Etikett: Arctic Monkeys

A brief recap of the latest shows.

Dear reader,

My last post was a while and regarding me attending the Death Cab for Cutie show in Stockholm, late winter. Since then i have been to a few show, not many, but a few. And unfortunatley, i do not have any new upcoming shows booked.

Back in April i saw Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Berns Salonger in Stockholm, an old venue with a lot of cultural heritage. The show took place in a beautiful ballroom that helped create a fantastic atmosphere together with the magnificent and spacious music. The warm up act was a band called MANAS, they played music in a similar genre and it felt like a very fitting warm up act. This gig was very cool, and i am very happy that i catched them when they were in Stockholm!

A few days later in April, i was able to catch Arctic Monkeys when they played in Globen, in Stockholm. I’ve been a huge Arctic Monkeys fan since i i first heard Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not back in 2006. However, i haven’t ever been able to catch them playing live. When the tickets to this gig was first announced, i lucked out and wasn’t able to get any tickets, and this bummed me out. However a few days before the gig the promoters announced that they had found a few more tickets, and i managed to snag a ticket on the floor.
This show was fantastic. Arctic Monkeys last two albums has been met with a wide variety of reactions and the feedback has been ranging from bad to excellent. I think their last two albums has been cool. I love when bands shake up what they are doing, and try to evolve as bands over time. If i don’t like their new releases, i can always fall back on their old content. For this show, the mix of new songs and, old songs was nicely weighed. I missed a few songs that i would’ve liked to hear – but, since this was a show promoting their new album, i was positively surprised of the mix of new and old.

Mid May, a friend and i, on a whim went to see BORIS and Pupil Slicer when they were playing at Debaser in Stockholm. Debaser is a good venue, they host a lot of smaller acts and the venue is located under a road, and the venue itself is a bit rough and sparesly decorated. A couple of years ago i saw the danish band Iceage play at Debaser, and i fell in love with the venue.
As for BORIS and Pupil Slicer, i had no real knowledge about them, and i had at most heard a few songs from BORIS completely randomly – Pupil Slicer on the other hand, i had never heard anything from, or about them, either. They play a very different type of shows, but some of the music have some overlapping. Pupil Slicer played a hardhitting and rough metal set, and it was great! BORIS played a very, very hard set, that was very theatrical! I did enjoy this set very much!

Early June i went to Rosendal Garden Party on Djurgården, in Stockholm. As soon as they announced that Aphex Twin would be headlining the saturday, i got myself an early bird ticket, not knowing any other act that might play. Later, closer to the event, Rosendal announced that Fever Ray would be playing aswell, on the same day as Aphex Twin – i was thrilled, let me tell you! I’ve been a long time fan of Karin Dreijer, since the The Knife days.
It was a beautiful sunny, yet cold day outside in Stockholm. Fever Ray played the slot before Aphex Twin and they put on a great show, playing a bunch of songs from their latest album.
The headliner of the night was Aphex Twin, and this was his first concert in Sweden, ever! And you noticed that it was a special thing – comparing the crowd from last years Rosendal Garden Party, the crowd was way more international this year, as well as there was a lot of swedish musicians and people in the cultural sphere.
I had no idea what to expect from Aphex Twin, and i was completely mind-blown. He played very few of his own songs, and it was mostly a HARD electronic set, with an insane light show, the craziest i have seen. There was some parts he played that sounded like Aphex Twin, but that i haven’t heard before – which leads me to believe that there are new releases coming in the near future! Since the gig he has released an EP that was really cool. Hopefully we can get a full album soon. It’s already been 9 years since SYRO was released.

Until next time, take care.
SLQT

Single: There’d Better Be a Mirrorball – Arctic Monkeys

The other day Arctic Monkeys revealed that they’re putting out a new album – the first new music from the brittish band in four years. The new album is called The Car and will be released on the 21st of October, 2022.

However, today they shared a video for their new song, There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, thats supposedly the opening track from their upcoming album, The Car.

My first impressions from the single, There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, is that they’re keeping a bit with the sounds that they worked with on their last album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. A somewhat slow paced, melodramatic and scaled down sort of song. I think it sounds very good, and very promising, Alex Turner has the voice of an angelic creature so these kind of scaled down songs that focuses heavily on the vocal fits him and his voice excellently.

As someone who’s been listening to Arctic Monkeys since day one, i must admit that i love their earlier, fast paced, hard hitting albums and tracks. I do however enjoy this new direction that they’ve been taking lately, as i love when a band let’s their creativity live on and that they feel like that they can experiment with different styles and genres. Nothing is more boring than a band that gets stuck in a sound, and refuses to leave it. Since you’re always able to go back and listen to those earlier releases, whenever you want to.

I am very intrigued and i am looking forward for the release of the new music, and upcoming album from Arctic Monkeys. Give this new single a listen, will you!

Until next time, take care.
SLQT.