums of 2013, behind
Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
's ''
Reflektor ''Reflektor'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on October 28, 2013, through Sonovox Records internationally and Merge Records in the United States. A double album, it was recorded between 2011 and 2 ...
''. The album has been recognised as one of the bestselling vinyl albums of the decade, selling 27,000 units as of July 2015.


Commercial performance

On 15 September 2013, the album charted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, having sold 157,329 copies, thus becoming the second fastest-selling album of the year, behind Daft Punk's ''
Random Access Memories ''Random Access Memories'' is the fourth studio album by the French electronic duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. The album pays tribute to late 1970s and early 1980s American music, particularly from Los Angeles. ...
''. With the debut of ''AM'' on the chart, Arctic Monkeys also broke a record, becoming the first independent-label band to debut at number one in the UK with their first five albums. Following the band's win at the
2014 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2014 was held on 19 February 2014. It was the 34th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and was presented by James Corden for the fourth consec ...
, the album charted at number two on the chart, behind '' Bad Blood'' by
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
, who also experienced the "BRITs effect". As of June 2019, ''AM'' has spent 300 weeks in the top 100 of the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. ''AM'' peaked at number one in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Croatia, Slovenia, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Portugal, and reached top ten positions in several other countries. In the United States, the album sold 42,000 copies in its first week, and debuted at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, becoming the band's highest-charting album in the United States. In August 2017, ''AM'' was certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...
by the RIAA for combined sales and
album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...
s over of a million units in the United States.


Track listing


Personnel

Adapted from the ''AM'' liner notes.Adapted from CD liner notes. Arctic Monkeys *
Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...
*
Matt Helders Matthew Helders (born 7 May 1986) is an English drummer, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. In 2015, Helders collaborated with I ...
*
Jamie Cook Jamie Robert Cook (born 8 July 1985) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist and a founding member of the indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. Arctic Monkeys Jamie Coo ...
*
Nick O'Malley Nicholas Edward O'Malley (born 5 July 1985) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of English band Arctic Monkeys. Career Career beginnings O'Malley states that he picked up the bass guitar at the age of ...
Additional musicians * James Ford – keyboards * Josh Homme – backing vocals * Pete Thomas – percussion *
Bill Ryder-Jones William Edward Ryder-Jones (born 10 August 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, music producer and composer from West Kirby, Merseyside. He co-founded the band The Coral, together with James Skelly, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and Ia ...
– additional guitar Production * James Ford – production * Ross Orton – co-production , production , engineering * Ian Shea – engineering *
Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arc ...
– mixing * Brian Lucey – mastering Design * Alex Turner – design * Matthew Cooper – design * Zachery Michael – photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2013 albums Albums produced by James Ford (musician) Arctic Monkeys albums Domino Recording Company albums Brit Award for British Album of the Year Albums recorded at Electro-Vox Recording Studios