Humbug is the third studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, first released on 19 August 2009 through Domino Recording Company. The band started to write new material for the album towards the end of summer 2008 and finished it entirely in spring 2009. Like their previous release, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug was released first in Japan, followed by Australia, Brazil, Ireland, and Germany, on 21 August 2009. It was then released in the UK on 24 August 2009, in the US the following day, and in Greece on 31 August.
Wholly recorded in the United States, the band worked with American musician Josh Homme, who produced tracks recorded in Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert alongside New York City recordings produced by James Ford. Musically, the album is a departure from the garage rock and punk-influenced sound of the band's previous work, incorporating elements of stoner rock, desert rock, surf rock, and ambient tones. Homme has been credited by writers for introducing the album's darker sound. Percussion instruments were used on the album, including xylophones, glockenspiels, and shakers. Frontman Alex Turner's vocals on the album are noted as a drastic change from the frenetic and upbeat delivery of Arctic Monkeys' previous albums to a slower and more hushed approach. Turner's songwriting also is a departure from his kitchen-sink realism poetry, instead being replaced by analogies.
The album's release preceded the band's headlining performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of that week. It topped the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum in the UK. Though Humbug did not receive the extent of acclaim that both Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) and Favourite Worst Nightmare did by critics, it nevertheless received generally positive reviews, with critics noting that the band expanded their sound and themes, while the album's tone was recognised as darker than the band's previous records.[1] Retrospectively, Humbug is considered one of the band's most important records, with many noting it as containing various musical styles and lyrical themes the band would further explore on later releases.
The band started writing songs for the album towards the end of summer 2008, with lead singer Alex Turner suggesting that the inspiration for the first few guitar riffs came while the band were attending the Latitude Festival in Suffolk.[6] Tracks were written through the end of 2008, with recording taking place around the band's touring schedule towards late 2008 and early 2009.[7] Alex Turner wrote all the album.[8] Co-produced by Josh Homme,[9] the album was wholly recorded in the United States. Homme-produced tracks recorded in Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert alongside New York City recordings produced – as per the second album – by James Ford,[7] who also produced the album The Age of the Understatement by Turner's side-project The Last Shadow Puppets.
While recording the album, the band incorporated a wide variety of instruments that they had not used previously. Baritone and slide guitars can be heard throughout the album, as well as new guitar effects. The guitar playing on the album has a desert/surf tone.[1] The presence of a variety of keyboards on almost every track was something new for the band, with lead singer Alex Turner recording all of them himself with the exception of the album's singles, which were handled by session and touring keyboardist John Ashton.[10] The presence of new percussion instruments was also evident, as the band used xylophones, glockenspiels and shakers. While being interviewed for the BBC's The Culture Show, Turner and Matt Helders cited Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jake Thackray, John Cale, Nick Cave, Roky Erickson and the Beatles as influences on the recording of the album.
The album's tone is more relaxed than the band's "aggressive" previous records.[1] Robin Murray of Clash notes that a "spooky carnivalesque atmosphere permeates the album; there’s the recurring waltzer organ, the circus-like marching drums, and of course the bellowing ringmaster, luring us all into the dark and devilish delights of what’s in store.[11] Homme has been credited by writers for introducing the album's darker sound.[12] Murray further notes Turner's voice as transitioning from "breakneck reality bites" into a dark, deep and hushed singing voice.[11] According to Mike Driver in his BBC Music review, "Humbug embraces the true nature of album-craft by sequencing ten tracks in such a way that coherence and consistency bind constituent pieces into a single, enjoyably sombre whole."[13] Driver also notes that "Kitchen-sink realism poetry’s replaced by rampant analogies, characters of the everyday transformed into otherworldly denizens with wicked intentions. Turner still spills syllables rather too swiftly at times [...] but largely a slow-and-steady approach prevails, mirrored by the music’s assured shuffle."[13] Murray highlights that the two most distinct features that dominate Humbug are "the smoky trembling guitar" and Turner’s matured croon.[11]
Release
Arctic Monkeys performing in London on the Humbug Tour, March 2010
Early soundbites of tracks from the album appeared in the band's periodical video diary on YouTube.[14] The first single of the album was "Crying Lightning". It was released on 6 July, when it was played on BBC Radio 1 and was available for download from iTunes after midnight that day.[15] On 4 October 2009 the band's official website announced the second single from the album would be "Cornerstone".[16]
On 1 February 2010, the third single from the album was announced to be "My Propeller", which was released on 22 March.[17][18] Similar to other singles from the album, was released on 7" and as an exclusive 10" vinyl available only in Oxfam shops. The B-sides on the 10" vinyl were "Joining the Dots", "The Afternoon's Hat" and "Don't Forget Whose Legs You're On", with just "Joining the Dots" available as a B-side on the 7" version.
Like their previous release, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug was released first in Japan on 19 August 2009, followed by Australia, Brazil, Ireland and Germany, on 21 August 2009. It was then released in the UK on 24 August 2009, in the US the following day and in Greece on 31 August.[19] "I Haven't Got My Strange" was included as an iTunes bonus track,[20] while a cover of "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was included as a bonus track on the Japanese release.[21] Upon release, the album sold over 96,000 copies in its first week in the UK, topping the UK Albums Chart.[22] By September 2013, the album had sold 320,921 copies in the UK.
Humbug received generally positive reviews from critics, albeit less positive than its two predecessors. It received a rating of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 26 critic reviews.[29]
Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that the band "justif[ies] the hype by shifting its best qualities into different, equally dazzling shapes."[39] John Mulvey of Uncut felt that "Homme's role as producer, perhaps, has been to nurture the soundscaping that was attempted on Humbug's predecessor, and, critically, to encourage a sense of space and stealth."[40] In his positive review of the album, Joe Tangari of Pitchfork noted that "Humbug isn't better than either of its predecessors, but it expands the group's range and makes me curious where it might go next. It also demonstrates a great deal of staying power for a band that could have imploded before it ever got this far."[36]Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave Humbug a positive review. Although he found it overall wasn't as accessible as its two predecessors, he noted that the band were beginning to push their limits in regards to creativity, and composing music carefree of whether or not they were successful in America. He further noted that opinion towards the album might change retrospectively: "the record may mean more in the long-term that it does on its own."[30]
While overall response was positive, the album was criticised by some for not containing the same hooks that the band had become known for, with Spin's Sean Fennessey calling the album "accomplished, but not particularly infectious."[38]
Retrospective commentary
In retrospect, Humbug has been considered a very important piece in Arctic Monkeys' catalogue, having introduced a variety of new styles and themes, both lyrically and musically, to the band, that they have expanded on since its release. It marked the first time they recorded material under Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme's, influence. In an NME article, Mike Williams writes, "If Arctic Monkeys had never walked into the desert with Josh Homme to record 'Humbug' in 2009, they could never have made 'AM'. 'Humbug' was as much about subverting people's impressions of who the band were as it was an album in its own right."[41] In 2011, Turner said Humbug "is as important, if not more so [compared to the first two records], on our journey of getting to where we are right now."[42] Nevertheless, Humbug remains the band's most polarising album. Both NME and Consequence of Sound ranked Humbug the band's weakest release thus far in 2015 and 2018, respectively. While both acknowledged the album's position in the band's discography, NME nevertheless stated: "in retrospect, it feels more like an important bridge between the youthful vim of old and the meatier material that would come than a destination."[43] Meanwhile, Consequence of Sound wrote that Humbug paved the way for songwriting evolution seen in the band's follow-up efforts Suck It and See (2011) and AM.[44] Conversely, both the Evening Standard and The Independent, in 2018 and 2019, respectively, argue that Humbug is Arctic Monkeys' greatest album,[45] with the former stating that the record was the band's "most accomplished collection of tracks yet, which captured the sound of a band at the peak of their creative powers."[46]
^Cameron, Keith (9 September 2013). "Arctic Monkeys – AM". Mojo. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018. Superficially, Do I Wanna Know? harks back to the spectral psych-rock the Monkeys essayed so successfully on Humbug
^Rytlewski, Evan (7 June 2011). "Arctic Monkeys: Suck It And See". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018. On 2009's Josh Homme-produced Humbug, Arctic Monkeys swapped the post-punk frenzies of their first records for '70s hard-rock clamor and psychedelic digressions
