Out of their tree

>> Arctic Monkeys follow up their smash
hit debut record in record time

WELCOME TO OUR NIGHTMARE: Arctic Monkeys

by ERIK LEIJON

Saddled with insurmountable hype, Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys decided to get the sophomore slump out of their systems by churning out Favourite Worst Nightmare only a year after releasing the U.K.’s fastest selling debut album of all time, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Although admittedly overwhelmed by all the attention, drummer Matt Helders is looking forward to a less hectic release this time around. The Mirror monkeyed around with the thickly accented drummer.

Mirror: Was it always your intention to release the second album so soon after the first?

Matt Helders: I think so, and even in between them, we did the EP and the “Leave Before the Lights On” single as well. We keep writing new songs and we need to do something with them. We couldn’t really tour the old album again, it would be boring for everyone if we played the same songs for another year. We could have had as much time off as we wanted, but we were still enjoying writing music and touring.

M: Did you want to show a new side of the Arctic Monkeys with the new record?

MH: Sometimes we say it sounds louder and darker and heavier, but I think the main thing is we’ve been getting better at playing our instruments, so I think it helped us make a different-sounding record.

M: Was the Who the Fuck are the Arctic Monkeys? EP a reaction to all the hype surrounding you guys in England?

MH: It wasn’t just a comment about our own success, it’s the culture there where you’re critically acclaimed one day and they forget who you are a few months later.

M: Does Favourite Worst Nightmare feel like a fresh start?

MH: It was a good feeling to stop and start over again. It didn’t seem like we’d been away and we were coming back since we went so quickly from touring straight to recording and back to touring again. It was as close to a fresh start as it could have been in so little time. Maybe this time the album will be less anticipated—that will probably be a good thing.

M: You seem to be more comfortable doing television appearances in America.

MH: There aren’t that many good shows in England to be on, but if we do a lot of television in England then we’d probably get more recognized everywhere we go. It gives us a bit of privacy.

M: Were you ever worried about being more known for the hype than the music?

MH: There was a fear at first about being associated with the covers of the magazines, either rightly or wrongly. We appreciated all the comments we were getting, but we tried not to take it seriously. It was overwhelming at times.

M: How did you get Dizzee Rascal to cameo on the b-side of the “Brianstorm” single?

MH: He suggested it before the first album came out that he wanted to do something with [lead guitarist/vocalist] Alex [Turner], but the timing didn’t work out then. We recorded “Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend” without him first and as we were playing it back, we thought it would sound great with a rapper because of the beat. He left a few verses on Alex’s answering machine and we picked the one we liked.

With Be Your Own Pet at the Olympia
Theatre on Saturday, May 12, 8 p.m.,
$25.50, all ages