The Cold Cut

A few weeks ago the Arctic Monkeys officially announced that they would be moving back to the studio this summer to record their third album.

With this news came heaps of speculation, and already new songs are starting to appear. The first, 'Sandtrap', is a 2 minute live version, currently used as the introduction to 'This House Is A Circus'. Other new material includes 'The Fire and the Thud' and 'The Lovers' 'Put Me in a Terror Pocket', all of which are available for download below. The songs are either acoustic or live versions.

The third album will be an interesting one. For me, their talent was never in question, but *line removed due to popular demand*. And now, with the confidence issues behind them, the Arctic Monkeys sound as if they want to experiment. The band claim they have 6 demos recorded, all of which will probably find their way on to the new album.

Arctic Monkeys- Sandtrap (Link 2)
Arctic Monkeys- Put Me In A Terror Pocket (Link 2)
Arctic Monkeys- The Lovers (Link 2)
Arctic Monkeys- The Fire And The Thud (Link 2)

Albums by the Arctic Monkeys can be purchased here.

The Last Shadow Puppets- The Age Of The Understatement

When Alex Turner announced he had a side project in development, I was quick to focus my attention. 'The Last Shadow Puppets', a proposed collaboration between Turner and friend Miles Kain (of the Rascals), has been in the works since the touring friends recorded the album last August whilst on holiday in France. Whether the album would ever see the light of day, however, was uncertain.

Things move fast in this world: two weeks ago this band didn't even have a name, but over the last two days has rapidly become one of the hottest properties in music. The album, scheduled to be released on April 21, was previewed for a small audience in a Brooklyn record store on Thursday. In the 8-track acoustic set, Kain and Turner gave the first preview of the single (and album title) 'The Age Of The Understatement', and the studio version was released the day after.

The single itself is good, but not great. Given the level of talent on display, I wasn't quite as blown away as the hype said I should be. The lyrics don't have the punch of Alex's monkeys work. However, it still redeems itself through the undiluted talent on display: produced by Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford and with strings arrangements from Final Fantasy.

Discuss: A good introduction to the side project, or a song that doesn't live up to the hype?

You can watch the oddball video for the single over at the band's website...

The album tracklisting is as follows:

The Age of the Understatement:

01 The Age of the Understatement
02 Standing Next to Me
03 Calm Like You
04 Separate and Ever Deadly
05 The Chamber
06 Only the Truth
07 My Mistakes Were Made for You
08 Black Plant
09 I Don't Like You Any More
10 In My Room
11 Meeting Place
12 The Time Has Come Again