Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night

Arctic Monkeys return with ‘Opening Night’, their first new single in over three years.

A fuzzy beat ushers in dexterous, dusk-hued guitar lines, putting the guitars firmly back front and centre for the first time in a decade.

As ever, Alex Turner’s characteristically oblique lyrics invite decoding (‘Try not to wake up sleeping dogs just because you’re your own little hall of famer,’) before opening into a chorus drenched in band harmonies that evoke the warmth of peak Fleetwood Mac.

Disarmingly catchy and refreshingly direct, ‘Opening Night’ should hopefully silence some of the critics they’ve amassed since AM. If not quite the sleazy rock of those halcyon years, it’s good to hear that Turner and company haven’t quite forgotten their roots.

As the opening track on War Child’s Help (2) compilation, recorded over one week in November, it bodes well for the album’s stellar lineup, featuring Fontaines D.C., The Last Dinner Party, Cameron Winter, Pulp, Depeche Mode and many, many more.

They’re back. Thank the Lord.