Arctic Monkeys - My Propeller
‘My Propeller’ is the third single from the album "Humbug". Immediately it appears to be a departure from the Arctic Monkeys we once knew. Gone are the simple riffs, only to be replaced with brooding, dirty guitar lines and ambiguous lyrics. I don’t know what it says about me, but upon hearing the lyrics it is hard to deny a slight sexual undercurrent. Alex Turner himself denies any such thing, but with lyrics such as “My propeller won’t spin and I can’t get it started on my own. When are you arriving?” it’s hard to ignore such an insinuation.
‘My Propeller’ shows how much Alex Turner and co have matured. Whilst any hint of maturation is normally a good thing, Arctic Monkeys appear dangerously close to losing the charm and mischievousness that made them so appealing in the first place. The incessant guitar line of ‘My Propeller’ is slightly jarring on repeated plays, and there isn’t really anything to separate the song from the rest of the similarly styled songs out there. Similarly styled songs that do it much better, I might add. It’s uninspired, slightly lifeless and there’s nothing particularly exciting about it; it sounds as though Arctic Monkeys just want to go home.
The track is so bogged down in banal monotony, it becomes undistinguishable and a chore to listen to, which of course music should never be. There’s something to be said for maturing, but when you lose the wit, the sharpness and naive appeal that made everything you did so enjoyable, it’s questionable of its worth.