Arctic Monkeys are light years away from that night club in Sheffield - and it's a good thing

Six albums in and the quartet are still admirably refusing to be labelled by any genre

(Zackery Michael)

With new record Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Arctic Monkeys have catapulted themselves into outer space, light years away from the Sheffield locales that inspired their first batch of tracks back in 2006.

It’s a brave step for the quartet whose frontman Alex Turner has relocated to futuristic taquerias by way of Los Angeles; the new album - their sixth - is an emblem of the work ethic which has cemented the staying power of an act continually able to make their present their prime.

Not all fans agree. Hours after its release, scores of listeners decried the group's new sound on Twitter, highlighting Turner's "meandering" lyrics and their decision to sideline drummer Matt Helders - perhaps fuelled by a lengthy five-year wait since 2013's rock'n'roll saviour, AM.

This willingness to submit so completely to a new sound has been teased, if not fully realised, before. In the eyes of some fans, Humbug - their thunderous near-faultless third record, released in 2010 - scorched Turner and co for the first time, its moody exterior worlds away from the rabble-rousing crowd-pleasers of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare, released within a year of each other in 2006-7.

Truth be told, Arctic Monkeys had created their own myth before their record-breaking debut had even topped the charts - demos entrepreneurially handed out at live gigs, outside venues and on public transport leading to frenzied word-of-mouth across Sheffield from as early as 2003. The result was the indie record of the year nay decade, an album held in such nostalgic esteem that it’s never given as the answer when asked ‘what’s your favourite Arctic Monkeys record?’ as it’s obviously the correct reply.

Following Humbug's frosty fan response, it seemed as if people had decided their career path for them, happy to let Turner pen endless hybrids of the same songs for years to come until they became yet another group contented to release half-decent records for as long as they could sell them. Instead, this third album was a starting point for what Arctic Monkeys would later become - a group that refused to be pinned down by a plan, but one that would become a product of what music they happened to be enjoying at the time of writing.

In this way, it's a wonder fans expect to love every Arctic Monkeys record. Much in the same way that chocolate lovers won't like every selection in a box of Quality Street or TV viewers are unlikely to enjoy every episode of a Black Mirror-style anthology series, Tranquility Base certainly isn't going to appeal to all those late teens who discovered them following AM's success in the US. Does this make it bad? No. Does Turner even care? Probably not.

It's impossible to deny that Arctic Monkeys are no longer making music 'for the fans' - if they ever were. A selfish notion, perhaps, but admirable; this 'you can't win 'em all' attitude has birthed a daring creation that would have been unfathomable while watching a leather jacket-clad Turner - quiff and all - crooning about bootie-calling a girl while off his rocker five years ago.

There are attempts to appease, most notably on album-closer "The Ultracheese," a grand ballad direct from Alex Turner: The Musical and "Four Out Of Five" which begins with a familiar-sounding hook before descending into the frontman's feverish version of The Beatles' White Album track "Sexy Sadie." Ghostly and exciting.

The fact is, these four musicians have fully submerged themselves into this venture, into this defined hotel and casino, and are inviting you to check in and do the same. Its theatrical production and refined vocal delivery - heavily sprinkled with Turner's natural musicality and love of Dion, Serge Gainsbourg and The Beach Boys - is the kind that will unlock new doors with each listen. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is a strangely modest result of Turner taking a breath and rolling with the years (well, back the years).

Don't worry, because whatever your stance on the outcome, rest assured their next record will see them chart another, entirely new territory - and that should only be encouraged.

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is out now