It’s been a successful summer for British indie rock icons Arctic Monkeys: last month, they headlined the UK’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival. Now, they’ve been hailed by Blur’s Damon Albarn as “the last great guitar band.”
The Blur frontman made the observation during a conversation with the Broken Record podcast, which also saw him reflect on the “sterile” nature of guitar bands that emerged in the wake of Arctic Monkeys’ success, and his renewed sense of optimism for the genre in the present day.
“I feel like there’s a bit more excitement about guitar music again, that can’t be a bad thing because it got so sterile,” Albarn mused. “For me, the last great guitar band would have been Arctic Monkeys and I don’t really know if there’s anything as good as that since.
“But now there are bands with a huge amount of potential. It’s really dismantled itself – guitar music – and put itself back together again in a different form. You’ve got some fantastic new mutations of the genius of it.”
As for what forms these “new mutations” take, Albarn went on to name his favorite up-and-coming guitar acts, among them Wu-Lu, Yard Act, and Sleaford Mods.
“There’s lots of great language being used again, not this generic rock shit,” he said. “I hate that, I like poets and guitars.”
Arctic Monkeys arguably hit the peak of their “guitar band” status with 2013’s AM – their highly celebrated fifth studio album, which is among the band's heaviest, and most commercially successful, works.
It was an effort that saw frontman Alex Turner and co lean into a rock-orientated direction with heavy-riffing songs such as R U Mine and Do I Wanna Know? – the latter of which has over 1.7 billion streams on Spotify.
The ensuing albums – 2018's Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino and 2022's The Car – saw the band step away from the out-and-out rock sound of AM and lean further into the indie and alt spaces, with mixed reception from fans.
But, despite the fact the guitar played a less prominent role in these records, it would not ultimately deter Albarn’s perception of the band’s status as “the last great guitar band.” In fact, back in 2018, he was quick to praise both Tranquility Base and Turner, calling the latter “a very talented chap.”
“I've only listened to bits of it [Tranquility Base], but I think it's very interesting,” he once told Radio X. “I do think he's a very talented chap that Alex Turner, which annoys me to say that. I don't like paying compliments to anyone, but it has to be said.”
Albarn isn’t the only high-profile name to heap praise on Arctic Monkeys. Following Tranquility Base’s release, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich joined the party, calling it “an incredible record,” and showering the band with plaudits.
“When I’m working out or driving from point A to point B, I listen more to the Arctic Monkeys than anything else,” he said to Maxim. “Their new album that came out in May [2018] is just an incredible record.
“I would say, when I think of 2018, the main musical mainstay is definitely the Arctic Monkeys for me.”
