This is ARCTIC MONKEYS guvnor! The one. The one what we’ve all been waiting for.

The thing that’s gonna make all them drunken nights and rows with the missus and daft conversations in sweaty clubs all make sense. The thing that’s gonna make the indie kid dance like a knob next to the heavyweight skinhead and the shy girl whose sister went to your school.

This is the one that ya can stick on and sing out loud and mean every word…. cos it’s all happened to ya, times many. The gangs who used to hang around in town: punks, teddys, mods or whatever are giving up and going home to become accountants or something. The invisible line in the sand that used to mean that the lot liked this type of thing, and the freaky looking kids are into this has been blown away. All that remains is a mixed bag of everything in the 21st century and this album soundtracks it perfectly.

Musically, there’s musical bits of The Stone Roses, What’s The Story Morning Glory and Nevermind. As catchy as those reference points are, it’s the lyrics that have won Arctic Monkeys the fiercely dedicated crowd very quickly: a mix of the observational storytelling of Davies and Weller crossed with the harsher documentary eye of Mike Skinner of The Streets and “Ghost Town” era Specials.

Forget the hype, forget the lofty expectations and just enjoy the record.

1. The View From the Afternoon
2. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
3. Fake Tales of San Francisco
4. Dancing Shoes
5. You Probably Couldn’t See the Lights, But You Were Staring Straight At Me
6. Still Take You Home
7. Riot Van
8. Red Light Indicates Doors are Secure
9. Mardy Bum
10. Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But…
11. When the Sun Goes Down
12. From the Ritz to the Rubble
13. A Certain Romance