frankly bizarre package with a fold-out stage and several sheets of cut-outs (including a tiger so you can make a tiger attack Ryan Adams if you want to, not that you'd want to), along with 12 7"s of the entire PRISONER album + b-sides. Very luxe!

Much anticipated debut album from this UK group... on DOMINO.

"Suck it & See" is the 2011 album from ARCTIC MONKEYS & in spite of the cocky album title, we're wondering if these guys are softening (or just maturing) a little bit. 'Softening' shouldn't be viewed as a negative term here, many of the songs remind us of THE SMITHS, especially Alex Turner's Morrissey-esque crooning & there's a little STROKES & WALKMEN sounds in there too. We expect that this album will sound better with a few more listens too.

Who the F are the Artic Monkeys? On their 6th LP they force us to ask again. Early in the game the Sheffield lads were snotty Rock 'N Roll savants then they took a turn into heavier desert sounds that felt like a revitalization for guitar music. On AM they incorporated ideas from R&B & Rap, & now they've taken a hard left turn into loungy weirdness. This is the first record Alex Turner's written on the piano, & it often feels like he's searching for new melodies throughout. While the lyrics can certainly feel self indulgent, the beauty of these new tracks is Turner's leaning on some the influences of some other strange & staggering lyricists, with a feel that ranges from Bowie, to Cohen, to Waits, & then back again.

ARCTIC MONKEYS are back to their antics, but with a twist. ALEX TURNER's very recognizable voice is still right out front, & his pen has not run dry, but what you'll notice first about AM is the return to the heavier, darker sounds of HUMBUG. Riffy, heavy, even funky, (TURNER has noted DR. DRE & g-funk as an influence for this one) it's noticably different from the earliest, but still a great record. This is for fans of QOTSA (Josh Homme guests), OASIS STROKES, of course the ARCTIC MONKEYS themselves...