Arctic Monkeys, “Body Paint” | Track Review 🎵

Alternative darlings Arctic Monkeys unveil the second piece of the puzzle from their seventh studio album, The Car, the brilliant single, “Body Paint.”

“So predictable, I know what you’re thinking.” After a four-year hiatus, 🏆 Grammy-nominated alternative collective 🎙 Arctic Monkeys have returned.  Their seventh studio album, 💿 The Car, arrives October 21, 2022. 🎙 Alex Turner and company revealed the first piece of the puzzle, 🎵 “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball”, in early September.  Now, the second single, 🎵 “Body Paint”, arrives at the conclusion of the month.  Safe to say, “Body Paint” is absolutely and utterly stupendous.

The music is gorgeous, with warmer keys (and synths), strings, and eventually, a more raucous electric guitar. Arctic Moneys never fail in the instrumental department.  Furthermore, Alex Turner serves up sublime vocals and colorful lyrics.  Honestly, not just anybody could commence a record with, “For a master of deception and subterfuge / You’ve made yourself quite the bed to lie in.” It doesn’t stop there either.  In the second verse, “My teeth are beating, and my knees are weak / It’s as if there’s something up with the wiring.” Yep, that’s some serious pain, particularly that toothache! Uniquely, the chorus is one line – “So predictable, I know what you’re thinking” – while there’s also a bridge, instrumental break, and a refrain.  Turner first references ‘body paint’ in the first verse but doesn’t explicitly mention it until the bridge and again during the refrain.   So, what’s he getting at thematically? It seems to be a mix of covering up and masking feelings, deception, and cheating – ooh-la-la!

Final Thoughts 💭

In my humble opinion, Arctic Monkeys rarely if ever fall short. Arguably, the epic 🎵 “Body Paint” trumps 🎵 “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball”, a fine promo single from 💿 The Car.  This is a cleverly written record.  Furthermore, it’s well-performed and well-produced.  It takes ‘next level’ creativity to construct a song like this.  Clearly, Alex Turner and Arctic Monkeys are locked-in to that next level.

🎙 Arctic Monkeys • 💿 The Car • 🏷 Domino • 🗓 10.21.22

[📷: Brent Faulkner, Domino, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]