Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Fantastic debut album. I like earlier Arctic Monkeys far better than later "crooner" Arctic Monkeys.

Influenced by the garage rock revival of the early aughts but way more than a carbon copy of the White Stripes like a lot of bands of the era. Finally a debut album from this list that truly impresses and stands alone without the caveat of "it has its faults but let's see what they go on to do"

I think AM is by far the better album, but it’s still really solid. When the Sun Goes Down is an all timer from them.

Expected to like this album more but didn’t.

Not heard this for maybe a decade. When it came out, I was 23 and in a band. I heard this and my first thought was "Shit, my band sounds old-fashioned." I (and everybody) did not realise Arctic Monkeys would be the 'last' great British guitar band. It still sounds exciting. I can still picture mid-noughties Britain when i listen to this. The drinking and undertones of aggression. It's brilliant lyrically, really funny and insightful. The band rips as well. Modern classic.

One of the best debuts of all time

Track suit rock. Yawn.

Shockingly really good

Hate this band but gave them benefit of the doubt. Album was a solid little romp, saves them from 1 star...

absolutely just Alright i guess

Captures the vibe of the shitty English town where my mom's from with piercing accuracy

It had some edge, but not enough to save it from sounding repetitive.

Great album almost a bit too aggressive at the start gets more complex and interesting in the second half.

Was so surprised to see this on the list because I had no idea it was the object of any degree of prestige - it's permanently entrenched in tumblr and indie sleaze-oriented scenes to me - but I am very very glad to see it here. The album is brilliantly composed, cleverly written, and the definition of all killer, no filler. solid 4.5/5 but i'll round up.

Always know AM sound.

Arctic Monkeys

Love going back to early Turner lyrics a little bit dark humour and pessimism with a bit of whatever drug he was probably on. It's gritty, a little bit punk but with that Steel City cadence you get from AM and their screams counterpart BMTH. Also I love when an album has track names longer than Adrien Brody's speeches. I've never listened to this album but I'm glad this challenge delivered the meal to my palms. It was such a fun delight listening. Its giving British Tony Hawk. Absolute love the diabolical songwriting and instrumentals. And now we have The Car... FAVES: The View From The Afternoon I Bet You Looked Good On The Dancefloor Dancing Shoes You Probably Couldn’t See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me Still Take You Home (guitars went to funkytown) Mardy Bum Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But… When The Sun Goes Down 💖 From The Ritz To The Rubble (new fave) A Certain Romance

Still one of the greatest debut albums of all time. Arctic Monkeys are like Game of Thrones, 5 great albums in a row and then Alex Turner goes insane and burns everything. Some super fans might pretend they like the last couple of albums but I think a line from this album sums that up quite well: "his bird said it's amazing though so all that's left if the proof that love's not only blind but deaf". Oh yeah, I'm supposed to review this album, not Arctic Monkeys in general. It's great. To use another TV reference, I'd say it's like "The Inbetweeners" of albums. It's the most relatable album to people (maybe just guys) who grew up in England in the 2000s/2010s.

This was pretty fun, not gonna lie. Rating: 4.0

It's like oasis actually figured out how to play something complicated and then decided they wanted to sound just as terrible as oasis.

The View from the Afternoon I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Fake Tales of San Francisco Mardy Bum When the Sun Goes Down A Certain Romance

Oh yes! If you're British and between the ages of 35 and 50 this album is one of the greatest of all time. The view from the afternoon perfectly sums up the feeling you get the afternoon before a session with your mates and a certain romance is a perfect allegory for the relationships you have with your mates at that age. All the tracks between are incredible too, even the overplayed I bet you look good on the dancefloor

love a bit of Arctic Monkeys, not their strongest album but I physically could not give them less than 3 stars added one of the songs to my playlist

It is decent album of punk rock type music that has been done before at a higher level. 3 stars or C.

One of the more famous indie rock bands from the 2000s with the distinctive scouse accent. They took the Franz Ferdinand formula of dancy rhythms and angular guitars and made it rock harder

The band that dares to ask: what if the Strokes, but worse?

really solid album. i was really into this album a decade plus ago, so it was nice to revisit it after some time. it's really aggressive but also has this beautiful sneering attitude that i love. listening to it makes me feel like i am some english dickhead even though i am american. it's like i'm some douche in the corner of a party sneering at all the people having a good time. it's a beautiful feeling. it's not my favorite album of theirs, but it's a romp of a time.

Swenkaa

no me llegan, los prefiero ahora más tranquilos

It's been a while since we've had something this century. Unfortunately, this isn't very good. Kinda just noisy and boring. I'd probably have given it a 2, but I feel compelled to give it a 1 to offset its undeserved hype.

For one of the more recent albums on this list, I’m not sure why this is here. This was an ok listen, but I don’t see how this is noteworthy at all. Seems like a lazy choice.

THIS ALBUM honestly changed my life It was the first album to get me into music and started my obsession with bands lol Every song on this album is perfection I adore every song on this album The lyrics are so clever and fun and matt helders is such a legendary drummer I adore alex turner, he could release an album of farts and I’d listen to it

Superb - changed the cultural landscape and I won't hear otherwise. (Side note: hearing my accent at age 10 on the music channels when Arctic Monkeys came on was so surreal, I didn't get into them until I was 13/14 but my god that was a great feeling) Standout tracks (all 5/5): - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Riot Van <3<3<3 - Mardy Bum - When the Sun Goes Down (something shifted when this came out) - From The Ritz To The Rubble - A Certain Romance

I remember this one. It's alright. Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.

B2B bangers so can't really rate it anything less.

Not their best album, not a bad listen either.

This sort of grew on me as I listened, then unfortunately I grew off it again. This probably just means the tracks in the middle were OK, while the rest weren't. Worth a 2 though.

Perfection. They used to be a great band didn’t they? This is lyrically so strong. Every song tells a decent story. It’s edgy, dark, funny, beautiful and riotous.

The mid 2000's a bit of a desert for decent music. Just ask the UK government. Reporter; 'Mr Blunket, have heard of the Arctic Monkeys?', David Blunket MP; 'Yes of course I have, I look good on the dancefloor, and I've seen them twice!'. Reporter raises his eyebrows and walks away, muttering 'bloody lying bastard'. It's a great album and it didn't need all the rubbish hype that went with it.

So much nostalgia in this album. Nostalgia from when I listened to it as a teenager, but also a strange nostalgia for a slice of British life I've never lived. Love this album.

# 248 - 04/03/2025 - They've done a pretty decent job, all around slightly above average, a fun and energetic album and that one Arctic Monkeys song you remember… 2 1/2 rounded up :-)

Irriterande

Excellent

I love the low production sound. So stripped down that it sounds real, raw and as close to live as you can get. I’m not sure if it’s the British accent or the lyrics but it almost reminds me of early punk. Great album top to bottom.

Not bad but a lot of Arctic Monkeys songs just sound like Arctic Monkeys songs. 3⭐️

-so this is the fabled “post-Britpop” I’ve heard so much about -in all my years knowing about Arctic Monkeys I hadn’t listened to a single song by them until now. I’d say this is decent. it’s a bit hard to distinguish individual songs I guess, but I like the instrumental and vocal style -Favorites are Mardy Bum and Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But…

As a debut album, this is next level! I love listening to people singing in their native accents and the Arctic Monkeys rock pretty hard. Mardy bum and Riot Van are the standouts for me. Paints such a vivid image of northern British youth.

I miss the days where you gambled on one song you'd heard on the radio a few times, buying the album hoping the rest will live up to it! This was one of those albums for me, and I absolutely love it! I still remember buying this album in '06 on a girls weekend in Sydney - this album and a pair of boots! Arctic Monkeys (despite having a dumb name) are such a great band, I particularly love the youthful, horny, loutish, loud energy of this album! Alex Turner's accent is amazing, and I've always enjoyed the way they feature each instrument with momentary gaps in the music before it all picks up raucously again (there's probably a musical term for the style?) I also love the album AM which I don't think features on this list, but I'll make special mention of my favourite Arctic Monkeys song 'Do I wanna know?'. They have some music I'm not as into, but we are not here to talk about that - this album is fantastic and even though some of that might be nostalgia I still think this stands up nearly 20 years on as great rock music! 5 star album - I listened to it 6 times today! Perfect album for driving up and down the midlands, only shame is I've lost my voice, otherwise I would have been singing along! I was thinking while listening to this album that it'd be great to pick a few shared favourite albums as a group and do a listening party - this one would be on my list!

Good sound, although many songs sounded similar in some ways.

7/10 Another one I knew from the first time round. This was a sensation at the time and now has a handful of well-loved songs on it. The rest is extremely energetic punky songs, full of youth but not the highest quality. I have really enjoyed the last 2 or 3 AM albums so this one is a little rough around the edges for me. Best: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

what an absolute treat to revisit a favorite from my youth. no notes

Never like them. And nothing has changed even when I tried those lads now again.

Very catchy, cool album. I see why they're so popular.

I remember when this CD came out. It was a pretty big deal, but at the time is was very much of it's era. It got a lot of hype, but I remember thinking that they were just a rougher version of Franz Ferdinand, who had hit it big in the US about a year earlier. The Monkeys eventually far surpassed everything their contemporaries were doing, with a stellar sophomore album, a huge hit in "AM", and the criminally-underrated "Suck It And See". Bit it's this CD that really sticks with people, I guess because it's the first. And it's fine, but it's just fine. It's basically CBGB-style 70s punk on steroids, keeping all the lo-fi sound but quintupling the word count and depth of vocabulary. The first three songs are the ones everyone remembers, and they are quite good, but it gets really thin after that. And it's also very dependent on liking Turner's wordplay shtick, which I don't really care about. I hope they put "Favourite Worst Nightmare" on here too.

When it comes to the Arctic Monkeys I know a lot of people prefer their earlier stuff, like this. It's more raw, more honest probably, and leans a bit more towards a punk sound. Musically, though, I prefer the later stuff. AM is my all-time favorite of theirs. And yes, I even like TBHaC. This is still fun, though.

I remember loving this album back in the day. It was exciting, fun, decidedly British, and energetic. I don't think of any of those descriptors anymore when I think of the Arctic Monkeys, but this album still rips.

This is my first time listening to this album, or the Arctic Monkeys. I was impressed with this record and found it really enjoyable. I like the mix of garage rock and punk undertones. I will check out their other releases.

One of the greatest debut albums in indie history. It is album with no skips. Every song is worth the listening. Arctic Monkeys could have created a sound since that time. Best songs: I bet you look good on the dance floor, Fake tales of San Francisco, Dancing Shoes, Vampires, When the sun goes down and A certain romance.

Really 4.5 stars. Thoroughly enjoyed.

This guy's voice has always stood out to me. Like i don't know hardly anything by them, but if i hear their music in public, i know it's them. It's good, good accent, good delivery

repetitive but i liked those drums

4/10

Joj dosta mi je loše ovo i nikad mi nisu sjeli. Ti britanski pokušaji nekog modernog pank rocka su mi često baš promašaji teški. Kako nije klasični pank, ovi bubnjevi mi zvuče baš očajno, vokal još gore, a ostalo je dosadno za umrijeti. 1/5, 1/10

The palpable energy of English youth.

Very good, 8.2ish out of 10, a lot harder than I thought it would be and a couple amazing songs

I've never listened to the whole album before. Pay attention to the lyrics if you're the same. Carrying on a fine tradition of astute social observation combined with cracking indie rock this is a great album. I predict big things for these guys. Four stars.

I mean, it's perfectly listenable. I just don't get why people go crazy for this band.

Not all songs are remarkable, but all of them are fun to listen to. Short, energetic, kind of falling down the stairs songs, creative riffs, moments of low energy between some songs to recover. An honest good listen. Out of 10, 7,5 with some tranquility.

Ça réinvente pas la roue mais c'est quand même fun, ça bouge et ça se prend pas trop la tête.

one of my favourites from the 2000s absolutely classic record packed with clever lyrics and catchy riffs

Arrogant children. Fuck this band.

i grew out of the arctic monkeys' music a while ago at this point. solid album and i understand the appeal however they do not really align with my tastes and the older i get the more grading i find alex turners voice but alas what can you do

Bestes Album bisher!

An objectively great album but not my favourite of theirs. I think I prefer them when they got all pretentious but hey still some absolute bangers.

I was never a fan of Arctic Monkeys when they came onto the scene, mostly due to this album. I just don't personally find it that interesting. And while I think it is fine, I just still don't think it is as amazing as so many say. I do think they have evolved into a more interesting and complex band, however. I just think their first two albums are too close to other indie rock at the time that was too focused on being "hip" or "sassy."

Really enjoyed this album.

One of my all time favorites

"Whatever people say I am, that what I am not" feels like an overwhelming sensory experience — loud, jangly guitar riffs, powerful percussion, assertive vocals, and everything else thrown in. It's a complete information overload hitting you at the frantic pace of a blurry night out. This exudes the confidence of English charm, presenting a vivid (and somewhat satirical) depiction of pub culture. Influences from the Pistols, Jam, Smiths, Oasis, and Ian Dury can be found throughout these tracks. However, I don't find any of the songs particularly memorable or engaging. This might be due to the rapid tempo and similar rhythmic foundation that most of the songs share. Overall, it's a decent album, though not particularly memorable. It's not something I would choose to listen to again.

There are some ridiculously infectious riffs in this album. I love the phrasing, the timing, the lyrics...so refreshing, what a debut.

Not bad but I like the more recent arctic monkeys sound better. You can hear it start to come through in the last song on the album. This was okay though. I appreciate finally getting a newer album.

I don't even need to listen to this to know it's a 5. One of the greatest debut albums of all time

Back when they still had a bit of punk fire. It's unquestionably their best album but I don't love it. The songs that truly rip (Dancing shoes, You probably couldn't see...) make the dully ballady crap sting. Just give me riffs! Very cool that it drew a huge young audience into Britain's punk and post-punk scenes in the mid 2000s, scenes which retain their relevance today.

i liked this album! it does have a very consistent sound which can make it hard to distinguish between songs sometimes, however it's a good sound so i can excuse it

fine

Every song sounds the same with his voice

Excellent album

A weird one, because I like every single song of this album, but I don't think of it as a five star record.

Vintage rock sound - Nice drums and guitar, which are standouts - Vocals are alright, as are melodies

Unpretentious shallow pentatonic riffs that might seem stale in hindsight but keep fresh under Turner’s direct and authentic storytelling. As a sum of simple parts it has no right to hold up as well as it does, just puts you in a sweaty dark venue where you belong. As an album it maybe trades this for replayability compared to later albums (excluding a handful of songs), and at points it maybe like I care more for the energy than the songwriting, but to me that’s an absolutely valid genre of album.

Solid debut album, can see what all the fuss is about. That said, some of the popular songs are overplayed and therefore a bit annoying.

fan-fucking-tastic

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not Album Review Arctic Monkeys’ debut is often hailed as a defining indie rock record, but stripped of its initial hype, it feels more like a collection of energetic yet repetitive tracks. The production is deliberately raw, matching the band’s barroom grit, but this unpolished sound causes many songs to blur together. Tracks like I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor and The View from the Afternoon burst with urgency, but their relentless pacing leaves little room for dynamics. Even when the band slows down, as in Riot Van, the stripped-back approach feels underdeveloped rather than refreshing. Lyrically, Alex Turner’s sharp storytelling captures the chaos of British nightlife with humour and wit, but the themes rarely evolve beyond drunken encounters and social posturing. Songs like Fake Tales of San Francisco and Still Take You Home are fun but ultimately feel one-note, and by the time A Certain Romance attempts some reflection, the formula has worn thin. While the album’s energy is undeniable, the lack of variety and depth makes it feel more like a promising start than a fully realized classic. There’s no doubt Whatever People Say I Am... had an impact, but its relentless speed and limited scope make it feel less timeless than some of its indie rock peers. It’s a fun ride, but one that runs out of new tricks before it’s over.

Don't know how truly influential this album is but I think its fairly par for the course.

One of their best

This album rules. One of my favorite concerts was for their 2nd albums tour in Oakland where they played the majority of this album. Standing bout 10 ft away from the stage, pit opened next to me and other dude from college, and we basically held the wall to protect the people we were with. Amazing time. I know When the Sun Goes Down gets all the hype in the US (although spotify apparently has mostly normalized), but I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefoor has a forever spot on my Turn Up playlist. Aware that some of the middle songs really just turn pretty basic so not a 5, but damn close. Should be one of the albums you introduce people to for rock/punk blend imo.

Super Bri-ish The hipster kids were right about this one

I understand that Arctic Monkeys are basically sacred and so many people love them buuuuuut I've never really been able to get THAT into them. I'm not exactly sure why but the style of vocals just really doesn't do it for me. I love the instrumentals but the vocals sound almost too radio-y to me. This is a solid debut record but I just don't care that much about Arctic Monkeys.

Something about this band has never really clicked with me. It feels like I should like them, but maybe it’s that every good moment with them is never really matched or beaten? I’ll like a song or a part of a song, but then the rest of the song sounds like all of the other songs. And they’re not bad songs, and honestly, there are some artists that have tons of songs that sound the same and I still like them. However, these guys just don’t do it for me. I can’t ignore that there is good guitar work and even some clever lyrics and songwriting, but overall it just kind of feels like 2000s music that wasn’t great then and hasn’t really cracked the decade.

This album is boring. I can't say much else about it. Every song sounds the same and every song sounds like music you'd hear while shopping at an f.y.e in 2007, and I don't mean that positively.

This one just kinda failed to catch and hold my attention it's not bad sounding, but it's just something I've heard and isn't able to remember much of Standouts When The Sun Goes Down 3/5

This is my favourite album of all time. That they produced this as teenagers blows my mind. Alex Turner's songwriting ability is on full display, the images are so vivid you feel like you're in Sheffield on a night out. The drums from Matt Helders are astonishing as well. Truly in my eyes a perfect album and a strong indication of their ability which has grown and evolved wonderfully in the last twenty years.

Not as good as FWN or AM, better then there other albums

The Arctic Monkeys sometimes get a bad rep due to a combination of people who assure that they're extremely indie (which they're not) and snobs that dislike them because they're mainstream. It's sad, really, since they have some records that show their ability to write, perform and record songs. Tracks like Riot Van, When the Sun goes down, and especially A Certain Romance, serve as guarantors of their talent. Just try to let go of your prejudices and give them a real chance.

I always feel like I should like this band more than I do. But it just doesn't do much for me. The album is good, but I don't know if I'll listen to it much.

Fun album with high energy

In my "book", 2006 wasn't exactly a stellar year for music. Apart from this album, only Jay Reatard's *Blood Vision*, TV On The Radio's *Return To The Cookie Mountain*, Joanna Newsom's *Ys* and probably Amy Winehouse's *Back To Black* can reach the "essential" level usually reached by at least a dozen of LPs for most other years. To be perfectly honest, I thought this rave about Arctic Monkeys was a bit of an exaggeration at the time, but now I readily admit that revisiting this past hype is pretty thrilling, all things considered. Alex Turner has always been a *chatty* frontperson, to a fault sometimes (especially recently), but in this official debut the instrumentation is so insanely lively, youthful and inspired that it makes up for it tenfold (if only for that crazy powerhouse of a drummer, whose cheeky mug is shown on the cover up here if I'm not mistaken). And Turner's lyrics are really, really evocative or witty most of the time anyway. I could go track by track here (which means I would have to write all those incredibly long song titles -- another evidence of Turner's knack with words), but it would probably not really be useful: you got to listen to the whole shebang. To put it in a nutshell, I say *yes*, this record looks as essential in a list of 1000 best albums of all time as it looks good on the dancefloor. So when it comes to that realm of noughts British dance punk LPs, (here infused with quite a bit of garage and indie-rock), you surely need to give a spin to this LP -- along with Block Party's *Silent Alarm* and Franz Ferdinand's début. You could maybe also add Arctic Monkeys' own *Favorite Worst Nightmare* and *AM*, and you would have a long enough sublist to cover your ground here. Giving this one full marks, even if it's closer to a 4.5 grade in reality. I gave full marks to the (strikingly different) Joanna Newsom and TV On The Radio albums from that year, so I gotta maintain a minimum consistency, I guess... Number of albums left to review: around thirty or twenty, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book. Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 464 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 277 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 334

This was a decent debut from Arctic Monkeys. While they were labeled indie rock, they were far from underground—this was a pretty commercial release. The album carries some garage rock aesthetics and a bit of punk edge, but overall, it’s more polished and radio-friendly than what you’d expect from a true indie band.

Really fun to start of, but sadly falls off in the second half

По мнению А: 3/5 По мнению С: 3/5 ИТОГОВАЯ ОЦЕНКА: 3/5 (02.02.2025)

Never really knew about the Arctic Monkeys but I liked this, will be back.

Not the biggest Arctic Monkeys fan, pretty surprised with how technical a lot of their shit is. Overall it's not bad, I don't love his voice but it's alirght.

I thought that maybe this album will gather more of something when getting to closer to it's end. I was than listening second to last track. I gotta admit that I was rather focused on my writing tasks while listening to this album and distraction played significant role on this occasion.

I’ve never listened to a full Arctic Monkeys album before, until now! It was the perfect soundtrack for this Friday morning. This album had the right energy and enough hooks to reel me in. 4 stars.

Feels like another fad band I'm not familiar with, except from the critic circuit hype of the time. I'm happy to say that they don't sound as irrelevant as I was expecting up front. I can't say whether I've heard their music before or not, probably yes, but who knows. The time this came out I was part of the heavy/extreme metal scene; doing interviews, reviews and also DJing at relevant clubs and events, few of them I was part of crew or were my own. At first listen this plays like a rougher on the edges Blur. Soon I realized this was the from the new era of british rock music, but the initial impression is hard to shake off. I like the edge this has sound wise, it doesn't sound too polished and mostly has the gritty feel a rock album should. I don't care about the lyrics, so they're irrelevant to me. Feels like they're about partying and young people romance, but beyond than that I don't care.

I power cleaned my house and yard banging my head to this.

It was okay.

Very fun! Should listen to the lyrics a bit better probably, but it reminds me of my boyfriend cause it's one of his favorites. Makes me want to be an English teenager

I didn't love these guys when they came out but I really like 'em now. I think they matured well and I appreciate going back and listening to the older stuff. Coincidentally, my favourite album is tranquility based which I guess old school fans hate.

It's okay. It's lasted better than some of their contemporaries but their big thing was Alex Turner singing in his native accent, which was hardly original.

Ultimate Britisch pop-rock

This is the arctic monkeys

Hammer opener und gaht guet wieter. Still take you home hät sonen gemeine Text und dänn sindene d'Wort na uusgange "Oh-whoa da da" - trotzdäm äs Lied mit drive. Also Riot Van isch so ganz andersch, passt nüd so drii, obwohl schöni Melodie. Mardy Bum isch lieblich, aber nice. S Vampiere-Lied chübled ganz schön, meh Rock als Indie. When the Sun goes down hät ä Reverenz zu The Police: "He told Roxanne to put on her red light" - gfalltmer. D Konzert vo Arctic Monkeys sind sicher unglaublich.

the view from the afternoon isch seeehr geil. goht huere los. i bet you look good on the dancefloor auuu. fake tales of san francisco goht vieeel z guet uuf. alte icarus tuble schniidet au e schiibe ab so machtmer trochene luute rock ide 2000er. sie mached small drums. still take you home seeehr coole teil geg de schluss. alles isch so direkt. maardy bum banger. when the sun goes down au seeehr geil. hes a scumbag dont you know. ha huuere spass, vieri vlt füfi.

FUUUCK ALLES GLÖSCHT mmh ja dancefloor riese banger und mardy bum findi suuuuper when the sun goes down findi fast ihres beste lied. uuhuere dynamisch, echli dreckig gspielt und catchy he joo sehr guets album, aber mier hüfig chli zu samey. es gaht au sehr um de vibe findi, und de isch suuper. guets 4i

The only track on the album I don’t like is red light indicates doors are secured, and I have an issue with songs based on taxi/car signs: see also, objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are. The rest of this album is bangers. I am British though.

I really enjoy this album. It’s a lot of phun and my personal favorite from the band. I feel like half of these are classic tracks for them. There isn’t a song I dislike. So much energy, so cheeky, so good. Start to finish I think it’s damn near perfect. 4/5

Obviously, I've heard a few of their tracks before, I don't live in a cave! I've never felt the urge to listen to a whole album though. It was pretty good, better than I was expecting. I really liked the lyrics, there was something unique and raw about them. The music wasn't bad either. There were multiple highlights and only a couple of tracks where I started to get bored. I have a hunch it will grow on me when I listen to it again, which I plan to do.

I do not like this band, no matter how many times you try to make me listen to them, i do not like this band

Absolute banger

Klassiker, härlig stökig altrock.

Ok. I bet you look good on the dance floor. 3/5

I saw an English rock band album from the mid-2000s and I can’t lie, I expected to despise this. Yet as I was listening during my weekly grocery run, it wasn’t bad. Can’t say I hated it, nor did I love it, but it was a perfectly fine album. I won’t go back to it, but don’t mind that I heard it either.

Sharp, pulsing, and (for the time) genuinely modern rock, carving a new direction for the genre. It didn’t necessarily follow that direction, but I still really enjoy this album. Feels like a next step from the garage rock of the Strokes and the White Stripes, with a British twist. Best song: Fake Tales of San Francisco

I like these guys. Saw them live a couple years ago.

There are some bangers on this album. Have always been more of a fan of AM, but this one deserves more credit than I was giving.

More like the Strokes/Vines than I was expecting.

Nothing on this album appeals to me.

The hits are obviously good, but this album isn’t as good as the hype

It was good, but not for me. Hard to listen to as a daily jive type album

Dogshit

I had to unblock the Arctic Monkeys to listen to this album because I hated AM and was sick of their songs being suggested on Spotify playlists. This album is fine, which is a huge step up for me from other Arctic Monkeys songs/albums. I wouldn't walk out of a bar if they were playing this, but I wouldn't automatically turn it off. No standout songs, but they were all pleasant enough

Man, I almost forgot how good this debut album was. Perfect A side sexy bar punk rippers, perfect B side moodiness with occasional growls. I was 13 when it came out, 15 when a friend showed it to me, and we played Mardy Bum in the High School battle of the Bands.

Did not listen to this in 2006 because it was my hater years and this was getting a lot of attention. Also being presented as the next big Brit band after Oasis also clouded my opinion for reasons I don’t care to explain

After the musical doldrums of the early 2000’s this album was a breath of fresh Yorkshire air, with the tang of taxi exhaust, Lynx deodorant and chip shop vinegar. These lads are from just up the road from where I live and I’ve probably stood in the same queue outside the station waiting for a taxi to High Green via Hillsborough, please. Authentic Sheffield steel!

Pretty decent and enjoyable for an album of this genre and this period. It's entertaining, the music is solid and it has enough punk energy in it not to fall into cheesy pseudo rebel rock.

Already knew and reacted to this album beforehand. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

Great performances on all fronts. Reeks of youth.

1 stern

i dont get it

This was such a classic album for me in college, I had a burned copy that I listened straight through all the time. Tons of fun to revisit. 3.7/5

Some good ones here and there but it all sounds very similar

"I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" and "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured" all day, everyday.

A good album of early Artic Monkeys. Rough and ready with some melodic tracks. Best fake tales of San Francisco

Nykivyydessään täydellinen nollarirokkilevy 5/5

Hyvä ja menevä indielevy! En ollut tätä debyyttiä kuullut, joten käsitys bändistä oli myöhemmän tuotannon muokkaamana enemmän poprock, mut täähän oli aika kiinnostava.

right bangah

A raw and ragged style, probably better with a few more listens

This is my artic monkeys album. Less lounge, more rock.

Listening to this transports me right back to being like 15 or 16. Listening to songs from this album on a friend's MP3 player, downloaded illegally from god knows where, tinny quality, at lunchtime in school. How time flies! Easy 5 for me - they perfectly captured their (and our) youthful energy in a bottle. In my opinion, they never came close to equalling this album, unfortunately.

Great album. Already familiar with a couple of tracks, like I bet you look good on the dance floor, but the rest of the album was a rockin’ surprise!

Banging Indie tunes with a Sheffield accent

Dude. Banger after banger

A strong debut album, especially for rock music from this era. Tight and catchy. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do.

Changed the face of music at a shit period in time

strays a little close to generic brit rock at times, but there are some real classics in here. I prefer the more croonery sounds of AM but this is also very very solid in my opinion

Never listened to this back in the day. Feels a like basic and samey samey, but good energy. I probably would’ve liked it more when it was new (I was 24). Kinda like blur without the depth, the strokes but British, reminds me a little off the hives too. Closing track was the only one I really liked.

Red Light Indicates Doors are Secure was my introduction to this band. I initially ignored them cause of the name or something, I don’t remember. But my friend showed me red light without saying who it was and I was in. This album is fun and I love the angular and unique guitar riffs. Not a bad track on here.

Classic

I loved it. I heard it before. 8/10

I really liked it at first I thought they were gonna all sound the same but they had a couple in there that threw it off in a good way.

This is so 2006…bangs.

You know, it's been a while since I got one of these sorts of 2000s alt-rock bands that were hyped up like crazy by the British media. Some of the albums I've listened to that fit this category are albums that I really liked, with Is This It by the Strokes being a particular highlight. Others were much less interesting. Ask me to say anything about Highly Evolved by the Vines. I couldn't. Fortunately, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys leans a lot closer to the former than the latter. This album's great! This is a very consistent album, both in theming and quality. Starting with the theming, a lot of the album is about British nightlife and clubbing, which is something that I can't relate to. However, the writing's good, so the repeated themes work here and don't make the album feel too repetitive. But what really sticks out to me is just how good this songs are. "The View From The Afternoon" serves as a good first impression for what this album is going to be like. I'm not huge on Alex Turner's singing myself, but I think it works with the general vibe of the album and its songs. The instrumentals are what really appeal to me here. They're all excellent. I especially love the album's lead single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor." This song is a perfect representation of what makes this album so good. The other big single, "When The Sun Goes Down" is also great. Overall, while I wouldn't call this my favorite indie debut of the 2000s (I do still prefer Is This It), WPSIATWIN is an amazing first-showing of a band that I can now say I like. High 4/5.

Very Borderlands 1 feel. I like it.

Didn't like this as much as I thought I would! Too rocky & the songs all sounded a bit 'samey'. Only 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor' stood out but then that was the only one I knew.

Seminal british indie. They've never been able to top this amazing debut.

I am not the target demographic for this. My late ex loved this album and I could never truly get into this guy’s stuff. From a distance this hardly stands out from its crowd of early 00s bands.

Didn’t like it very much. It is good music but the songs sound very similar to each other and it is overall not my vibe.

Back when AM were young, northern, and fun, rather than prematurely middle-aged, mid-Atlantic and dull.

Pretty good sound. First time hearing them.

'when she's pressed the star after she's pressed unlock'. Iykyk. Literally a time capsule back to the mid 00s.

Great album

Idk kinda boring. It's not really groovy and the guitar tones are mid.

okay rock album, didn't blow me away.

there's not really anything wrong with it but i just have no affinity or patience for all of the 2000s indie garage rock shit

not bad

Sweet but it gets pretty boring after listening it for a while

Mellow

Pretty standard sounding early 2000 British rock. Aggressive, a lot of minor songs, a lot of drinking and girls. A lot of songs sound the same. Riot Van sounds like an heavy influence for the band Easy Life. Not my favorite although I do like a number of later songs by this band.

Solid album that at the time, felt like a new era in British rock. Lyrics and delivery are interesting and guitar parts are angular and catchy

Having heard only one song that was popular on the radio, this album far exceeded my expectations.

Fav: A Certain Romance Least Fav: Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But… It’s peak, another 5/5

Love

Well, this was a lively enough album, but to really be a fan you'd probably have to have been part of the big internet related publicity thing. And all credit to the band for how they managed all that. I didn't really notice any stand out tracks here.

no sé què dir, not too bad i guess millor q i wanna be yours mmmm seria 3.5

Clicky bits of british rock. I can't say I'm a fan of this type of music. It lacks any edge to me and the lyrics are always dumb teenager shit

Mittelprächtig!

This album has such a retro feel to it. College dorm rooms, grungy little record stores, etc. It sounds like a precise tick on the timeline.

In the summer of 2006, my brother got this CD at the Virgin Megastore in London because he thought the band name was funny. Of all the ways he makes questionable decisions, this one worked out. This album is fun. It’s a little tougher to relate to these lyrics as a 36 year old dad, but there’s a palpable energy and…sincerity (?) in these songs about innocent mischief and angsty frustration with the system and being young and horned up and just wanting to get some. This was a fun ride to 2006, back when I very much COULD relate.

We're probably less than 2 years away from the British press anointing another band as the saviors of rock and roll for their generation. Fortunately, with Oasis and Arctic Monkeys, they weren't all that far off.

Not my favorite of the crop of post-Strokes British rock bands but the rips are sharp and Alex Turner mixes both funny and poignant lyrics so I'm satisfied enough.

was planning to give this a 4 but A Certain Romance is so good and at the very end so

I liked it more as it went along. Will listen again. Closer to 3.5, but rounding up.

kinda whatever. i just dont like this style of rock it doesn't do much for me i guess

Dont lie Artic Monkeys. Too hectic

Brilliant. One of few bands to carve out their own unique sound.

Blistering debut. Caught a moment in time. A Certain Romance one of the all time great closers.

Seminal debut. Captures the spirit of British working class youth like few albums have ever achieved. 2 or 3 fillers, but when it’s on form it soars with energy and observation.

This was pretty fun, a bit better than a lot of the other very similar stuff that came out around this time.

I bet you look good on my record player!

Avoided it for a long time due to Dancefloor being overplayed as a teenager. Still prefer the mid-era albums but found some good songs I was less familiar with.

I really like the sound of it, I should listen to it again

When The Sun Goes Down ei ollut nimenä tuttu, mutta oon kyllä ehdottomasti kuullut sen aikaisemmin. Muut kappaleet ei tuttuja, mutta aika perus sitä vanhaa Arctic Monkeys soundia. Ihan toimivaa ja menevää. Parhaat: When The Sun Goes Down, From The Ritz To The Rubble, A Certain Romance, Dancing Shoes, Mardy Bum

Absolutely brilliant album. Back when they were at their best

From the Ritz to the Rubble is such a fucking sick song. this is classic garage rock sound to me. Alex turner has such a defined voice

Fajne przyjmene. Taki arctic monkeys klasyczny przez lata, ale dobrze się tego słucha. Kilka kawałków się wyróżnia. 4/5

Rotzig, rockig und melodisch. Geradeaus, stimmig und lässig. Melancholisch, laut und leise

Great album, great social commentary. Like a time capsule, transports you straight back to being a teenager in Northern England. Best songs: Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But..., From The Ritz To The Rubble, A Certain Romance. 5/5

I think they must've sold their souls to make this album, because after this one all the energy and excitement in their music just evaporates (ok the 2nd album is pretty good). But damn, at least they struck gold once, every song on here is a top tier banger. One of the most fun rock albums you'll hear.

4/5

Good album

I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor // Fake Tales Of San Francisco // Riot Van // Mardy Bum // When The Sun Goes Down //

-1st song- doesn't sound quite like my cup of tea -Fake Tales of San Francisco - I like the beginning and why is the album starting to grow on me?... WAIT ITS FIRE -very upbeat electric guitary album -Riot Van sounds familiar, reminds me of Baby Blue by King Krule guitar kinda style/strumming pattern. automatically catches my attention and its more of my preferred style of music, its more chill compared to the previous songs -Mardy Bum is interesting not in the best way -I really like the guitar intros for each song -When The Sun Goes Down - nice guitar -A certain romance- guitar solo is really catchy, I love the ending I thought I wouldn't love it but it was surprisingly good; good way to end the album I think

“Superb drumming” – my mate Christopher (not his original name; he changed it to emulate his hero Christopher Cross). 2006 was my last year at uni, and pleasantly enough British indie was in robust health at that time. The post-punk revival had injected some jerky funk into the indie system, the rockism of the Darkness and the White Stripes reminded the kids that guitars were quite fun, and the Libertines proved the latest iteration of the band-as-gang attitude prevalent throughout the history of British rock. That is, British indie had undulated back to hard indie. To those who may not know, hard indie is the uniquely British subset of indie, where bands who possessed a fondness for lyrical deftness and shimmering rifts also employed fierce power chords and possessed the threat of a band not afraid of a scrap. With roots in the mods and rockers’ tribalistic barneys, and a hefty attachment of punk attitude, hard indie comprises such titans of British indie as the Stone Roses, the immortal Happy Mondays, the Libertines and, quintessentially, Oasis. As such, many British men of my generation can chart their youth by which hard indie group defined it. And please note that American indie completely lacks this surliness, leaving it as soft as shite and as shite as shite. The leap to fame of the Arctic Monkeys was one of those rare delights that springs up despite the worst intentions of the music industry. The Arctic Monkeys started as a group of teenagers in 2002, and in 2003 recorded a series of demos, which they burnt to CDs in order to give away at gigs. Fans subsequently uploaded these demos to MySpace (remember that?), and this led to a limited-release EP, an appearance on the unsigned stage at the Reading festival, and finally a deal with Domino Records. Their debut single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, was released in October 2005, and astonishingly entered straight in at number one. For one week. With Westlife knocking them off the top the next week. Still, that was enough. The Arctic Monkeys immediately became flagged by the whole nation as a group worth following, and all they had to do was record a decent debut album. The first thing that anyone notices about the Arctic Monkeys is Alex Turner’s voice, a Sheffield brogue as dense as stainless steel. For a billboard of reasons, British singers oft find themselves singing in American accents, which can’t help but feel like a real shame. Okay, nobody’s especially clamouring for a Brummy Otis Redding, but even a standard RP voice has a bit more local colour than some girl group from Acton copying a copy of Destiny’s Child. The Britishness of Whatever… has become the most noted trope of the album. Along with Turner’s voice, we have the references to Topshop and Frank Spencer, and the usage for proper swearwords like wank and bum. And such is this record’s authenticity, the main themes of Whatever… are the anticipation and disappointment of the Great British Teenager’s Night Out, where you start by spending at least two hours in the bathroom, 90 minutes of those fixated on applying gel to to each individual hair. You then meet up with your mates, everyone wearing Ben Sherman shirts and struggling to see each other through the fog of Lynx surrounding your gang. Two of your gang will be reticent and shrinking due to only being 17. Upon entering the club, always called Ritzi’s or Manhattan’s (don’t think “sipping Cris on the mezzanine with Victoria’s Secret models”, but rather “vomming Smirnoff Ice in a former bowling alley with at least one rat”), the entry fee and the first pint will obliterate the 20 quid you borrowed off your mum (with no chance whatsoever of that ever being paid back), nobody will talk to anyone because the music will be far too loud and far too detestable, your socks will be soaked from the paddling pool of piss the men’s toilets have become, and the ultimate ambition of the evening, actually copping off with a girl, might as well be an ambition to dig your way to Neptune with a Plasticine spoon. Likewise, the music is solidly within the lineage of British indie rock. Despite the mildly gauche references to Duran Duran and the Police, Whatever… is clearly a descendant of the Jam and the Smiths and (despite their then-gaucheness) Oasis. And of course it’s a great album. It’s witty, it’s human, it rocks, it charms, and if you’re British, it’s a dolloping portion of verisimilitude. Near two decades since its release, and as Proustian as that might imply, I can’t say it’s dated at all. As I said, hard indie is one of the great old British imperishables, and a conquering return of hard indie should make you puff off your chest with pride and break out your pogo. By the by, it always bothered me that Turner sings about dancing “to electropop like a robot from 1984”. There were no robots in the novel 1984. Indeed, in the dystopia of Oceania, science didn’t exist, and there was no Newspeak word for “science”. To call 1984 a science-fiction novel feels wrong to my ear, since not only had technological progress frozen in the novel, technology had actually gone backwards (I can’t even recall a car in the novel). But anyway, it was only today I realised that Turner is actually singing about the year, and it’s just robot mime from that year. Hey, both the year and the novel could be the intended allusion. Anyway, who cares for intentions? NoRadio, signing out.

Cheeky British fun Nothing crazy but kinda just what I was looking for

ello guvnah

I'll lay my cards out now: I've never been a fan of this band. granted, my experience with them was somewhat limited, and it was mostly with the big hits off their biggest album, AM. more power to you if you like this era of Arctic Monkeys, but I never got anything out of "R U Mine?" or "Do I Wanna Know?" or "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" (they were asking a lot of questions on that album cycle, I guess). but, even with my prior personal bias against this band going into their debut, I have to admit, this definitely has game. the Monkeys' adoration of bands like The Strokes is pretty easy to see, but I think they bring a certain British finesse to the whole thing which gives it a unique angle. a lot of the basslines get pretty active! Alex Turner's lead vocals, usually my main sticking point with anything AM-related, are pretty tolerable here. thankfully, he's got a pretty hard-rocking rhythm section behind him. the best moments here are the ones that feel truly explosive. I'm not quite as into their softer side. decent 7/10.

The name Arctic Monkeys implies that there is fun to be had. This album proves that theory wrong.

Веселая, энергичная музыка. Типа рок. Но голос раздражает.

"¡Oh, por Dios! ¡Qué pedazo de disco!" fue lo primero que me salió decir apenas vi la recomendación de hoy. Música de mis últimos años de secundaria y de mis primeros universitarios, éste disco fue durante mucho tiempo mi favorito de Arctic Monkeys: punkie, adolescente, rápido...básicamente como es la juventud. Excelente debut de una más que excelente banda, que pude ver en vivo en el 2022. Hasta mañana.

Not a huge fan of the Monkees or their polar variety.

Appropriately beginning my listening of the 1001 albums with probably the last “new” album/artist to make an impression on me. Still stands out with its energy and lyrics.

Alternative band. Not great songs.

I had a great time listening to it. My fav track is I bet you look good on the dance floor

The album that triggered a deluge of landfill. That whole era has that weird contradiction of sounding energetically youthful while wearing the musical clothing of an older generation. I like that he has a lot to say and how he paints a vivid picture of being out on the town. But why is he so angry with all the women he wants to shag? It's self loathing isn't it? Someone ought to write a thought piece in the Observer about how Alex Turner was the harbinger of the modern crisis in masculinity or something.

It's an excellent rock album. But rock is not my type of music.

Fine 3/5

Pas exactement mon style, mais ça m'a pas empêché de beaucoup apprécier (en particulier les deux derniers morceaux !) Je mettrais 3,5 si je pouvais.

Je ne connaissais que AM des Arctic Monkeys et comprenait pas vraiment toute la hype autour. Cet album me marque bien plus, c'est super sympa.

Très belle découverte ! J'ai redécouvert Arctic Monkeys récemment en écoutant écoutant leur Album "AM", nostalgique du jeu The Crew où l'une des musiques était présente, mais je n'avais pas pris le temps d'aller écouter les autres albums du groupe. Cet album m'aura donné envie de le faire. Dans l'ensemble, l'album, sans être parfait, est vraiment très bon, et fait parti des albums que je pourrais réécouter de moi même à l'avenir. Ainsi, a défaut de pouvoir lui mettre 4,5, je suis contraint de mettre 4.

Pourquoi pas, mais c'est un rock qui peut rapidement me fatiguer ... je cherche mais j'ai l'impression que rien ne va finir dans quelconque playlist..

I dunno, man. I love the Artic Monkeys but literally every other album of theirs is better.

Groovy little album

Brilliant absolutely loved it!

Bangers

Maybe I've listened to this and its derivates over the past 20 years too much, but it feels a bit boring to me. Still a good album with some punchy songs and great bangers on there. One of the best 2000's rock albums.

Still great. This album really captures a certain romance of being young, going out to bars/clubs, first relationships etc with catchy tunes and sharp lyrics. It also reminds me of the era of downloading and sharing bootleg versions of the songs before they were released, as the music press hyped them up, which was more rewarding than the immediate gratification of today's streaming. I'm glad they have matured since then, but this album will never not be fun.

Remember when it came out it was super fresh and new and a lot of groups that made it big had followed their style. Amazing and refreshing and still holds up

Just not my jive here. Not the best Arctic Monkeys album and a roadbump along the path of this project

I hate this band lowkey but why is the first song good... Why am I enjoying this oh my god.

6/10 - Not my type of music but wouldn’t mind listening to it on a road trip; wouldn’t add this to my liked songs

This record is the reason why The Strokes and AM scored so badly on the Apple list. This is quality. Honestly the only reason it isn't a 5 is because I've handed out too many today. This and Silent Alarm are pretty much all that is redeemable from that 00s indie scene. Actually fuck it it gets a 5

Album 32 and my first 5*. I hadn't listened in years but knew every note. I must have rinsed this as a 16 year old. I revisit some soft lad rock and leave very disappointed but every song on this album (apart from the riot van interlude) either rocks or grooves and sometimes both in the case of still take you home. I didn't even cringe at the lyrics. Only mardy bum brought on a tinge if this. Excellent album.

That this album is almost twenty years old slightly makes me want to die, but it’s nice to have a proper think about it for the first time in forever. Had forgotten how much of it is about clubbing, a thing I had never done when I first heard it in 2006. Is this kind of a concept album about the people of Sheffield and what they’re all doing one Saturday evening??????? Listening now, it’s all from a pretty young angry male perspective, which is interesting- the closest you get to a female view of the world is either View from the Afternoon or When the Sun Goes Down, and I think it’s deliberate that the first of those is a woman exhausted by her drunk boyfriend and the second is a tired prostitute. It’s women as they relate to and appear to the different kinds of men and boys across the album, with flashes of clarity that the women might have their own internal lives rather than being just archetypes. The album title comes from some kitchen sink drama I don’t remember the name of and that makes so much sense- those films were all from the 50s and 60s and about people from depressed Northern towns who grew up too fast and got married too young and were unhappy because of it, and this is what people that age in 2006 did instead. The view from the afternoon As an opener, this is a bit of a mission statement- Alex wailing “I want to see all of the things that we’ve already seen” in the middle of scenes of Hogarthian excess, finding something glorious in the mess of pub gambling and hen nights. That he knows already from the afternoon that it ends with rambling professions of love on the answerphone of a girl who’ll only roll her eyes gives you an idea of the kind of narrator he’s been for the rest of his career- able to see from above how there can be moments of tenderness and the awkwardness of internality in the most arcane and idiotic bits of everyday life. I bet that you look good on the dancefloor I don’t really think of the Arctic Monkeys as an indie sleaze band, but this is probably the indie sleaze anthem. Honestly, I never liked it much, but listening now I guess it’s quite fun that I’ve always pictured it happening on a dance floor and it obviously actually isn’t, because why would he need to bet? Choosing to believe he’s spotted her behind the till in Budgens. Fake tales of San Francisco I think the bridge to this might be my favourite bit of the album. “And yeah, I’d love to tell you all my problem/You’re not from New York City, you’re from Rotherham” is an all time lyric, and ending with the “yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah” of exactly the kind of shit indie band he’s skewering is so fun. Even more than IBTYLGOTD, this is so of an era- the Arctic Monkeys were the reason landfill indie happened, but they were probably seeing shit indie bands coming up around them for years before everyone rode through on their coattails. A lot of the crit I have now for the AM is that they’re not as vicious as they were- is that album they’ve got about a phantom space base a bit rich when they got famous with songs about this stuff? Dancing Shoes This is actually a sad song and I hadn’t realised it before- it’s practically a Smiths song. Like in TVFTA it’s about someone longing for connection and not being able to make it even when they’ve gone out with the express intention of meeting someone. I like how the last verse repeats the beginning like the poor bloke’s on yet another night out, with the same inevitable ending. You probably couldn’t see for the lights I like that this comes after Dancing Shoes- he’s mocked some sad little indie kid for being desperate and awkward and unable to talk to girls, and then one track later he’s self loathing about his behaviour around a girl he likes: “But they’re not half as bad as me/ say anything and I’ll agree”. Another song with a title that helps explain the content without the words ever being said- presumably she’s a girl in a band, which is obviously 2006’s coolest girl. Still take you home Honestly this is more sexist than I remember it, particularly the middle verse. It probably speaks EXACTLY to the kind of sex Alex was having before he got famous, but it’s pretty miserable- he’s mocking the girl who’s dressed up and pretending she doesn’t remember him, even though he’s as much of a cocky little prick as she is. Musically it’s not different enough from the other, less sexist songs, to excuse its inclusion. Fuck this one. Soz. Riot Van I like how dreamy this is- after a million club songs these are young boys sneaking vodka behind a bush, and the music’s almost like an interlude. “Those silly boys in blue/ Well, they won’t catch me and you” - it all feels quite nostalgic even though it’s about getting beaten up by the police for being an idiot kid. I just googled it and 2006 was the year of “Hug a hoodie”, where Labour accused David Cameron of being soft on crime by suggesting he wasn’t sufficiently demonising bored working class kids for hanging around shopping centres being low level vandals. The boys are almost heroic in this, since the police are the bad guys and they’re taking the piss. I like this one a lot. Red light indicates doors are secured Another clubbing song. I like that the verses are a conversation but I don’t find this one that interesting. If this isn’t a concept album, they could definitely have cut some of these. Mardy Bum This makes so much more sense to me as an adult- but I don’t believe it’s from Alex’s perspective. Even though the narration’s first person, it feels like it’s sung by someone older and probably married. I like how the northern slang in it feels a bit older, as well- “Mardy” and “reight” are both words I heard here for the first time, and they sound like they come from a tired man who loves his partner but wants to hold onto the life he had out with the boys, as illustrated in 90% of the other tracks here. Is it sexist? Probably. Are those men? Almost definitely. Perhaps vampires is a bit strong but… This is THE ONLY SONG ON THE ALBUM THAT BREAKS MY CONCEPT THEORY. I’ve also never knowingly put it on. Whatever. When the sun goes down Another Sheffield night time song, and deceptively dark, considering how jaunty it sounds- not that there’s anything inherently bad about sex work, but “it don’t stop in the winter” and I’m not keen on the scummy man’s “nasty plan”. I like how the middle of the song has the narrator awkwardly standing there listening and wondering, a voyeur, because that’s another thing this album is- a profoundly voyeuristic statement about working class culture from someone fantasising about the lives of people they choose to stereotype. Alex isn’t a reliable narrator- he’s made assumptions about both the man and woman in the song, and he moralises at the end to his audience- “I hope you’re not involved at all”. From the ritz to the rubble “Secretly I think they want it all to kick off…/it’s just something to talk about/ a story to tell” There’s some actual animosity in this one, from both the narrator and the kind of throbbing mass of the nightclub queue. They’re craving violence as an antidote to boredom, but then: “This town’s a different town than what it was last night”- it makes sense this is later on in the album, because it takes us to the next morning. While the album’s about what happened one night, this song’s about what didn’t, and how things are different and clearer in the morning. Which leads to: A Certain Romance This is the only song on the album without a kind of precise temporality to it- while everything else is a vignette of a specific time and place, a certain romance is vibes only, a summation of his teenage years now he’s growing out of them and moving away. My overarching review of this album is that I sort of love the swaggering characters in it, but my favourite character of all is Alex- so many songs are about “you” or “the boys” or blow by blow accounts of the people the narrator sees, but there’s still narrative bias you can glean so much about the author from. He’s romanticising working class Sheffield life very much from the peripheries- until the end, the actual Alex character narrator only crops up in clubs shitting on posers, pulling girls’ pigtails and trying to look cool, but A Certain Romance flips that round- after 12 tracks judging absolutely everyone (men, women, children), you see what Alex’s relationship to the chavs and townies and indie kids of 2006 Sheffield really is (is it Alex’s bandmates in knackered converse?). “They’d probably like to throw a punch at me” but “What can I say, I’ve known them for a long long time”- ultimately even with the law breaking and pretentiousness and ringtones, he finally accepts the romance of his grey town and the colourful people in it. I read that Alex started writing lyrics after he read John Cooper Clarke in an English lesson, and that makes sense of this album to me- it’s short story poems about the working classes as told by the cleverest boy in the year. I think the reason it feels like there are slightly too many clubbing songs is that that isn’t the most interesting Alex narrative- a song like Dancing Shoes or From the Ritz to the Rubble is more interesting than Still Take You Home or Red Light because there’s more to be said about what happened on a night where you didn’t get what you wanted than one where you did. I really love this album BUT that’s not to say I wouldn’t have given it an edit to include Leave Before the Lights Come On off their next EP instead of one or two of the others.

Arctic Monkeys with their first album brought yorkshire into the UK rock scene and were unapologetic in their no nonsense lyrics and love/hate relationship with Britain. Amazing album front to back and I would say could be the album of our generation, they could be the band of our generation. Personal faves are, of course, When The Sun Goes Down, Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured (but that might be because I have a real soft spot for Rock Lobster) and Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... Ending the album with A Certain Romance is bittersweet and a perfect ending and the riff is quintessential circa 2006 UK indie. I can imagine every indie kid in their skinny jeans and skinny scarf, horrible trilby, potentially trouser braces if they were committed, fag out of mouth and glens in the other hand walking down the canal in the sun. Even though the lyrics I feel are talking about a different sub culture - I wonder if they loved the Monkeys too?

Brought back memories.

A classic that I have enjoyed many times, it ages pretty well.

A good listen and fun to hear this again, but I think I'd be unlikely to put it on for its own sake. If I'm looking for this vibe I'd probably tend to go with The Strokes.

Another good debut album makes the 1001 list! This one’s high energy Brit punk from the 2000s. All good, but I liked Fake Tales Of San Francisco best. Hey, hey we’re Artic Monkees (3.2*s)

Listening to this again made my liver hurt, what a time. The whole setlist is really strong, full of nostalgia, and is an overall stellar debut. Always loved how decipherable the lyrics are, you know what you're getting with Arctic Monkeys. That being said, I don't really put them on anymore. This album sorta came and went for me. On this relisten, the middle songs all blended together and at one point I felt like it was just yelling at me. Still, AM won't reach these heights again and they're far superior to other groups of this ilk (The Strokes, Franz Ferd, etc.). Classic Reeboks mention cancelled out by pronunciation of "punch" so 3.35.

I was working my 1st job out of college and living off campus at Rutgers with a bunch of hooligans like myself when I discovered the Arctic Monkeys and what a perfect band for that moment. I spent half my time in the office trolling the pirate download sites for new and intriguing music and when I stumbled upon the fan released AM content I was instantly hooked. I immediately spread the word with my housemates and we became diehards. Many an epic night blasting the monks and several tracks became our theme songs that we could very much relate to. This debut album is so technically sound but also has grit. Alex def has a chip on his shoulder for USA but he's not wrong with "Certain Romance" or "Fake Tales" (both bangers). This is one of, if not, my top Indy rock albums of all time...4.5.

Arctic Monkeys debut album is an incredibly impressive release. They managed to bring an original rock sound with the perfect edge of British attitude and punk-rock themes and deservedly vaulted to stardom in the wake of this album. There isn't a bad song on it and has an absolutely blistering second half that I might put at the top of all time Side B's. While I remain and Arctic Monkeys fan, nothing they have done has come anywhere close to this debut album. You can pick any song out a hat and be satisfied but there 5-6 all-timers that I routinely revisit. Props to Alex Turner and company on one of the best ever. 4.60 stars

No notes. One of my favorite albums. Every song tells me a wonderfully vivid little snapshot of life set to music I can jam out or dance to. Always welcome this band in my rotation.

Gotta love some Arctic Monkeys from before Alex Turner decided that his true passion lies in writing the most boring shit imaginable. Not as good as "Favourite Worst Nightmare", but still a rare gem in the infinite slop ocean of garage rock revival. What makes this so much better than something like The Black Keys? I'd say "the vibes", but even I don't know what that truly means. Four outta five.

I was all set to be bored with these indie darlings. But I kinda love them

When it's good it's very good. Some of the songs were very overplayed when it was new but it's been long enough now that I can enjoy them again. But of filler towards the middle and end, but good overall.

This was always going to get a 5 from me

It's an ok album. Never really understood the hype around Arctic Monkeys at a time when I felt Bloc Party, The Strokes, The Killers, Deathcab for Cutie, Green Day, and many more were putting out better stuff.

One of the better Arctic monkeys albums

Yet another average rock album, by another average rock band.

That was a solid listen

# Album Name: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not # Artist: Arctic Monkeys # Rating: 5/5 # Comments: Honestly, this is a banging album. It doesnt matter if you dont like indy, or that you are sick of brit pop, you just need to listen to the quirky lyrics, cracking music and feel the energy in this bad boy. The first two albums from the arctic monkeys were absolutely class before they went into that weird phase. This was at their peak imo, raw and full of spunk. Singing with that yorkshire accent like you were in your nana's bathroom. They were pretty tight. Not quite as polished as their later albums but thats one of the things i love about this album. Its gritty. This is one of the best albums from the 00's. I wouldnt put this album up there with the VERY best of all time but its a bloody good album. Low 5 for me because i can easily listen to this all the way through. # Top Tunes: View from the afternoon / Bet that you look good on the DF / Fake tales of san francisco / Dancing shoes / Take you home / Riot Van / mardy bum / when the sun goes down / Ritz to the rubble / Certain romance # Would I listen to it again? Fucking yes man. Av it in yer ear!

Who came first, the black keys or this album? The sound is identical

I liked it more than I thought I would.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Good

Arctic Monkeys is one of those bands I heard about but didn't really know. I only recognized a couple of tracks: "Red Lights Indicate Doors Are Secured" (which only has ~50M plays) and "Mardy Bum" (which has ~430M plays). Interesting that the album has a bunch of other songs with lots of plays that I didn't know: "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor", "When The Sun Goes Down", etc. In the end the album didn't rise above a 3 for me.

Mainly familiar with the couple songs that got play on Kexp. A lot of it reminded me of The Strokes, but punkier. Despite that, only about half the album had my attention.

Memories of downloading albums off Limewire on wifi stolen from my neighbors. Can't remember if I got hyped for this band from Fluxblog or the early days of Pitchfork - but I know they (mostly) lived up to that hype. Man, I miss the internet before it turned into an ad-laden, disinformation infested, AI nightmare.

This was pretty much my definition of cool when it came out. Made me want to move to the UK just to get rat-arsed in a random pub in the afternoon.

Never really was my thing, and I didn't connect with it this time around either.

I liked it muchly

I learned about this band after AM came out. I think I did a listen of their back catalog, but I can't be sure. This is a good debut. They have a different rhythm than other bands in the genre, and that's noticeable here. In my opinion, they needed some time to develop, but it's an admirable start, and it still holds up, but it's still missing something. It's got all the bits, they just don't quite have them in the right places. They will figure that out in the next few albums. Overall, a solid debut with promises that they follow through with.

I have had such a terrible week or so of albums, so thank god for the few rays of sunshine I have gotten. This album is awesome. It's so fun, and bouncy, and unique - I love it. Although I think they've done some solid work since this released, I don't think they've ever again quite reached these heights.

GOAT

A great album, love the gritty realism of the lyrics. It’s fantastic!

Funky guitar riffsmatched with awesome basslines, upbeat drums that all work together with the lead singers vocals. Arctic monkeys are such a fantastic band. Only reason not 5 stars is most songs when I skimmed the lyrics were love songs and not bad lyrically but if they had better word play/ meaning

This was fine. Straightforward rock, and I always like hearing non-US voices. Not particularly memorable

I really did not rate this. Some of the last few songs were interesting, but...wow I did not feel like it was a good use of my ears. Tight band, but... not for me, samey.

Nothing special

Please stop

Ja hoor, eindelijk weer een klassieker in onze eigen tijdgeest. Daar staan er - lijkt het - toch wel iets te weinig van in deze lijst. En deze gaat niet ongemerkt voor bij, want wat spiked deze de nostalgiehormonen lekker zeg. Dit was echt een reusachtige gateway naar meer - en zelfs betere - zeroes indie rock. 'Beter' zeg ik omdat wat ze doen niet eens echt baanbrekend, hoogstcreatief of inspirationeel is, wat sommige tijdsgenoten in de indie scene wel waren. Maar wat rammelt het fijn, en dat er vaak een parallel getrokken wordt met het debuut van The Strokes overzees is in die zin niet gek. Maar waar dit album zich in onderscheid van die garage rock explosie in New York, is dat het wat meer kunstjes tentoonstelt dan distortion, hoekige riffs, effectieve melodietjes en droge vocalen. De Monkeys kunnen inderdaad rammen ('IBYLGOTD', 'Still Take You Home', 'From the Ritz to the Rubble'), maar schuwen ook geen slow moving jangle pop ('Mardy Bum', 'Riot Van'), en laten zelfs zien een meeslepend verhaal te kunnen vertellen waar veel overzeese indie rockers het niet zozeer van moesten hebben ('When the Sun Goes Down', 'A Certain Romance'). Ik denk dat het album net iets te weinig credits krijgt als debuutalbum waarin een band al volwassen trekjes vertoont, door verschillende facetten van een (in mijn ogen) goede rockband onder de knie te hebben. Het middenstuk is wel echt jeugdig, en vaak ronduit inspiratieloos gerammel, maar de begin- en eindfase zijn ronduit briljant. Qua geluid en (subtielere) intensiteit is het sophomore album van ze mijn favoriet, maar deze mag met recht bij de betere debuutalbums van de 21e eeuws genoemd worden. Ik heb de review van Koen nog niet gelezen, maar ik verwacht dat hij meermaals klaar is gekomen bij het schrijven ervan. 8/10 Highlights: IBYLGOTD Fake Tales of San Francisco When the Sun Goes Down From the Ritz to the Rubble

Legendary Recht voor z'n raap. Vanaf het begin meteen vol in de vijfde versnelling. Alle jeugdige energie samengepakt in het debuutalbum waar ze (in volle omvang) niet aan hebben kunnen tippen. Geen moeilijk ge-croon van Alex Turner of lang doordachte gitaar-loopjes. Volumeknop open en gas erop, heerlijk. 9,5/10 Highlights I Bet You Good on the Dancefloor Fake Tales From San Francisco Mardy Bum When the Sun Goes Down

Obviously 5 stars

Best arctic monkeys album

Too garage band for my liking but the voice was ok

There’s no real big negatives for me here beside I just wish it was weirder, more experimental idk. All songs here know what they’re doing, they’re just all doing similar things. Good stuff.

Very good, but not on that next level of greatness.

Biased because this is an old fave

This is a very upbeat, fun record from start to finish. A good mix of 80s punk with some Rolling Stones influence thrown in, the pacing on this album was so good, I felt like it was only 20 minutes long despite it being over twice that length. While Arctic Monkeys very much gained more popularity in the 2010s, this record is a much more accurate representation of their essence to me. A great band nonetheless and this album still hits in 2024. Notable Tracks: - The View From The Afternoon - fun, fast-paced track to open - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor - Dancing Shoes - Riot Van - nice change of pace amidst punk chaos - Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... - A Certain Romance 8/10

The Libertines ran so the Arctic Monkeys could run a little slower behind them. British Indie garagey post-punk revival with a rawer intensity than I remembered. A lot of good songs with appealing music that can range up to a noisy organized chaos, but not enough so to reduce its general appeal. Prominent, simple bass lines pair with active drumming to create a danceable beat, while guitars can be a bit more choppy/spastic or laying down a catchy melody, along with clear vocals with singable melodies on top that draw attention. It has a really good sound, each instrument can be heard in isolation but they all mix together well. The sound is consistent, which also makes it a bit repetitive, which makes the weaker tracks skippable because they’re not bringing anything new to the table. Solid album that I intend to give more chances now that it’s come back up.