Last week, Arctic Monkeys announced the release of their 7th studio Album The Car, the band’s first release since 2018’s divisive Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino. Set for release on October 21st, the 10-track album will feature the brand-new single “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” alongside “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” that the band debuted at Switzerland’s Openair Festival. You can look into pre-order information on the album here, and watch the official video for the new single below.
Whether or not you’re an Alex Turner superfan, there aren’t many people that would be willing to argue against the fact that Arctic Monkeys are one of the most successful, and beloved, bands in the UK today. So, when they began to pop up on festival bills around Europe, many were preparing for a new record. Their first live show since 2019, in Turkey, brought a few hidden gems back to the surface – “Potion Approaching” was played for the first time since 2011 – but there were still no signs of new music. Suck It And See’s “That’s Where You’re Wrong” also popped up in Prague the following week – the first time since 2013. But still, the prospect of new music was kept very much on the down low.
Arctic Monkeys performed their first UK show since 2018 last weekend at Reading and Leeds Festival. It was an appearance that many fans were particularly excited for after Turner proclaimed that he and the band would be “shuffling the deck” concerning which songs would be making it onto the show’s setlists. The band are set to headline the pair of festivals alongside a whole host of significant names – Megan Thee Stallion, Dave, Halsey, Bring Me The Horizon, and most recently The 1975 who are replacing Rage Against The Machine. The festival had to make some last-minute changes last week after Måneskin and Jack Harlow pulled out to play the MTV VMAs. They were later replaced by AJ Tracey and Charli XCX.
While there is still no official information on a full-blown Arctic Monkeys UK tour, the standard album rollout procedure pretty much guarantees that we’ll be getting some news pretty soon. They are however in the midst of a pretty extensive tour of the European festival circuit, so if you’re in a desperate need to catch the band before the official tour rolls out, you can find full information here.
