Suck It and See

After the tricksy, black-skied songcraft of <i>Humbug</i>, Arctic Monkeys' fourth album feels, on the whole, like a crisp, clear shaft of sunlight. There are bursts of jangly indie (“The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala”, “Suck It and See”), country-rock-scented slow numbers (“Love Is a Laserquest”) and playfully thrashy singalongs (“Don’t Sit Down…”, drummer Matt Helders’ debut lead vocal on “Brick by Brick”). Capped off by the soaring nostalgia of “That’s Where You’re Wrong”, <i>Suck It and See</i> finds the Sheffield band rediscovering the pure joy of shimmering, melodious rock ‘n’ roll.