And still they surprise. Five albums in seven years is a reasonably prolific output, but that at least four of them are extremely good is something that, perhaps, we didn't expect. AM continues with the quality, both musically (which veers from smarter-than-Black Keys garage rock to strummed autumnal tunes à la Alex Turner's solo work on the Submarine soundtrack) and lyrically (Turner just gets better and better with each record, and here he is particularly adept at coining new phrases). From opener Do You Wanna Know?
to closer I Wanna Be Yours (a woozy-beauty treatment of John Cooper Clarke's tone poem), AM hits the mark every time. Warm and distinctive, it's the sound of a band that changes subtly with each record yet still manages to retain enough originality and suss to engender respect as well as envy. arcticmonkeys.com
Download: Arabella, One for the Road, Mad Sounds, Snap Out of It