Arctic Monkeys

The Monkeys’ Matt Helders on his band’s fourth record…

Title: ‘Suck It And See’
Studio: Sound City, Los Angeles, California
Producer: James Ford
Collaborations: Josh Homme
Track Listing: ‘She’s Thunderstorms’, ‘Black Treacle’, ‘Brick By Brick’, ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’, ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’, ‘Library Pictures’, ‘All My Own Stunts’ (feat. Josh Homme), ‘Reckless Serenade’, ‘Piledriver Waltz’, ‘Love Is A Laserquest’, ‘Suck It And See’, ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’.
Due: 6th June
Label: Domino

Hi Matt. Can you sum up the new Arctic Monkeys record?
“Some of the tunes on it are a bit more melodic than ‘Humbug’ was. It’s probably a bit more mellow on the whole. There are bits in there that are heavy and bits that are fast, but in general a lot of the tunes are based on, I suppose, a more traditional way of writing songs. Starting off with chords and lyrics and melody and putting it all together, whereas before we wrote songs differently. This time, when Alex was writing songs on his own, he tried a different approach too.”

What else was different about the making of ‘Suck It And See’?
“We did all the production side of things before we went away – we had us and James Ford in a rehearsal space in London in the run-up to Christmas, where we practiced intensely, as if we were going to play them all at a gig the next day. We got to a point where we could play them great, and then when we came to the studio, we knew what songs were going to be on the record before we even did it. We just recorded the twelve that are on there.”

What songs do you think will be proper Monkeys anthems at festivals this summer?
“I don’t know, ones that I think won’t be sometimes are, like ‘Brick By Brick’ for instance – some people hate it and some people love it. There’s ‘The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala’ too, which has got quite a big chorus. Sing-a-long stuff and simple choruses seem to work with a big crowd.”

James Ford is pretty much your Nigel Godrich now isn’t he? Is he your guru?
“Yeah, he’s been involved in every record we’ve made in one way or another. When it came to this one, we knew straight away that we wanted to do it with him. And he’s become a really great friend and obviously a great producer – he can play loads of music. So to be able to spend that much time with someone without getting annoyed, and all getting on really well, it’s just a comfortable environment to make an album in.”

What about Josh Homme? He’s a bit obsessed with you, isn’t he?
“This time we weren’t that far from where he lives, so the first day he just came to say hello and to see how we all were, because we hadn’t seen him for a bit. Then he came back to have a listen to some stuff, and then it was like – do you want to sing a backing vocal on this song? ‘Yeah, why not’. It was all recreational mostly.”

Bonus Factoids:

Matt and the band met Seal at a BBQ. He asked them if they were over for the Grammys. They weren’t nominated. SEAL MADE A FAUX PAS! Despite this, Matt rates Seal’s dress sense as “8 and a half out of 10”.

Arctic Monkeys spent their entire time in California listening to classic rock radio.

Matt likes to cook steak.