Sunday ACL Fest 2018 Record Reviews
Arctic Monkeys
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (Domino)
Reviewed by Alejandra Ramirez, Fri., Oct. 5, 2018
Prepare for liftoff and enter "warpspeed chic" as shimmering keyboards and muffled tom toms orbit frontman Alex Turner's lunar suite in opener "Star Treatment." Unlike the torn-denim thrills of AM (2013), the L.A.-UK quartet's sixth full-length glints of Pet Sounds swapping six-string contortions for zero-gravity synths, moonwalk bass, and vintage electronics. The eerie weightlessness of "American Sports," intergalactic hallucinogen "Golden Trunks," and skull-cracked "She Looks Like Fun" find Turner convulsing between absurdist poetry and freewheeling narration that unravels into political ennui. The Monkeys' most anti-rock album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino proves their most adventurous, pop accessibility be damned. (8pm, Honda stage)