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10.0
131914
10.0 |
NME
The band’s spectacular seventh album summarises their story so far: sharp songwriting, relentless innovation and unbreakable teamwork
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10.0
131972
10.0 |
Evening Standard
This doesn’t sound like the Arctic Monkeys of a decade ago - but so what?
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10.0
132005
10.0 |
musicOMH
The Sheffield band’s latest exists in some kind of kitsch pocket universe where people sit around in vintage Gucci watching Roger Moore James Bond movies for days on end, subsisting purely on irony
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10.0
132011
10.0 |
The Arts Desk
There's little of immediacy anywhere in this release, but it's worth putting in the work to get to the magic
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8.6
131943
8.6 |
Northern Transmissions
‘The Car’ truly is the Arctic Monkeys best album to-date. It’s epic, features sharp songwriting, unending innovation, and terrific arrangements and production. They impress on this record and continue to improve
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8.5
131928
8.5 |
The Quietus
A case can be made for the transitional albums, like 2011’s at ease with itself Suck It And See. The Car, however – in which a songwriter matures and finds an unexpected emotional range – is sure ultimately to be ranked in the band’s very top tier
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8.0
131931
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
The Car flickers between solemn nostalgia but also having a blast – a journey which can be unsettling but fun and surprising in a way that you wouldn’t expect
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8.0
131934
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Welcome back Arctic Monkeys, your pensive musings have been greatly missed
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8.0
131919
8.0 |
Dork
It’s unlikely to win over anyone who wasn’t a fan of the left turn the band took on the last record, but if you meet ‘The Car’ on its own big-collared, sepia-sunglassed terms, you’ll have a great time. Still, there’d be no harm in throwing in just a couple more choruses on the next album, would there lads?
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8.0
131925
8.0 |
Pitchfork
The English band returns with an adventurous, heavily orchestrated album filled with enigmatic songs of love, longing, and doubt
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8.0
131899
8.0 |
DIY
The Monkeys have never sounded more evocative
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8.0
131901
8.0 |
Uncut
Turner's observations and the way he relishes a smart turn of phrase bring these vignettes to life in a way that's almost frighteningly vivid, even when his circuitous melodies don't always land. Print edition only
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8.0
131945
8.0 |
The Guardian
Alex Turner’s vocals are majestic on this retro-styled, tactile album that delves into the effort behind maintaining a glamorous facade
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8.0
131946
8.0 |
The Independent
Designed to reward deep listening, these songs mark the start of a post-song era, where form and structure give way to mood and imagery
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8.0
131967
8.0 |
The Irish Times
Sheffield steel continues to shine as the band’s seventh studio album sidesteps repetition
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8.0
131981
8.0 |
The Skinny
Grandiose strings and exuberant irresistible vocals in The Car show Arctic Monkeys are more comfortable than ever in their lounge-laden musical attire
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8.0
131998
8.0 |
Mojo
This is a more soulful, less arch record than Tranquility Base. Not quite as detached from Monkeys past as it first appears, either. Print edition only
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8.0
132055
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
On The Car, Alex Turner and co. embrace big string arrangements, but harken back to the disco depression that made 2013's AM an instant classic
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8.0
132090
8.0 |
The Observer
The arch Sheffield quartet are contemplative, cryptic but still occasionally anthemic on an album of goodbyes laced with crooner soul and loungey funk
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8.0
132181
8.0 |
Record Collector
Drummer Matt Helders is a muted presence, few melodies truly stick and Tranquility…’s off-world ambitions aren’t met. The Car is a slick mover, immaculately appointed and often beautiful. What it’s driving at, though, can feel naggingly elusive
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7.7
131900
7.7 |
Paste Magazine
On the Sheffield indie rockers’ latest record, they take a more grounded approach but maintain an eccentric edge
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7.6
132013
7.6 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
The Car is crackling with a wickedly fun energy underneath the surface of its mid-tempo mugging, if you're willing to take the commute and meet it halfway
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7.0
132074
7.0 |
XS Noize
The Car represents the success of a band willing to innovate and reinvent itself for a new era. A new era that should be warmly welcomed
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7.0
132009
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
The direction they’ve taken here finds them flexing their muscles in a way that sheds the cheeky irony of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino in favor of a more plaintive earnestness, while at the same time building on that album’s sense of adventure
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6.9
132064
6.9 |
Beats Per Minute
If The Car is any automobile in particular, it’s a Ferrari or Lamborghini; you might watch it pass for a moment, admiring its sleek curves, shimmering façade and purring engine, but you won’t care much about the driver – and once it’s out of view, it probably won’t be long before it fades from memory
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6.0
132073
6.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Despite exciting moments, this feels like a detour, an intoxicating suggestion of more focused projects to come
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6.0
131944
6.0 |
Gigwise
Driving, but in what direction?
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6.0
131898
6.0 |
Clash
This album is, to be clear, an ambitious, stylish, coherent work of fine art. ‘Tranquility Base…’ grew on me, this may too. But I can’t help but feel that with ‘The Car’, Arctic Monkeys have taken a wrong turn
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5.0
132094
5.0 |
Loud And Quiet
In The Car, Arctic Monkeys have succeeded in creating a sonically beautiful, coherent album. Its potential is squandered by a lack of thematic urgency, insight, or sincerity – resulting in an album that can only elicit a very superficial kind of joy
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