‘Opening Night’: Arctic Monkeys returning with War Child means a lot for music
20 years ago, the Arctic Monkeys made history with the release of their record-breaking debut album. Their finest achievement in the interim has been their ability to leave that towering opus in the past and push on forward. With their latest release, they once again look to shape the future.
Without any new music releases in four years, what the Monkeys announced next was always going to be big news. So, it seems telling – and vital – that they have quietly put their might behind the worthy cause of War Child.
Purposefully understated, they let the charity take the limelight. But lingering in the figurative shadows only furthered the noticeable extent of their prowess. Without any prior press, the feverish excitement in the YouTube comments section from fans in the minutes leading up to the release of ‘Opening Night’ served to reaffirm their generational status as a band.
Flags from all over the world flooded in. People mentioned palpitations. And four lads from Sheffield made it clear that, as Alex Turner once proclaimed at the Brits, “that rock ‘n’ roll” will never die. As it happens, with the band throwing their weight behind the forthcoming War Child album, Help (2), “that rock ‘n’ roll” might just have been given its most visceral regeneration for quite some time.
The popularity of guitar music throughout history has been a cyclical spiral, often peaking when it is most needed. The sense of excitable community in the comments section elucidated that need at present. People from all over the world were on the same page and buoyed by a countdown to something hopeful for a change.
That hope galvanised when they glanced at the description, and one of the most alluring tracklistings for any compilation album in history was revealed. Fontaines DC covering Sinead O’Connor, Arooj Aftab and Beck teaming up, and a plethora of other delights await on a record that showcases, without even being released yet, the unifying potential of alternative music.
The song itself, subtle and swirling, feels somewhat lost in the hubbub. Once again, that subsumption in the frenzy feels like an artfully measured approach. 20 years on from an electric debut, their chops are honed enough to play the room like a marionette, and the building buzz of this gathering anthem encapsulates the sentiment of the album as a whole.
Mirroring the motif of the steady building classic, ‘Come Together’, and that iconic track’s message, this broody release, creeping towards an unforeseen crescendo, says, ‘steady on, this is just opening night, there’s plenty more to come’. Whether that pertains to the imminent Help (2), the blossoming rock ‘n’ roll community involved, or there being more in the pipeline from the Monkeys themselves, remains to be seen.
With a bit of luck, it’ll be all three, and it’s no surprise to see the Arctic Monkeys at the forefront, yet adroitly shunning the spotlight for the sake of the wider cause. The world needs its “lonely little hall of famers“ to lead with purpose – this might not shimmer, but it certainly does that with uncanny skill.
Help (2) will be released on March 6th – pre-order it HERE.
Help (2) tracklist:
- Arctic Monkeys – ‘Opening Night’
- Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten & Kae Tempest – ‘Flags’
- Black Country, New Road – ‘Strangers’
- The Last Dinner Party – ‘Let’s do it again!’
- Beth Gibbons – ‘Sunday Morning’
- Arooj Aftab & Beck – ‘Lilac Wine’
- King Krule – ‘The 343 Loop’
- Depeche Mode – ‘Universal Soldier’
- Ezra Collective & Greentea Peng – ‘Helicopters’
- Arlo Parks – ‘Nothing I Could Hide’
- English Teacher & Graham Coxon – ‘Parasite’
- Beabadoobee – ‘Say Yes’
- Big Thief – ‘Relive, Redie’
- Fontaines D.C. – ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’
- Cameron Winter – ‘Warning’
- Young Fathers – ‘Don’t Fight the Young’
- Pulp – ‘Begging for Change’
- Sampha – ‘Naboo’
- Wet Leg – ‘Obvious’
- Foals – ‘When the War is Finally Done’
- Bat For Lashes – ‘Carried my girl’
- Anna Calvi, Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya & Dove Ellis – ‘Sunday Light’
- Olivia Rodrigo – ‘The Book of Love’
