Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

A departure from Arctic Monkeys standard indie rock fare. This album is more dream pop/psychadelic pop with a bit of jazz mixed in.

Favourite songs: Four Out of Five, Science Fiction, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Batphone, The Ultracheese, American Sports, One Point Perspective

Least favourite songs: Golden Trunks, The World's First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip

4/5

The Arctic Monkeys (yeah that dumb indie rock band) make a bizarre shift into psychedelic pop music... And possibly sound better than they ever have. A common complaint with the Arctic Monkeys' albums after Humbug was that they becoming too pop, this came to a head with Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino, where instead of beating around the pop bush - like they had been on the past two albums - they plunge headfirst into it.

The main sound throughout the album is a mix of old and futuristic. They're clearly going for old timey 50s type aesthetic, while pillaging genres from the 60s and 70s to help create a "dated" sound. One such genre is "space age pop" a type of music made with old synths (such as the Moog) and production techniques to create a futuristic and spacey kind of sound, but with a modern sound elevates it to impressive degrees.

The album is a concept album about a luxury resort in space, and this is definitely something I need to listen to more over time so I won't go into too much detail because I don't really understand it, but I think the Arctic Monkeys' foray into the aforementioned outdated genres does set the scene very well. It makes you feel like you're in an old fashioned space resort. There's social commentary running throughout the album, to me it seems a bit ham fisted (on the first song Alex Turner explicitly says the message of the song in the outro) but I think the album is better for it just for contributing to the vibe.

There is some rock music in here for old fans (quite a lot of it actually) and while I do like how it's used to support the poppier songs like in Golden Trunks, I think the rockier songs actually hold the album back a little.

I remember when this album came out and it was very controversial and divisive, even among critics, and it still sorta is. I think nowadays it's received much better than it had been, and it deserves it. It's a bit clumsy but there's a lot of soul and I always love an established band doing something ambitious.

Should it be on the main list: You could make a strong case for it. Personally I would, it's a pretty unique sounding album

Top 3 songs: Star Treatment, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, The Ultracheese

I didn't like this one at all. I liked Whatever People Say so I was surprised by how much I didn't like this

Interesting. They went in a different direction than their early work and I miss it, but it was still a well constructed nice time

The style shift here was the thing I liked most. I appreciate when artists take a new direction, and Arctic Monkeys certainly did that. But Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino feels more like an Alex Turner solo project than an Arctic Monkeys album.

I really tried with this album on several occasions since 2018 and I appreciate the ambition and the inventive arrangements. There are beautiful melodies and clever moments, but it never really connects for me. The charm of the opening line “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes. Now look at the mess you made me make.” starts to feel too true by the end.

It all sounds too forced. I like laid-back albums, but this style has been done better by others.

Trading in some rock for smoothness, but I still can’t quite get there with Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys are one of my favorite bands. I think this album is a real highlight in their creativity. It's super different for them but full of charm and a lot of whimsy. Turner's vocals are really at the top of their game here.

Reminds me a lot of Pulp's "This is Hardcore:" sleazy lounge music delivered with a northern twang. Not sure it quite reaches the lofty heights of Pulp's dirtiest album, but it's still interesting and diverting.

The lyrics one the first track are kinda wild. Like most Arctic Monkeys work, watch it as it goes way waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over my head.

Is this a troll inclusion? No one seriously likes this shlock, right?

Like "This is Hardcore" by Pulp, it was a huge departure following a highly successful album. Sounds like a band bored of churning out the same old stuff, but taking their first steps into a new world of sound. Very Bowie and Scott Walker influenced, and very self-indulgent, and sounds more like Last Shadow Puppets than AM - did Alex get confused who he was writing for?
I liked it but didn't love it at first listen (seven years ago now), and fully expected this to change over repeated listening. Unfortunately, it never did.

I can see why this is added to the list, but personally it would be my 5th maybe even 6th after the Car now, favourite Arctic Monkeys album. But I do agree it’s an important album for them, and should be on the list for that reason alone.

I don’t agree with the hate it gets from Arctic monkeys fans complaining they don’t make music like what ever people say I am any more. The same people probably also moan that all Catfish and the Bottlemens albums sound the same.. but also I don’t think this is a masterpiece that die hard fans of the album make out to be.

I admire they took and risk and tried something different. Overall I would give this 3 stars, but the temptation to give it four stars out of five was just too much.

Id say that’s unheard of, but I won’t be the first or the last to make this joke…..

I didn't expect to enjoy this so much, but I was almost instantly charmed by the mood of this album. Very different from their earlier output, which I'm somewhat more familiar with. I'd say this is a mature record, and I mean that as a compliment. It's not to say it isn't fun and playful - more that it has a refined production style and compelling arrangements. A pleasant surprise that makes me reconsider this band and their talents.