Matt Helders has yet to bloom as a solo musician, not that that’s to be frowned upon, when you play the drums in potentially one of Britain’s most loved bands ever.

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In 2008 he released a DJ mix album titled ‘Late Night Tales’, though it’s a creative plethora of talent, it never quite took off, which probably wasn’t the intention given the pure, passionate musician that he is. 

Teasers for a solo release can be dated back to at least 2018. In a grounded interview, Helders confirmed a project of his own was in an embryonic stage, but explained that it was his desire to make a large scope of content before rushing into releasing any of it.

He said: “I don’t want to do it too soon and then regret it, like ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have made that kind of record’. You know what I mean? I want to make a lot of music and then like, ‘Oh, that’s the thing I like about this’.”

There is also the looming conversation of what’s not quite nepotism, but a foot up so to speak, being the drummer for ‘The Monkeys’. The irony of this is that they worked their way up from The grapes pub in Sheffield to headlining Glastonbury on multiple occasions and selling out stadiums with ease.

Despite this he touched on the subject: “I don’t want to do it too soon and then regret it, like ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have made that kind of record’. You know what I mean? I want to make a lot of music and then like, ‘Oh, that’s the thing I like about this’.”

Fast forward to 2025, the year of the reunion, where in any case it seemed destined that the Arctic Monkeys would deliver us news on a tour before the year closed out. But no, not yet anyway, fans of the band will be more than welcoming to this news, despite the track sounding fairly distant from anything Alex Turner would concoct.

The track ‘WeHo yet?’ would be less out of place coming from Daft Punk, as opposed to an indie band from the midlands. The song is an unclouded representation of the diverse talent Matt Helders boasts. The textures are more electronic and synth based, it’s a teleportation to the 80s, a feel good journey through time.

Notably the only account that is followed by the ‘Terrific’ instagram account is Arctic monkeys touring member Tyler Parkford, who was also a part of ‘Mini Musicians.’

We will be getting more music from Helders, that’s definite, but when will it be released, in a fashion true to himself, remains a mystery.

Stream ‘WeHo Yet?’ here.

This is the fourth music video to be released from The Car, the band’s seventh studio album released in October 2022. Watch the video here:

“Sculptures of Anything Goes” is the latest single from the critically acclaimed album. A distinct break away from the band’s indie rock roots, the album continues where Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino left off with its piano-oriented experimental pieces.

The video hones in on the new lounge rock feel that Arctic Monkeys are channelling these days with its colourful palette and abstract shots of the band both in rehearsals and performing the song on tour.

Moving on from his Teddy-boy style days that became iconic during the peak of A.M. mania, Alex Turner has matured in aesthetic in a way that goes hand in hand with the band’s change in musical direction.

The video was directed by Ben Chapell with Matthew Cronin as editor.

The video has largely been met with positivity with Twitter user @RuzannaBlack declaring it to be a “masterpiece.”

Sculptures of anything goes music video is a masterpiece.
That’s it. Send Tweet.

— Amarikacin (@RuzannaBlack) March 6, 2023

  Another fan took to Twitter to state that the song is ‘perfect, overcomplicated, weird and poetic.’

i wasn’t sure why they chose sculptures of anything goes as the new single, but now that i spent more time with the song, i get it. it’s that perfect, overcomplicated, weird and poetic thing i love alex for pic.twitter.com/hqf3kKKV9w — Anna (slow)⁷ (@vadjokakivadjok) March 7, 2023

The Car has without a doubt been Arctic Monkey’s most polarising album yet. The album received critical acclaim, with NME awarding it ‘Album of the Year,’ declaring it to be “the band’s most adventurous album, but also their most open-hearted, striking a perfect balance between subversion and tenderness.”

The first single released from the album, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” was nominated for a Best Alternative Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards and was listed in The Guardian’s 20 Best Songs of 2022.

However, some fans were disappointed to find the band once again distancing themselves from the indie rock sounds of Favourite Worst Nightmare and Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

One fan wanted to ‘bin’ the album upon hearing it’s similarities to Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.

One song into the new Arctic Monkeys album and can already tell it’s every bit as shit as their last album was.

Bin.#TheCar

— Louthdog (@Louthdog) October 21, 2022

Another fan called out the fact that the album was far less of a collaborative band effort than usual, with Alex Turner being credited as the sole writer for seven of the ten tracks.

Only three songs on #TheCar are listed as being @ArcticMonkeys songs. So the rest of the band didn’t want their name on the other seven. Maybe they think it’s a shit album too. — Ste (@SABrack84) October 21, 2022

“Sculptures of Anything Goes” was a team effort from Turner and Jamie Cook however and has largely been praised for its maturity as a track.

Arctic Monkeys are set to tour the UK and Ireland in 2023. Find tickets here.

29/05/2023 – Ashton Gate Stadium – Bristol

31/05/2023 – Building Society Arena – Coventry

02/06/2023-03/06/2023 – Emirates Old Trafford – Manchester

07/06/2023 – Carrow Road Stadium – Norwich

09/06/2023-10/06/2023 – Hillsborough Park – Sheffield

12/06/2023 – Swansea.com Stadium – Swansea

14/06/2023 – The Ageas Bowl – Southampton

16/06/2023-18/06/2023 – Emirates Stadium – London

20/06/2023 – Malahide Castle – Dublin

25/06/2023 – Bellahouston Park – Glasgow

Stream The Car here.

Many fans have been eagerly awaiting news on a follow-up album to their highly acclaimed 2018 record Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, with a number of reports and many rumours around its recording emerging over the past year.

Back in January, the band’s manager revealed that the group had been “working on music” and had initially planned to record last summer before Helders also confirmed that they were in the “early stages” of the album whilst discussing issues such as overcoming obstacles brought on by the pandemic. Then, back in August, it emerged that the band had been recording new material in Suffolk.

Now, just yesterday as part of the BBC’s Drumathon, Helders joined 5 Live Breakfast to give a drum lesson and talk with presenter Rick Edwards.

During the interview, Helders was asked if the new album was “ready to go” to which he answered “Yeah, pretty much, yeah. It was a bit disjointed how we had to do it, and there are bits to finish off, but yeah, it’s all in the works.” He then continued to say that he believed the album would drop sometime in 2022, “I think by the time we get everything together it’ll be next year. Hopefully we can get out and tour next summer.”

The drummer also went on to describe what the record may potentially sound like, he said “We tend to always move it on a little bit, For us, because we’re so involved in it, it always makes sense. They always kind of pick up where the other one left off in a way. It makes sense when you think about it in the context of the last record. But we always do try and do something a bit different – it’s kind of hard to describe. You can tell it’s the same band.”

Edwards then asked the drummer if he was “confident you’ll bring the fans with you when you know that you’re evolving the sound,”  with perhaps a surprising reply “No, and I think we got a bit of a wake-up call with that on the third album [‘Humbug’, 2009]. That was more of an intentional decision to do something different. That was one where we’d get weird back-handed compliments from the fans who stuck around for that one.”

With a record probably being released next year it is likely a tour will follow in summer 2022 and Arctic Monkeys fans will surely be wandering where the Sheffield band could be due to appear.

WAKE TF UP ARCTIC MONKEYS ARE ALIVE pic.twitter.com/AivixFkgCU

— َ AM7!!! (@tongueinostril) August 14, 2021

Fans of the Sheffield four-piece have responded to the post, which has racked up over 1000 likes in 5 hours.

The band toured relentlessly following their 6th album release and decided to go their separate ways in 2019, following a long and successful spell of playing shows worldwide.

Due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, the band was unable to meet each other. One-half of the band resides in LA and the other half in London. In recent months, fans have debated on Twitter whether or not the Arctic Monkeys would have produced more music if it hadn’t been for the global pandemic of 2020. Drummer Matt Helders set the record straight in a podcast with Shapel Lacey, explaining that the band would have been ready to get the ball rolling again for album number 7 if it wasn’t for the global pandemic.

That said, there may be good news on the horizon for fans after all, as a new album is reportedly in the works. According to a statement taken from the Butley Priory’s website, the band has used the venue to record new material. The Priory bodes well as a venue that provides many possibilities for musicians: “Musicians love the acoustics in the Great Hall and Drawing room, with their huge vaulted ceilings.”

Nothing has been confirmed yet by the band.

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