The album's tone is more relaxed than the band's "aggressive" previous records. While being interviewed for the BBC's The Culture Show, Turner and Matt Helders cited Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jake Thackray, John Cale, Nick Cave, Roky Erickson and the Beatles as influences on the recording of the album. The presence of new percussion instruments was also evident, as the band used xylophones, glockenspiels and shakers. The presence of a variety of keyboards on almost every track was something new for the band, with lead singer Alex Turner recording all of them himself with the exception of the album's singles, which were handled by session and touring keyboardist John Ashton.
The guitar playing on the album has a desert/ surf tone. Baritone and slide guitars can be heard throughout the album, as well as new guitar effects. While recording the album, the band incorporated a wide variety of instruments that they had not used previously. Homme-produced tracks recorded in Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert alongside New York City recordings produced – as per the second album – by James Ford, who also produced the album The Age of the Understatement by Turner's side-project The Last Shadow Puppets. Co-written by Josh Homme, the album was wholly recorded in the United States.
Tracks were written through the end of 2008, with recording taking place around the band's touring schedule towards late 2008 and early 2009. The band started writing songs for the album towards the end of summer 2008, with lead singer Alex Turner suggesting that the inspiration for the first few guitar riffs came while the band were attending the Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Retrospectively, Humbug is considered one of the band's most important records, with many noting it as containing various musical styles and lyrical themes the band would explore on later releases. Though Humbug did not receive the extent of acclaim that both Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) and Favourite Worst Nightmare received by critics, it received generally positive reviews, with critics noting that the band expanded their sound and themes, while the album's tone was recognised as darker than the band's upbeat previous records. It topped the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum in the UK. The release preceded the band's headline performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of that week. Turner's songwriting also is a departure from his kitchen-sink realism poetry, instead being replaced by analogies. Lead singer Alex Turner's vocals on the album is noted as a drastic change from the upbeat approach on Arctic Monkeys' previous albums to a slower and hushed approach. Percussion instruments were used on the album, including xylophones, glockenspiels and shakers. Homme has been credited by writers for introducing the album's darker sound. Musically, the album is a departure from the punk-influenced sound of the band with it having a desert/ surf and ambient tone.
Wholly recorded in the United States, Arctic Monkeys' worked with American musician Josh Homme, who produced tracks recorded in Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert alongside New York City recordings produced by James Ford. It was then released in the UK on 24 August 2009, in the US the following day and in Greece on 31 August. Like their previous release, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug was released first in Japan, followed by Australia, Brazil, Ireland and Germany, on 21 August 2009. The band started to write new material for the album towards the end of summer 2008, and finished it entirely in spring 2009. Humbug is the third studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, first released on 19 August 2009 through the Domino Recording Company.
0 kommentar(er)
