
Meanwhile, singer and lyricist Alex Turner has moved from syllable-stuffing chronicles of indie nightlife culture to songs that are sleeker, more blue-black, more self-lacerating.

But the quartet isn't giving into the mindless grandeur of rock'n'roll as much as they're working within its confines to mine new territory over the last eight years, as they've gone from spastic punk, to doomed stoner rock, to sparkling guitar pop, to this new album's skinny-jeaned funk, Arctic Monkeys have stayed close to the spirit of their debut's title while minimizing its excess at the same time. These changes have caused some to question Arctic Monkeys' commitment to their initial no-bullshit ideals. And the same band that once aimed its sights at windbag poseurs on "Fake Tales of San Francisco" is now based in Los Angeles. Their face-shrouding hair and brown hoodies are out greaser streaks and bespoke suits are in. Their fifth album is called AM, and those mountainous initials stood sky-high behind the band as they preened and stomped like proper rock stars through a headlining Glastonbury set earlier this year. Their songwriting shows growth, their vocals remain flawless, the production team continues to throw the occasional curveball to go along with the softballs, and there are plenty of songs that sound like the best pop music has to offer in 2015.Their first record was called Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not- a Nevermind the Bollocks-type sendup of the generation-defining Self-Titled Debut Album as well as a bratty act of defiance from four Yorkshire youths drunk on their own twitchy cleverness. While they could have used some of Zayn's vocal prowess, especially on the ballads, the other bandmembers pick up the slack impressively.

is a fine way to end this chapter of the band's run. The opening "Hey Angel" borrows a lot from the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and features one of the album's best, most relaxed melodies the Harry Styles co-write "Olivia" is a sweet Beatlesque sunshine pop song with the nice bounce and light feeling that much modern pop lacks and the album-ending "History" is a cute little singalong that both sums up the band's past and promises fans there will be a future. Like on that song, where the album works best are the times when they loosen up a little and don't seem too worried about making music for the charts.
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Like on Four, they cop some serious Fleetwood Mac moves, right down to borrowing a bassline from "Dreams" on "What a Feeling." Their ongoing love of the '80s comes through on "Never Enough," a ridiculously fun song that sounds like it's half Def Leppard and half Amy Grant circa "Every Heartbeat." It really sounds like the band is having a blast all the way through the song, especially the guys doing the doo wop backing vocals. "Perfect" is the album's best radio song, with a nice moody verse and some real emotional punch provided by Harry Styles' vocal on the super-hooky chorus. The album's mix of upbeat dance-pop songs, emotional midtempo songs, and big, gut-wrenching ballads is a familiar one, with songs like "Drag Me Down" and "Infinity" sounding genetically engineered for radio play. They mostly stick to the formula that got them to the top of the charts, but throw in a couple of surprises that keep things interesting. is another slice of high-quality modern pop brought to life by the band's charm. Working with their longtime production team of Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, Made in the A.M. Since the release of their last album, 2014's Four, One Direction went from five members to four with the departure of Zayn Malik, but not much else has changed.
