In my last post I was pondering whether there's cause for concern about the musical future of Arctic Monkeys after the release of their worst track to date. I've been nursing knots in my stomach ever since, and - being part of the generation whose introduction to indie music rests almost solely on the band - the fear of them disappearing up their arse hasn't been far from my mind since.
However, over the weekend I was gifted with a tasty - if small - morsel of hope which I have since been nibbling affectionately.
It was announced some months ago that Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner would be making his first foray into a solo career by providing five songs for the soundtrack for British comedy film Submarine, directed by Richard Ayoade (best known to us as Moss from The IT Crowd)
Ayoade and Turner have come together several times before, Ayoade having directed the music videos for "Flourescent Adolescent", "Crying Lightning" and "Cornerstone" (the former is just one of the best music videos in the last few years)as well as the videos for "My Mistakes Were Made For You" and "Standing Next To Me" from Turner's side project The Last Shadow Puppets. For someone who plays such a supremely inept geek like Moss in The IT Crowed, Ayoade has a formidable indie rep - he's directed for Vampire Weekend, Kasabian, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs too. Never underestimate the geeks folks.
But back on track, over the weekend I came across one of the trailers for Submarine , soundtracked by the song "Piledriver Waltz". Have a cheeky listen why don't you:
I can't tell you how much I loved hearing that track. It's drawn me right back from the brink of my doubts for the new Arctic Monkeys album. Obviously it's not an Arctics track, and as The Last Shadow Puppets showed, Turner can deviate pretty strongly from "traditional" Arctics fair when he wants to. However, it proves that Turner's still got it. He's got it in spades. The song just oozes that indefinably sensual nature in his songwriting which has been growing cheekily since Favourite Worst Nightmare and really flowered on Humbug. The drawl, the croon, the delivery. Gorgeous. It send shivers up my spine. And I'm a bloke.
The song itself, disregading for a moment any Arctic Monkeys related speculation, is gorgeous. Once again, very Scott Walker/Burt Bacharach like in the vein of The Last Shadow Puppets, but quite similar to "Cornerstone" from Humbug. The lyrics are, as we'd expect from Turner, sublime. A lot of people have found his ability to write ballads like this something of an anomaly, but he's been cracking them out since day one. Their early EP Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? contained the two beautiful ballads "Despair in the Departure Lounge" and "No Buses", tracks which were knocking around back when Andy Nicholson was still playing bass. And since then we've had the gorgeous "Only Ones Who Know" - one of Turner's best ever songs as far as I'm concerned - as well as brilliant B-side "The Bakery" and a few others.
I can safely say that the new Arctic Monkeys album won't sound like this track, but that's not the point. This track has reassured me beyond any doubt that Turner still has a firm hold on his songwriting and lyrical abilities - something which "Brick by Brick" knocked my confidence in. This isn't necessarily a universal indicator that the new album will be brilliant. But there's hope.
I'll definitely be getting a hold of the rest of Submarine's soundtrack. Might even give the film itself a whirl.
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