Favourite Worst Nightmare
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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
It's not just the songs that have improved, but also their delivery.
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1y
100
Besides the input from a new member, what makes ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ such an intriguing listen, is that it’s clearly been made by a band still in transition.
100
On the evidence of Favourite Worst Nightmare, the Arctic Monkeys are playing at the very top of their and everyone else's game.
90
What is most startling ... is the amount of emotional depth that Turner's injected into his songs here.
12y
90
Favourite Worst Nightmare hardly abandons the pleasures of their debut but instead frantically expands upon them. They still have a kinetic nervous energy, but this isn't a quartet that bashes out simply three-chord rock & roll.
12y
90
‘…Nightmare’ is four young men-of-the-world casting aside their juvenile naiveté and emerging stronger, savvier and, well, more salacious.
12y
84
Yes, it’s brilliant. Musically more muscular, full of the same unparalleled lyrical flair that so characterised their debut, seemingly unburdened by the ridiculous expectation placed upon its creators.
83
It’s the sort of wisdom, and emotion, of which rock poet laureates are made.
80
Though inconsistent, this record is remarkably accomplished and immediate.
12y
80
They may not obediently play the game, but there's enough crowd-pleasing stuff here to suggest that Arctic Monkeys can't help having the popular touch.
80
The swagger, self-possession and sarky observation are all there, and - crucially - so are the tunes.
4mo
80
If the Monkeys continue to develop like this, and manage to avoid the distractions and evade the hangers-on, who knows what they might achieve.
80
This is unmistakeably the Arctics, only stronger, harder, sharper, faster ... An extraordinary and fulfilling sequel to their debut.
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1y
80
Expertly executed and supremely assured, “Favourite Worst Nightmare” isn’t going to make Arctic Monkeys any smaller in the scheme of things.
80
There's nothing to scare off the more lumpen sections of their audience, but more than enough to make the discerning listener wonder what the Arctic Monkeys might do next, now that they've successfully negotiated the daunting task of following up the biggest-selling debut album in British history.
78
Alex Turner and cohorts have grown into their musical plimsoles, confident in their own abilities not just as songwriters, but as musicians to boot.
75
Favourite Worst Nightmare is tempered by a few duds — “Balaclava” and “If You Were There, Beware,” please stand up — but more than that, it’s kind of joyless.
75
Arctic Monkeys play a less hooky brand of brat-punk than a lot of their peers and predecessors, but their off-kilter song structures—and Alex Turner's witty, effusive descriptions of youth culture—make them every bit as unique and vital as their supporters claim.
12y
74
Sheffield band follows its record-breaking debut with another assured album that seems to glimpse the possibility of greatness even when it fails to attain it.
12y
70
Though unromantic takes on various club-going lads and lasses and their friends are back again, Turner’s lyrics are shorter this time around on details that stick, and some cuts are less than memorable.
70
Nobody needs to be told that the Arctic Monkeys aren't the saviours of rock (indie or not). So I won't (directly) point that out. But despite the rather immense expectations propped onto the young Sheffield band, they've managed to succeed in serving up a platter of brief, yet infectious rock.
10y
70
Turner flourished when giving us a wink while taking the piss out of the neighborhood idiots, all done to a catchy tune. A little more levity would have made this album another classic. Still, Arctic Monkeys continue to evolve, turning out a strong batch of thorny songs on Favourite Worst Nightmare.
12y
60
Where the Monkeys come up short is in their compositions, which are beginning to sound formulaic.
60
Favourite moves forward not one inch from Whatever, which is safe and reliable, but also repetitive.
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4mo
60
The songs are how one would expect them to sound, but less funny and mordant. There could be worse things, and I think that’s the point.
60
Lyrically, it’s tense and tetchy, with Alex Turner’s reet northern fly-on-the-wall schtick giving way to fretful reflections on failing relationships, homesickness and fatal fame.
60
Released just more than a year after Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, Favourite Worst Nightmare captures a maturing band caught in a relentless hurricane of archetypal British hype.
12y
40
The Arctic Monkeys were always going to struggle to follow the phenomenal success of Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and despite some of the glowing reviews I've read elsewhere, the twelve songs that comprise Favourite Worst Nightmare have failed to convince me that this is anything other than a resounding failure.
12y
FWN is not a bad album by any means, but it does fall flat on many levels for me. It isn’t easy to follow up a debut as powerful as WPSIATWIAN. FWN is an album that badly wants to convince the listener that it is new, never before done experience, but it doesn’t have the creative recourses. It’s very ambitious for sure, but it is also shortsighted and unfocused.
What I’m trying to say is Alex Turner is a boring frontman on this album
BAND BINGE: ARCTIC MONKEYS (PART 3HREE OF 12ELVE)
Writers block is a bitch, huh?
I'll try to describe my 'problem' with writers block i'm facing without sounding too much of a pretentious man crying for help for the third time this week. Boo ho me, I know. And look, I know these emotional reviews (not to write them off completely, if you want to open up in your writing then go for it if your comfortable) can sometimes read as people trying to reach for something to grasp on that's greater ... read more
This is one of the best albums of all time. Arctic Monkeys deliver incredible energy in less than 40 minutes. The first track Brianstorm is a climactic beginning (and the best song from this album) but the songs gradually slow down until you reach only ones who know a great ballad where Alex Turner gets to flex his voice. Then after a few rock bangers like This House Is a Circus and Old Yellow Bricks there is 505 which while I think it's a bit overrated it's still a great song. To sum up, this ... read more
Arctic Monkeys have done it again with another spectacular album full of amazing tracks.
I don’t believe this album is perfect because The Bad Thing isn’t as good as the rest of the album in my opinion but I still believe that this is an almost flawless album from AM
So many amazing tracks but Brianstorm, 505, Fluorescent Adolescent and Teddy Picked were my personal highlights.
Overall another masterpiece from AM that keeps the bands heads in the spotlight for a little while longer
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Track List
| 1 | Brianstorm 2:52 | 92 |
| 2 | Teddy Picker 2:40 | 89 |
| 3 | D Is for Dangerous 2:14 | 84 |
| 4 | Balaclava 2:47 | 84 |
| 5 | Fluorescent Adolescent 2:53 | 93 |
| 6 | Only Ones Who Know 3:01 | 81 |
| 7 | Do Me a Favour 3:25 | 88 |
| 8 | This House Is a Circus 3:09 | 85 |
| 9 | If You Were There, Beware 4:34 | 82 |
| 10 | The Bad Thing 2:23 | 73 |
| 11 | Old Yellow Bricks 3:07 | 84 |
| 12 | 505 4:13 | 95 |
Total Length: 37 minutes
Year End Lists
| #2 | / | NME |
| #3 | / | musicOMH |
| #3 | / | Q Magazine |
| #4 | / | MOJO |
| #13 | / | Consequence of Sound |
| #19 | / | Gigwise |
| #19 | / | SPIN |
| #34 | / | Drowned in Sound |
| #96 | / | Paste |
| / | AllMusic |
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10mo
im not really that good with time and whatnot but seeing this came out before In Rainbows actually fucking killed me