Arctic Monkeys

Ah, it seems like yesterday these English lads were the toast of the town, the leaders of the hype pack. Oh, wait. It pretty much was just yesterday. Over the last year, we've learned that the Arctic Monkeys are brats: arrogant onstage, snotty in interviews and whiney on record. Of course this is masked by their punchy, Brit-poppy punk—fast and heavy, yet with simplistic guitar arrangements that give them an air of edginess. Their lyrics supposedly describe the day-to-day activities of working-class British youth, but the sentiments they're expressing are probably not that localized, especially this time around. Maybe it was too rushed, because Favourite lacks those initial hooks we saw last year—or maybe said hooks just became stale. Aside from the slightly jarring single "Brianstorm," which echoes their former slightly jarring single, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," most of the cuts here sound pretty derivative of one another. With their first offering, the Monkeys mixed things up with a bit of funk and ska, recalling The Clash or, more recently, The Libertines. Those drawn to that vibe will find it in "Fluorescent Adolescent" (that rhymes!), but overall this is mostly a mediocre collection of I-might-have-been-burned breakup songs that would be awesome if you were 16 and reeling from that first bout of heartache. Or, in the words of the Arctic Monkeys themselves, "I think you should know, you're his favourite worst nightmare." That's right. You. But hey, I guess brats have feelings too.