I suppose the world’s biggest band or so at the moment does not need any introduction, but still – let me pretend it still is 2004 or whenever I downloaded these off of SoulSeek. the band was admittedly not as famous back then, but they were definitely as good as they are now. these demos shows a new band in town, eager to show off their newly discovered skills at composing and performing music. the music is in fact extremely eager. they play fast, intense and energetic punk tracks, with several tracks clocking in well under three minutes – some even under two. the waililng guitars are loud as can be. the whole sound picture is generally fast and loud. crashing drums, distorted and crisp guitars, shouted vocals and fast bass. but what perhaps makes Arctic Monkeys stand out the most are their intelligent and observant lyrics, penned by guitarist/vocalist Alex Turner. some have even compared him to Jarvis Cocker (that might be a bit over the top though), due to how he manages to put down what’s going on in his world to paper. there’s no “bigger picture” here, it’s just Turner and the way he sees the world. what’s going on in his head. whether it’s clever observations on the youth cliques, patronizing words on a scumbag, or simple straightforward tunes about love – Turner knows his shit when it comes to writing. and so does he when it comes to killing his guitar, like Jamie Cook also does his fair share of. so if you’re into crisp and deadly guitars, loud and fast drumming, melodic and hasty bass and shouted vocals that tells stories – this is for you. download it!