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10.0
104297
10.0 |
Q
Feels like Arctic Monkeys have embarked on their own full-band side-project. The experiment has worked, From here, they can go anywhere. All bets are off. Print edition only
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10.0
104445
10.0 |
The Irish Times
Another fascinating chapter in the history of a band that continues to intrigue with every release
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8.5
104474
8.5 |
The Quietus
This is by far and away the most charming, enjoyable and progressive album that the Arctic Monkeys have made and bodes well for a pretty interesting future
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8.2
104383
8.2 |
Earbuddy
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is their very best. Hands down
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8.1
104535
8.1 |
Pitchfork
The way Alex Turner swaps witty sleaze for absurdist suave makes it a totally bemusing and fascinating listen
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8.0
104556
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
Anyone expecting another AM, or more songs about taxi ranks and shit nightclubs, is going to be disappointed. Anyone wanting to hear a sad, funny, wordy and imaginative album about paranoia and alienation, however, is in for a treat
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8.0
104512
8.0 |
The Observer
There is a risk that this atmospheric record, one that wrong-foots expectation, might not land well. But this voyage into themed purgatory – what one song calls the Ultracheese – is worth it
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8.0
104579
8.0 |
Spectrum Culture
A brand-reinventing excursion, a loose concept album full of quirky tangents
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8.0
104718
8.0 |
PopMatters
The first listen may be surprising, but repeated listens illuminate that Arctic Monkeys remain progressive and energetic even when style and mood shift dramatically
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8.0
104401
8.0 |
Exclaim
Before you write this off as exhausting or pretentious self-indulgence, give it a listen or two. Peruse the lyrics, dissect them and have a laugh
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8.0
104441
8.0 |
Evening Standard
A strange and seductive song cycle that’s unlikely to be anyone’s favourite Arctic Monkeys album, though Turner’s singular sci-fi vision shows he’s still light years ahead of his rock rivals
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8.0
104443
8.0 |
The Independent
Few bands today are as brave as this
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8.0
104298
8.0 |
NME
At first it’s completely overwhelming – you’ll be trying to connect the scattered dots on this initially impenetrable listen, and maybe even despairing when it doesn’t all come together. But when the constellations show through, you’ll realise that it’s a product of searingly intelligent design
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8.0
104295
8.0 |
Mojo
The Monkeys' sixth long-player is a bold move. Print edition only
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8.0
104493
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
The album is a journey through the plasticity of contemporary life
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7.8
104496
7.8 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
Arctic Monkeys tell the punchline after they have told the joke
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7.5
104486
7.5 |
Clash
Whilst your first few visits to the ‘Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino’ may feel alien and unwelcoming, you will gravitate ever closer to its shimmering outer-space treasures with each stay
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7.5
104560
7.5 |
The 405
It seems to suggest that Arctic Monkeys are a band with a longevity we might not have expected once upon a time, and they are continuing to build their sizeable legacy as they move on, more unpredictable than ever
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7.0
104576
7.0 |
Under The Radar
The creative force of the band is becoming increasingly about one man's sense of identity, something that drives against their sense of community that has been inherent in their work up until this point
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7.0
104489
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
Dystopia meets creature comforts on the sci-fi-themed Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
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7.0
104532
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Give it some time and this sixth album reveals itself as one of the most interesting of the band’s career
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7.0
104639
7.0 |
Punk News
An interesting detour
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7.0
104380
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
This is a record that is massively of-a-piece, that glides by at a deliberate pace, and on which any given individual track wouldn’t work outside of the musical context that the others around it provide it
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7.0
104509
7.0 |
All Music
It's an accomplished, slyly snappy, and admirable affair, and yet there still seems to be something lacking -- namely, songs that stick
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7.0
104296
7.0 |
Uncut
Low-key but engrossing, Tranquility Base is a slow-burner, self-doubting but pushing ever onwards. It's a brave new step, even if it can be a little one-paced, and a little withholding. Print edition only
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6.7
104555
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
The band's weirdest album is a fun, flawed aberration (at least for the time being)
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6.0
104491
6.0 |
The Skinny
A nuanced look at Alex Turner’s Sheffield-to-L.A. stardom coupled with an original take on the 2018 we've all experienced, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino shoots for the moon – and ends up in an endless line for tacos at a pop-up near Clavius
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6.0
104299
6.0 |
DIY
Either genius, or the sound of a man unravelling
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6.0
104468
6.0 |
musicOMH
When the Arctic Monkeys’ career comes to be reappraised, this album could be seen as an outlier, or the start of their next phase. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, but sometimes, dividing an audience is exactly what you need to do
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5.8
104776
5.8 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino is the best possible kind of average record, one that goes out swinging. One that goes for it on every level. A record that, although it isn’t great by any typical metric, is extremely curious and entertaining
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5.0
104534
5.0 |
No Ripcord
So much of your appreciation for Tranquility may depend on how much you can stomach Turner's interpretative dance
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5.0
104476
5.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Despite the huge burden of expectation, Turner and co. sound cocksure on TBH&C. Sadly, this doesn’t equate to anything resembling brilliance
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5.0
104510
5.0 |
A.V. Club
Although Turner cranks up the rakish charm, in the form of falsetto (“Golden Trunks”) and Morrissey-esque, clenched-jaw self-effacement (“She Looks Like Fun”), the album feels unmoored and even plodding due to a lack of structure
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4.0
104423
4.0 |
Rolling Stone
They've tried a stylistic change up that doesn't quite work. No shame in that. Sometimes restless artistry has a price
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