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9.0
1926
9.0 |
The Quietus
Humbug is far more than simply a good record; it’s an achievement, a surprise and an enduring triumph. More than anything it suggests Arctic Monkeys not only will be around for years (was that ever really in doubt?!) but they could grow to be as nourishing as any band of the last five years.
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8.0
1917
8.0 |
musicOMH
It may not be quite their finest hour … but Humbug is another intriguing step in the evolution of Britain's most exciting guitar band.
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8.0
1920
8.0 |
Scotland on Sunday
Every bit as impressive as the Arctic Monkeys' precocious debut album.
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8.0
1921
8.0 |
Daily Telegraph
Humbug may not be driven by the singalong certainties which have turned Arctic Monkeys into chart-toppers thus far, but it’s a brilliant record, built to last.
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8.0
1907
8.0 |
Uncut
Arctic Monkeys were never comfortable as the ‘voice of a generation’. Humbug subtly shrugs off that unwanted mantle, and in the same deft movement, promises a much more interesting future.
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8.0
1908
8.0 |
Mojo
Print edition only
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8.0
1909
8.0 |
Q
Print edition only
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8.0
1910
8.0 |
Clash
The heroic vision of the Monkeys has culminated in a brooding and dauntingly dark album, which is, from start to finish, their strongest and most accomplished work to date.
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8.0
1911
8.0 |
The Irish Times
The initial punky energy has been lost, but they’ve substantially added to their musical palette.
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8.0
1913
8.0 |
The Guardian
You can either keep chasing an elusive past ... or you can press on, keeping your gaze fixed forward ... Humbug admirably takes the second, with a confidence that suggests that … Arctic Monkeys' best might be yet to come.
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8.0
1915
8.0 |
The List
They have never sounded so creepily compelling. What a revamp.
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8.0
1928
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Success has not brightened the Monkeys' worldview. Their ace third album is full of Turner's snide observations on human behavior
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8.0
1930
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Once it unveils its charms, you’re hooked by 10 expertly crafted songs.
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7.2
1925
7.2 |
Pitchfork
Humbug isn't better than either of its predecessors, but it expands the group's range and makes me curious where it might go next.
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7.0
1912
7.0 |
The Observer
Humbug feels like a great band nervously feeling their way forward, like baby steps towards something bigger. The next one should be a cracker.
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7.0
1918
7.0 |
PopMatters
It just sounds too polished, too mature—too good. It won’t be the massive success that Whatever You Say was just a few short years ago. It certainly won’t put anyone on the dancefloor. Then again, maybe that’s the price they need to pay to be taken seriously
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7.0
1927
7.0 |
NME
Humbug can often feel sticky, claustrophobic, like your heart is going to explode and about a week long. Which isn’t to say it’s not often brilliant. Just that ‘Humbug’ extends ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’’s trend for being squat and muscular right up to the border of brutishness.
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7.0
1923
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Humbug is a pretty good album that’s pleasingly incongruous amongst the pre-fab boredom of much modern Brit indie. It’s eminently not astounding but it is inventive, and likeably so.
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7.0
1924
7.0 |
No Ripcord
An album as moody as the Arctic Monkeys have ever released, and, quite possibly, their boldest.
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6.0
1919
6.0 |
The Scotsman
This is no roaring comeback. There are hardly any tunes worth bellowing along to, few lines to make a terrace chant, no rush to be caught up in. Instead, Homme has helped the band fashion a moody, broody, often downbeat collection,
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6.0
1922
6.0 |
The Sunday Times
An intriguing but inessential diversion.
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6.0
1916
6.0 |
The Times
Next time, turn the guitars down and the emotions up.
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6.0
1914
6.0 |
The Independent
It's different from anything they've done before, but is it any better? I'm not convinced.
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6.0
1929
6.0 |
Spin
This is oval-shaped music, circling around the tracks; it’s accomplished, but not particularly infectious.
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