7. Dance Little Liar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBCqD3ko_G0 Artist: Arctic MonkeysAlbum: 'Humbug' Year: 2009 Best lyric: "I heard the truth was built to bend / A mechanism to suspend the / Guilt, is what, you were requiring /Still, you've got, to dance little liar." 'Humbug' is my favourite Arctic Monkeys album. Really. I love that they had the guile to follow up the first two with that. I love that everything that wasn't novel for the band, in every sense of the word, was sliced off until we were given a modest, ten-track release. I love that the songs don't grow in the same way as before, they escalate like a fire ripping through a mansion. And I think that it's a lesson to any young indie band in how to evolve in the digital age. And I'm going to be honest, it's an indulgence putting 'Dance Little Liar' higher than fan favourites 'The View From The Afternoon', 'R U Mine?' and 'Crying Lightning', because it's my favourite Alex Turner song. And I'm fully aware neither this nor 'Humbug' is massively popular, but 'Dance Little Liar' is easily the most underrated song to ever spill from Turner's lips. It's dark, it's delicious. It's poetry set to the sinking of the Titanic, from the opening twang of the guitar to the frenetic explosion of drums during the solo. Alex's breaths between syllables perfectly balances the chilling melody; he begins with hearsay and unravels his thoughts like a Chinese whisper. The guitars play catchup, the bass shadows the eerie mood and the organs mourn in the background: it's both funereal and sugary, and there's not a note or a letter of any of the lyrics that I'd change. It's pure perfection. And it's staying at Number 7 whether you like it or not. 6. 505
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTNTyhdZFCA Artist: Arctic Monkeys Album: 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' Year: 2007 Best lyric: "I crumble completely when you cry." One day my sister knocked on my door, and told me that she'd just listened to '505'. That was it: she was hooked on them. It wasn't the refreshingly glossy organ opening, or the riff waterfalling through the fuzz that caught her ear. And though the build of the song, from the plaintive chords to the full-on burning coda, is somewhat graceful in its choreography, it wasn't that either. It was the candid way with which Alex talked about a long-term relationship. He loves her to pieces and wants to do what's right, but he can't bear going back to the same hotel room, because it only ever breaks his heart. That's the story, and it's easy enough to overcook, but it never basks in its own misery, it just looks for ways to make her happy, such as starting adventures from the middle. And when it ascends to that glorious final section, where he has to go through leaving her again, it's impossible not to feel for him. Because there's a finality to '505': once you let it crawl under your skin, you'll never see the band the same way again. It's personal, really personal, like reading someone's diary, and the more it intensifies, the less you feel like you can get away with being a casual fan.