Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

It isn't often you say of a rock album that the best thing about it is the lyrics. But that's my opinion of Arctic Monkeys' Tranquility Hotel Base & Casino, which was on Pitchfork's Best Indie Rock Albums of 2018. I have to say, though I love the poetry, I can't recommend this album.

The reason for this may strike you as old-fashioned, but most of the songs on this record, all written by lead singer Alex Turner, don't conform to standard versus-chorus-bridge patterns. That's okay, but Turner seems to be improvising his melodies, and many of the songs sound the same.

Tranquility Base Hotel &a Casino, as the title implies, is full of space and sci-fi imagery, and many pop culture references. The lyrics are stunning. Here's the opening of the first track, "Star Treatment":

"I just wanted to be one of The Strokes
Now look at the mess you made me make
Hitchhiking with a monogrammed suitcase
Miles away from any half-useful imaginary highway
I'm a big name in deep space
Ask your mates but golden boy's in bad shape
I found out the hard way that here ain't no place for dolls like you and me
Everybody's on a bridge floating down the endless stream of great TV

And this, a near haiku from "Golden Trunks," which I believe is talking about a certain president:

"The leader of the free world reminds you of a wrestler wearing tight golden trunks
He's got himself a theme tune
They play it for him as he makes his way to the ring"

Occasionally the lyrics can get a bit pretentious, as when Turner shouts out in one song, "Bukowski!" Okay, we're impressed you know who Charles Bukowski is.

The best songs on the record are those that adhere to traditional songwriting: "She Looks Like Fun," which has a terrific beat, and "Four Out of Five," which is about the reviews the restaurant on the moon is receiving.

It's been noted that this music sounds much like David Bowie, as Turner's voice even sounds like him. But Bowie, who wrote songs about the space age, always had incredible hooks, which this record is lacking.