Monkey's Escape!

So the inevitable has happened. A handful of songs from the Arctic Monkey's forthcoming third studio album, 'Humbug', have leaked on to the web.

The three tracks are: 'Secret Door', 'Dance Little Liar' and 'Pretty Visitors'.

If there's one thing to be said about the songs, and the Monkey's themselves, it's that they never, and i mean never, fail to progress as a band. These three songs demonstrate an ability to learn and develop. The musical maturity and experimental darkness heard on these tracks is overwhelmingly comforting because it's the sound of a band who don't stagnant themselves with what they know.

'Favourite Worst Nightmare' was a totally different sound from 'Whatever people...' and 'Humbug' doesn't even come close to sounding like either.

'Secret Door' grows throughout and develops into a Shirley Bassey like champagne-sipping ballad. Escalating to a late 80s/ early 90s crest of swooning strings and undeniably Turner-esqe lyrics, it truly is a bit of a masterpiece.

'Pretty Visitors' is a dark-distorted rock-thrash. It looms in the shadow of b-side 'Nettles' as Turner states 'What came first? the chicken or the dickhead?'. There's a very Queens breakdown mid-way with ghostly choir echos, complemented by the haunting howl of a very church-like organ. You're able to see what Josh Holme actually bought to the production of this track. His warped mindset has assisted in creating a scuzzy-gloom ridden rock'n'smash Monkey's track that sounds, well, fucking amazing.