Give these Arctic Monkeys some attention

If you were alive and conscious during the 2010s, it’s impossible that you are not, on some level, familiar with the Arctic Monkeys. Their chart topping single, “Do I Wanna Know?” was harder to avoid than the omicron strain of COVID-19. Despite this fact, the pre-AM portion of their catalogue is rarely brought up or recognized. This is especially true for their debut album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” which was released in 2006 when the band was freshly out of high school.

This fact, coupled with the talent exhibited on this debut album, makes it all the more intriguing. That’s not even mentioning just how good this album truly is; anyone with a persuasion towards rock will be able to appreciate the sound and configuration this album features.

The instrumentals and composition of the album and each song hint at a musical competency beyond their years. It’s a classic, tried and true rock album. It’s got all the marks of rock music with crunchy, feedback-heavy guitars layered with twangy and sharp rhythm sections. The bass is clean and full-bodied, bouncy and expertly played.

The bass is one thing that especially stands out in this album compared to their subsequent albums, and it seems to be a matter of a lineup change and postproduction mixing. Contrarily, one constant in their music is the drumming, conducted by Matt Helders, which is always masterfully performed on every album.

Another constant is Alex Turner’s lyricism and song writing capability. His lyrics read like tongue-twisters and limericks but are sung with clear confidence that only he, as the writer, could possess. It’s in these lyrics that the immaturity of the band is exposed. The album features lyrics about partying, drunken blunders, run-ins with police, young romance and observations characteristic of a juvenile perspective. This aspect of the album doesn’t detract from the quality by any means but is simply indicative of just how young the contributors were at its conception.

The album feels like any other group of young musicians trying to harness the sound of their influences and still coming into their own unique sound as a band. That’s not a jab — I think most bands go through a similar phase at the beginning of their careers. This is probably particularly true for a band like the Arctic Monkeys, where this was the members’ first professional band. They were developing in real time, slowly forming the band they are today.

“The View From the Afternoon” is the opening track for the album and is the running-start the album needs. It’s energetic, punchy, youthful, coming in with half-strummed guitars and tick-y drums and rolling basslines. The vocals are spoken more than they are sung. The song pulls a bait-and-switch with a few beats of still silence at the halfway point, just before coming back in with the energy they entered with.

The jauntier, more energetic songs are punctuated with songs that indicate the band’s softer, indie-leaning persuasions. This sound rears its head in the song “Riot Van.” It features dissonant, tinny strumming and echoey vocals lamenting the tale of run-in with the boys in blue. This track in particular foreshadows the sound that would be harnessed and honed on their subsequent albums and singles—the romance aspect especially. Even though this track is indicative of the music they’d go on to make, it still fits into the tone of album, in the way that the puppy-love, playground romance is described.

The most recognized song from this album, released as a single, is “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.” This track is to-the-point, concluding in less than three minutes. What it lacks in duration, it makes up for in stamina. Once the song reaches its chorus, it doesn’t relent. It has all the marks of a groundbreaking single and undoubtedly propelled the band into the infancy of their stardom.

This album broke the former UK Billboard record as the fastest-selling debut record, with a whopping 306,631 copies within the first week of its release. Moreover, it sold more than 118,000 copies within the first day, which is more than the first 20 top records combined.

“Dancing Shoes” features a more modern sound with a geometric opening riff and pawed basslines.

Keeping a similar dimensional, layered guitar style is “Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured.” Turner’s vocals are boxed and angst tinged. The song ends somewhat abruptly and leads into one of those aforementioned indie-leaning tracks — “Mardy Bum.”

One of the stand-out tracks, which was also released as a single prior to the album’s release, is “When the Sun Goes Down.” This song is quiet and reflective with brassy guitars until it isn’t, coming in with Helder’s thumping bass-drum. The band’s ability to achieve cohesion with such layered and seemingly disjointed elements is impressive even without considering their youth. This track is certifiably an earworm; the riff is addicting, the vocals stick like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth, and the story Turner manages to illustrate will stick like your shoes to a dirty floor.

Before concluding with the bustling angst in “A Certain Romance,” the break-out band leaves the listener with one last pumping, spirited song. “From The Ritz To The Rubble” is just another testament to the band’s rock prowess and adoration.

“Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” is an overlooked staple of the Arctic Monkey’s expansive catalogue that deserves much more attention than it receives.