'Hello You': The Detours and Longing Between 'AM' and 'The Car' by the Arctic Monkeys

Written by Abby Power

November 12th, 2022

After the less commercially successful Suck It and See, the Arctic Monkeys embarked on a supporting tour throughout 2011-2012. This would lead up to the release of the much more commercially successful AM in 2013. AM would become the Arctic Monkeys most notable and prominent album of their eclectic discography. The album gracefully introduced Arctic Monkeys fans to indie

nightlife, aside from punky-skinny jeans and garage rock. AM would revolve around the concept of blurred love, paranoia, and questions that would remain unanswered.

The Arctic Monkeys released The Car on October 21st, 2022. However, the album was not as impactful as fans had hoped. The album reflected the themes of love and longing, projecting a parallel to previous album releases, such as AM. Much of the lyrical content reflected hidden feelings that could never be spoken, only sung. Alex Turner delivered the emotions of despair and heartfelt longing in ‘Big Ideas’, the seventh album track. Through the musical content, visual content of music videos, such as ‘Body Paint,’ offered simplicity by fusing light embedded in the darkness of sensual lyrical content. This sensual lyrical content acted like a round of applause to their prominent album AM. Of course, the songs can be interpreted in various ways, regardless of their real meaning. The anticipation of The Car offered fans a new hope and a new era for the band, though the new album was not as dreamy and exciting as they had hoped. However, the Arctic Monkeys ventured into a new era filled with inspirations of pop, string sections, and self-reflection.