The Car is shortlisted for the 2023 @MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/nBoCgwAed1

— Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) July 27, 2023

While Radiohead, arguably one of the UK’s biggest and most popular acts in recent decades, has never won the prestigious award, Arctic Monkeys have taken the prize home on one occasion so far-winning for their debut effort Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not in 2006. Although The Car has seen the band drift further away from their indie rock roots, the album has nevertheless earned the group plenty of plaudits from critics.

Primarily written by frontman Alex Turner, the album features an eclectic mix of genres that has already seen the work nominated for several awards, including a Grammy and Ivor Novello Award. Fears of a fan backlash were largely unfounded as The Car reached the top ten UK album charts, debuting at number 2. And the group can now add a Mercury Prize nomination to the album’s already impressive run of industry nods.

Arctic Monkeys have supported the album’s release with a global tour which included a successful run of stadium performances in the UK and Ireland and a headlining slot at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival. Set to wrap in October this year, the tour has been notable for featuring lesser known songs in the setlist, giving a broader range of material the chance to thrive in a live setting.

Founded as an alternative to the Brit Awards, The Mercury Prize has become one of Britain’s most cherished music achievement honours. Open to any band containing at least 50% British or Irish membership, the prize seeks to reward the best studio album released in the United Kingdom. The award is bestowed purely upon musical merit, regardless of how successful or popular the artist was in the previous year.

In the award’s 31 year history, PJ Harvey holds the record for being the only artist to have won the award on more than one occasion, having taken home the prize twice in 2001 and 2011 respectively. Arctic Monkeys will be hoping to become only the second artist to accomplish this feat with The Car.

Introducing the artists on the Shortlist for the 2023 Mercury Prize with @FreeNow_UK! @ArcticMonkeys@EzraCollective@fredagainagain1@jhus@JessieWare@jockstrapmusic1@LankumDublin@LoyleCarner@oliviadeano@raye@0800shygirl@Youngfathers#MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/tw8UQzp5Zx

— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) July 27, 2023

While open to all genres, the prize has been noted by some critics for the absence of bands within the metal subgenre, although rock groups are included in this year’s shortlist.

This year’s ceremony judges will consist of music journalists, presenters, artists and broadcasters and will be held at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London on 7 September. The event will be shown live across the BBC’s TV and radio stations.

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.

Whether or not you’re an Alex Turner superfan, there aren’t many people that would be willing to argue against the fact that Arctic Monkeys are one of the most successful, and beloved, bands in the UK today. So, when they began to pop up on festival bills around Europe, many were preparing for a new record. Their first live show since 2019, in Turkey, brought a few hidden gems back to the surface – “Potion Approaching” was played for the first time since 2011 – but there were still no signs of new music. Suck It And See’s “That’s Where You’re Wrong” also popped up in Prague the following week – the first time since 2013. But still, the prospect of new music was kept very much on the down low.

Arctic Monkeys performed their first UK show since 2018 last weekend at Reading and Leeds Festival. It was an appearance that many fans were particularly excited for after Turner proclaimed that he and the band would be “shuffling the deck” concerning which songs would be making it onto the show’s setlists. The band are set to headline the pair of festivals alongside a whole host of significant names – Megan Thee Stallion, Dave, Halsey, Bring Me The Horizon, and most recently The 1975 who are replacing Rage Against The Machine. The festival had to make some last-minute changes last week after Måneskin and Jack Harlow pulled out to play the MTV VMAs. They were later replaced by AJ Tracey and Charli XCX.

While there is still no official information on a full-blown Arctic Monkeys UK tour, the standard album rollout procedure pretty much guarantees that we’ll be getting some news pretty soon. They are however in the midst of a pretty extensive tour of the European festival circuit, so if you’re in a desperate need to catch the band before the official tour rolls out, you can find full information here.

The new album from Arctic Monkeys, ‘The Car’ is out 21st October. Pre-order now https://t.co/QWACEVpsAr pic.twitter.com/rImMFpEL0b

— Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) August 24, 2022

Whether or not you’re an Alex Turner superfan, there aren’t many people that would be willing to argue against the fact that Arctic Monkeys are one of the most successful, and beloved, bands in the UK today. So, when they began to pop up on festival bills around Europe, many were preparing for a new record. Their first live show since 2019, in Turkey, brought a few hidden gems back to the surface – “Potion Approaching” was played for the first time since 2011 – but there were still no signs of new music. Suck It And See’s “That’s Where You’re Wrong” also popped up in Prague the following week – the first time since 2013. But still, the prospect of new music was kept very much on the down low.

The initial response to TBHAC in 2018 was an odd one. A sci-fi concept album set on the moon… it’s all very different to what we were expecting, many never came to terms with the album’s high concept even to this date. But, in a press release, Turner commented “On this record, sci-fi is off the table. We are back to earth.” At the moment, this could be good or bad news. “I think we’ve got closer to a better version of a more dynamic overall sound with this record. The strings on this record come in and out of focus and that was a deliberate move and hopefully everything has its own space. There’s time the band comes to the front and then the strings come to the front.” The single snippet of the new album we’ve heard so far has definitely maintained the very relaxed dynamic of TBHAC but features some more funky elements that you can hear for yourself in some fan-shot footage from last night’s show.

Arctic Monkeys are set to headline Reading and Leeds Festival this weekend alongside a whole host of significant names – Megan Thee Stallion, Dave, Halsey, Bring Me The Horizon, and most recently The 1975 who are replacing Rage Against The Machine. The festival had to make some last-minute changes last week after Måneskin and Jack Harlow pulled out to play the MTV VMAs. They were later replaced by AJ Tracey and Charli XCX.