In appreciation for albums that take some time to grow on you before their true genius is revealed
Successful musicians, like all artists, must face the dilemma of balancing creative growth with audience anticipations. The relationship between fans and their beloved artists often gets deeply personal. We come to expect certain things in personal relationships – your best friend will always meet for drinks when you’re down, your cat will always try to sit on your keyboard when you’re composing important emails, and your favorite singer will always send shivers down your spine when they hit the hook.
Learning to manage expectations is a valuable life lesson because sometimes your friends are busy, sometimes your cat is asleep elsewhere, and sometimes your favorite musicians go in a completely unexpected direction and it takes more than a few listens to appreciate their new sound. When that appreciation does hit (assuming it’s not just a bad album), it ultimately makes a far more rewarding experience than hearing more of the same.
Albums that take a while to digest are a rare pleasure. They come along once every year or so, if you have a broad appreciation for music. Artists challenge themselves to create something new. Their audiences, in turn, are challenged to understand something new. We enter this exchange with good faith on both sides. Artists trust that their audience will give the new sound a chance and ultimately enjoy it. Audiences trust that these artists will not let them down and their effort will pay off.
Best of all is when you’re completely caught off guard by an artist you thought you knew. You’ve listened to them since their first release, heard all their B Sides, seen them live, and read plenty of interviews. All good artists grow with each new project so you expect some surprises as you wade into a new album. Yet you find yourself in a strange new world, just familiar enough to recognize like a reflection on rippled water. Your initial impressions may be disappointing or off putting but with repeated visits, the new world set out for you takes shape. Once acquainted, the joy sets in. It’s all so new and you love it.
Sgt. Pepper, Kid A, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are probably the most famous examples of very successful musicians making gigantic creative leaps that were eventually declared game changing works of genius. These albums are so heralded that there is nothing more I could possibly add to the discussion. So I’m going to focus on a newer album by one of my favorite bands: 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino by Arctic Monkeys.
Five years passed between the release of TBHC and it’s predecessor AM. After touring stadiums and headlining festivals around the world in support of AM, Arctic Monkeys took some well earned time off. Lead singer Alex Turner fought through a bout of writer’s block by turning to a science fiction theme. He recorded demo tracks at his home studio in late 2016 using a piano instead of guitar as he had previously written most of their songs.
Turner’s new songs were so different thematically and musically that guitarist Jamie Cook initially suggested that he use them for a solo album. After spending some time with the songs however, Cook took to the new sound and began writing accompanying guitar riffs. Drummer Matt Helders and bassist Nick O’Malley joined them in the studio in September 2017 to begin work on the album. In order to properly flesh out Turner’s demo tracks, guest musicians were brought in to play piano and synths. Recording was done live with all musicians in the same room, inspired by the Beach Boys and Phil Spector. The resulting sound was unlike anything ever heard from the Arctic Monkeys before.
You wouldn’t be wrong to call TBHC a concept album. Each track tells a short story set in and around the titular outer space hotel. Turners trademark witticisms and innuendos are peppered throughout anecdotes about being jaded and bored. Whether you’re a deep space traveler or a strung out rock star, when you’ve seen enough places and met enough people they all start to look the same.
TBHC’s orchestrations evoke emotion and movement like the soundtrack to a movie that exists only in Turner’s mind. Upon initial listening, Arctic Monkeys fans encounter sounds as unfamiliar as a distant universe. Like stumbling into a Philip K. Dick story on your way to a rock concert. Theatrical arrangements evoke glam era David Bowie – as do Turner’s vocals. There are so many layers to peel back, pieces to fit together, and lyrics to untangle that each listen reveals a bit more of the grand picture.
Half of TBHCs ten tracks are catchy enough to please any fan at first listen. The true genius of the album only reveals itself after a dozen or so listens. As with all such albums, once the genius reveals itself, your struggle turns into pure adoration. You can’t get enough. You have to listen to the whole thing over and over, end to end. Your favorite lines and hooks play on repeat in the back of your mind for days. What was unfamiliar and uncomfortable has become one of your favorite albums.
Most musicians will never fully redefine their sound and create something completely new and unique in a single album. The risk is intimidating. When artists are fortunate enough to gain success they are inclined to stick with what they’re good at. For true musical geniuses though, the monotony of sticking with what works is unacceptable. When Alex Turner got sick of writing love songs he wrote a sci-fi noir that became, in my opinion, the best album his band has ever made.