Arctic Monkeys have today released just about everything from their brand-new album bar the music itself, including the release date, tracklist and a name – AM. The UK indie rock powerhouse will be releasing their fifth studio album on Friday, 6th September and have confirmed that the record will contain 12 tracks and a “really exciting” collaboration with QOTSA’s Josh Homme.
Frontman Alex Turner spoke to Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 about the record and working with Homme in some depth. Turner makes no secret of his excitement for the album, and a specific section of one track which featured Homme that he feels is something he’s never heard before:
“The Josh thing was very much a case of one of us returning a back scratch to the other… he came down and sort of got us out of a little rut. It’s just fun, its friends, extended family now – [they] came round, had a fun night. His contribution to our record is really exciting; it’s probably my favourite. The 30 seconds that he’s in there is just, I dunno, it’s like something that I’ve never heard before. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but you know what I’m saying.”
The record will also feature contributions from former The Coral member Bill Ryder-Jones and Elvis Costello’s drummer Pete Thomas.
As Turner told Lowe, the album name itself has been derived from a classic album from The Velvet Underground:
“I actually stole it from the Velvet Underground, I’ll just confess that now and get it out of the way. The VU record, obviously, Did we cop out? Yeah!” He added: “Summat about it feels like this record is exactly where we should be right now. So it felt right to just initial it.”
As for the direction of the record, Turner explains that it all grew from one source, the 2012 single R U Mine?:
“The record sort of started with R U Mine? really. [We] discovered something through the recording of that tune that we thought was worth exploring. Do I Wanna Know was the first thing we found along that road.”
Already we’ve been given a pretty good idea of where the band will be taking things with AM, after they released the first official single Do I Wanna Know? (below). Before that, new track Mad Sounds also found its way into their setlist.
You can check out the full track list for the record below and, don’t forget, the band will be headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury festival this Friday, 28th June so prepare for some new tracks to surface this weekend!
Watch: Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know?
Arctic Monkeys – AM track list
1. Do I Wanna Know?
2. R U Mine?
3. One For The Road
4. Arabella
5. I Want It All
6. No. 1 Party Anthem
7. Mad Sounds
8. Fireside
9. Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
10. Snap Out Of It
11. Knee Socks
12. I Wanna Be Yours
