Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

What an egregious disservice the British music press did this band of teenagers from Sheffield by hyping them to the heavens, in fact to the point of absurdity, before this, their first record, was even released in January. A nasty backlash was inevitable, and come it did, so quickly on the heels of the initial adulation that by mid-year it was as if some sort of pre-scripted cycle had played itself out completely and everyone's attention turned elsewhere. That's a shame. No, they are not the second coming of The Clash -- not even close. But what got overlooked in all the hysteria was the simple fact that this is a tremendously talented and promising young band, and this is one hell of a debut. Full of crunchy, riffing guitars, pulsing rhythms and songwriter Alex Turner's tales of British boys on the town, in the clubs, chatting up girls and getting nicked by the coppers, the sound of this record is at once something familiar and something very fresh and new. Grab a pint and play it loud.

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD: The View From The Afternoon -- not one of the singles that loosed the avalanche of hype, but a template for the Arctic Monkeys sound. If you like this track, you'll like this band.