Arctic Monkey’s new album sounds like a maturation of a sound. While their first album had the frenetic energy of teenagers whamming away at their instruments, their fifth album AM has a darker, deeper sound of a cigarette being lit against a guitar amp. Though coming out late last year, AM is my favorite album from 2013

The album starts with “Do I Wanna Know?” a down-tempo track with a steady kick-drum and a heavy guitar tone that feels more self-assured than their previous albums. The album quickly goes into the second track “R U Mine?” which brings them back to the energetic, emotional pace we are familiar with. In “R U Mine?” we hear the anxious emotions of relationships and the ambiguity of not knowing where things stand.

Though some songs are still filled with cheeky one-liners about modern culture, AM lyrics are filled with starry, visually rich metaphors like the ones found in “Arabella” below:

Arabella’s got a ‘70s head
But she’s a modern lover
It’s an exploration she’s made of outer space
And her lips are like the galaxy’s edge
And her kiss the color of a constellation falling into place

Later in the album “Fireside” appears which has an interesting mariachi-vibe to it led by the drums. It’s another brooding and forlonging song about whether a relationship has gone and if he — the singer — should move on or stick around. “Knee Socks” is one of the highlights of the album with a sliding, sexy guitar riff coupled with a grooving drum and bass and a suggestive title.

AM is a band exploring and challenging themselves not being content to stay in the lines of the “indie-rock” genre. You can feel their confidence as the guitar riffs and rhythmic drums walk through the album but the vulnerable, striking lyrics filled with relationship missteps bring an emotional depth-ness to the album that other indie-rock albums would lack. It sounds like walking out of a bar at 2AM with a confidence that only comes after a few beers and a self-assurance that only comes after living a few well-worn years.