ARCTIC MONKEYS • Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not • LP

Domino

Arctic Monkeys were already massive well before they inked a deal with Domino in June 2005. People obsessing over the songs? Sold-out gigs full of stage-diving nutcases? Hardcore fans pressed up against venue windows, just hoping to catch a glimpse? Check, check, and check.

The boys may share a love of The Smiths, The Clash, and The Jam, but in no way were they ready to simply regurgitate the well-trodden Brit-rock path. Instead, they spent their school days listening to Roots Manuva, Braintax, and other artists on Low Life Records, not to mention Lyricist Lounge compilations and Rawkus Records cuts like Pharoahe Monch. Another unique influence was Mancunian poet John Cooper Clarke, of whom Alex Turner is a huge fan. Hence the razor-sharp lyricism that fuels songs like A Certain Romance, a witty observation of small-town life where “there’s only music so that there’s new ringtones” and where “going out could sometimes mean having a pool cue wrapped around your head.”

Elsewhere, there were grim tales of girls who’d ended up on the streets ("She don’t do major credit cards, I doubt she does receipts" – When the Sun Goes Down) and glorious swipes at the rock 'n' roll clones that emerged in the wake of the great garage rock boom of 2002 ("Yeah, I’d like to tell you all my problems / You’re not from New York City, you’re from Rotherham" – Fake Tales of San Francisco). This was life in satellite-town England, as cutting and observant as anything you’d hear from Mike Skinner.

Containing 13 newly recorded tracks, some of which have never been heard before, even by diehard fans trading demos and versions on the internet, this is a remarkable modern British debut.