Arctic Monkeys have tightened up as a band and play more powerfully than before. Although not as immediately appealing as their debut, Favourite Worst Nightmare is far from a let down. ItвЂ™s a great ending to a really good album. Then the song erupts in desperation, with banging cymbals and chiming distortion. The closing cut, вЂњ505вЂќ, is another standout, all moody in its first half, with pulsating organ and spaghetti western guitar. Here, they are вЂњa circle of witches ambitiously viciousвЂќ and вЂњserpent soul pinchersвЂќ. On the first album, all the people were vampires. вЂњIf You Were There, BewareвЂќ is a killer late album track, oozing with tension and danger: вЂњI donвЂ™t know what it is that they want / But I havenвЂ™t got it to give / She hasnвЂ™t got it to giveвЂќ. Turner makes another nod at that most classically tragic Shakespearean teen couple, proclaiming, вЂњI bet that Juliet was just the icing on the cakeвЂќ. The following song, вЂњOnly Ones Who KnowвЂќ, syncs up mood and music with a drowsy and melancholic ditty about romance and dreams. As Turner points out to her: вЂњYou used to get it in your fishnets / Now you only get it in your nightdressвЂќ. Despite the bouncier arrangement of the track, the words are a sad portrait of a woman whoвЂ™s вЂњin a very common crisisвЂќ. It isnвЂ™t until вЂњFluorescent AdolescentвЂќ that the boys get back to the playful, loose material that predominated Whatever People Say I Am, ThatвЂ™s What IвЂ™m Not. To this fashion statement, Turner says, вЂњWell, see ya later, innovatorвЂќ. Opening cut and lead single вЂњBrianstormвЂќ (no, thatвЂ™s neither my typo nor your dyslexia) is a flurry of jagged lines and beats, capturing the portrait of a bloke who wears a вЂњT-shirt and ties combinationвЂќ. Their response is to smash the pulp right out of it. I get the feeling that Arctic Monkeys have tasted the bitter fruit of life. ThatвЂ™s the fourth track on the album, and it concludes an initial run of songs with pounding rhythms and seething melodies. In вЂњBalaclavaвЂќ, the songвЂ™s protagonist is feeding a need, but heвЂ™s not having a nice time: вЂњItвЂ™s more a question of feeling than it is a question of funвЂќ. Leader Alex Turner has turned his gaze further outward and bears witness here to a world of damaged people. And those grooves are often darker and a little meaner. To that end, they hit the grooves harder on this new disc. And Arctic Monkeys want to keep you shaking and stomping out there. Yeah, now youвЂ™re lookinвЂ™ good on that dancefloor. So breathe out that big sigh of relief before your face turns blue. IвЂ™ll let you off the hook right away: You donвЂ™t have to worry about Favourite Worst Nightmare being a colossal disappointment. Will we be let down by our new heroes? Or will they continue to inspire, angling toward even greater heights? Or, most realistically, will the new record hopefully not suck too much? IвЂ™m sure plenty of first and third and even ninth albums have been released thus far in 2007, but the buzz around the indie rock water cooler (well, okay, itвЂ™s actually a sporadically inoperative drinking fountain mounted near a skeezy public restroom) has been all about the follow-up CDs from yesterdayвЂ™s hot new bands. That scruffy quartet of street-wise and wisecracking kids from Sheffield are back with their (cue ominous soundtrack) sophomore album. So get on your dancing shoes, you sexy little Arctic Monkeys fan.

Favourite worst nightmare