Arctic Monkeys - AM: 12 Tracks Reviewed & Analysed

7. Mad Sounds

Continuing on the soft side of AM, 'Mad Sounds' dances along like a tortoise, swooning and crooning lightly like the perfect, cheesy slow dance song should. The track even stoops so low as to add 'ooh-la-lala' over and over at the end, which shouldn't be so annoying, but it finds a way to do so. It may sound refreshing at first, but it's narrow, nostalgic vibe will be a skip-this-track legacy. 'Mad Sounds' dwells too much on the melodrama and less on the song itself. RATING: 2/5

8. Fireside

This one may spruce the slowness up, but it keeps the same stagnant feel that the past two tracks with very little promise. Patting and tapping along, the percussion drives this meager tune idly passes along. It swells and continues this back-up vocal that echoes distantly in the mix. Ideally, I figure 'Fireside' was something that felt a lot better in the studio, because the output is very mediocre, at best. RATING: 2/5