So this morning I wake up and my inbox is already stuffed to its gills with my dear buddy going OFF in ALL CAPS about…who is that, The Arctic Monkeys?? Those guys??? You mean the Black Keys? “Nah, I mean the ARCTIC MONKEYS they got a NEW ALBUM,” my buddy says a little louder into the Gchat box. I minimize the tab right as a stream of capital letters saying, “THE WORLD’S FIRST EVER MONSTER TRUCK FLIP,” buzz my way. True story.
But anyhow: waaaaaaaaaay, way back in 2014, the Arctic Monkeys took a bit of hiatus to travel the universe, hang out with Iggy Pop, and drop some side projects. But universal travel didn’t quite cut it for the intrepid ice-flecked simians, and they eventually had to come swinging back down to more earthly trees.
On Friday, May 11, our fell travelers will grace the airwaves with Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, a title which my friend did not manage to all-caps type at me this dewy morn, probably only on account of he couldn’t find the ampersand key. But no matter! What matters is that the Artctic Monkeys are back as fuck from hibernation and that one of the songs on their album is called, yes, “The World’s First Ever Monster Truck Flip.” Now that I have had my coffee, I am here for that.
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is the band’s first album since the pre-hiatus LP AM, and — according to someone who I don’t actually know but who was also in my inbox this morning — it finds the band “intent on continuing to explore new musical terrain.” Maybe that terrain is outer space; who can say?
If you, dear reader, are the sort whose mouth waters at phrases like “gatefold sleeve” and “silver heavyweight vinyl,” then you’re gonna want to take a peep at the pre-order link right here. And EVEN IF your mouth is still parched as the Sahara, I’d take a gander at the tracklist and preview video I stuck below. I mean, you’ve already come this far.
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino tracklisting (which was initially in all caps):
01. Star Treatment
02. One Point Perspective
03. American Sports
04. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
05. Golden Trunks
06. Four Out Of Five
07. The World’s First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip
08. Science Fiction
09. She Looks Like Fun
10. Batphone
11. The Ultracheese
More about: Arctic Monkeys