Album Review: Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino by Arctic Monkeys
Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino was my first Arctic Monkeys album so unlike many longtime fans — I did not hate it. Upon first being told about it, the title alone had me intrigued. Truthfully, I misunderstood completely until I learned it was a concept album. The cover itself looked cool to me even though again — I didn’t truly understand what I was looking at. While the term “space lounge” has often been used to talk about this album, I think it truly is the perfect classification for it. In fact, the concept of the album is this exactly. It brings the image of a blazer and hard bottom shoes, a drink in your hand, an open space with nice carpeting and low volume conversation into your mind — and all of the things are on a space station.
Before even pressing play, the track titles on this album may cause you to raise your eyebrow. Titles like “The Ultracheese” “Batphone” “The World’s First Ever Monster Truck Front Flip” and “American Sports” may turn some people away — and pull others right in. It was the former for me. But, I have to talk about the title track first which brings the concept full circle. The song has a mysterious moody luxury sound to it that’s accented excellently by the bassline. The hook of the song also refers directly to the concept as Alex Turner sings “Tranquility Base, Hotel and Casino, Mark speaking, please…
