| Favourite Worst Nightmare | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Arctic Monkeys | ||||
| Released | 18 April 2007 | |||
| Recorded | December 2006 at Miloco Studios London, England |
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| Genre | Indie rock,[1] post-punk revival,[2][3] garage rock | |||
| Length | 37:34 | |||
| Label | Domino, Warner Bros., EMI (Brazil) | |||
| Producer | James Ford Mike Crossey |
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| Arctic Monkeys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Favourite Worst Nightmare | ||||
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Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by English indie rock[1][4] band Arctic Monkeys that was first released in Japan on 18 April 2007[5] before being released around the world. Recorded in east London's Miloco Studios with producers James Ford and Mike Crossey, the album was preceded by the release of new single "Brianstorm" on 16 April 2007.[6] In its first week following release the album sold over 220,000 copies, emulating Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in going straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart, albeit selling 100,000 copies fewer than their record-breaking debut. Favourite Worst Nightmare's first day sales of 85,000 outsold the rest of the Top 20 combined, while all twelve tracks from the album entered the top 200 of the UK Singles Chart in their own right.[7] In the USA, the album debuted at number seven, selling around 44,000 copies in its first week.[8] The album has since gone 2x platinum[9] in the UK and the album was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize. At the 2008 BRIT Awards it won Best British Album.
Contents |
In comparison to the band's debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, the album has been described as "very, very fast and very, very loud,"[10] being seen as "more ambitious, heavier...and with a fiercely bright production".[11] Reflecting the band's travels around the world more than local stories of the first record, FWN is a "faster, meaner" album.[12] The album arguably has influences from The Smiths - "twanging, quasi-ambient backdrops...and Turner's voice [...] crooning like Morrissey or Richard Hawley."[11] Matt Helders said "Conor McBride's superfast supersmooth guitar sweeps and bone-crunching C-tuned guitar riffs were a major influence on this album."[6] As a result, the drum rhythms of Helders and bassist Nick O'Malley have drawn comparisons to the Eighties funk band ESG.[6] The band's love of classic films also influences their new style. For example, the organ at the beginning of the album's final track, "505" is taken directly from Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (where Angel Eyes enters before the final standoff).[13]
The album title, "Favourite Worst Nightmare", came from the song "D is for Dangerous", the third song featured on the album. The band said they also considered naming the album Gordon Brown or Gary Barlow".[13]
In an interview with NME, Nick O'Malley announced several titles including "D is for Dangerous" and "Balaclava". The tracks "The Bakery" and "Plastic Tramp" also mentioned in the NME interview did not make it onto the album, but were later released as B-sides on the "Fluorescent Adolescent" single. The track "Leave Before the Lights Come On" was also rumoured for inclusion, though it didn't make it.
6 of the 12 songs were debuted at gigs before they released the album. The album was recorded quickly as the band wanted to get out and play the songs again.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 82/100[14] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [15] |
| Blender | [16] |
| NME | [17] |
| The Observer | [18] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.4/10)[19] |
| PopMatters | [1] |
| Q | [20] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[21] |
| Rolling Stone | [22] |
| Spin | (6/10)[23] |
| The Guardian | [24] |
Favourite Worst Nightmare has received very favourable reviews since release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 82, based on 38 reviews.[14] In a 5-star review, The Daily Express described it as "a shockingly good release that just gets better, faster and stronger with each listen",[25] while The Guardian said it had "successfully negotiated the daunting task of following up the biggest-selling debut album in British history" and stated that the second half of the album was the stronger half, noting the similarity to Morrissey in "Fluorescent Adolescent" whilst criticising the opening tracks, Brianstorm in particular. Their progression was also higlighted with The Guardian saying "if you removed everything from the album except Matt Helders' drumming, it would still be a pretty gripping listen",[24] and The Observer praising the new sounds on the album referencing the "piercing, melodic guitar by Jamie Cook" and "where Turner reveals the other weapons in his armoury" when referring to Alex Turner's progression.[18] Pitchfork Media noticed the "new emotional depth" of tracks such as "Do Me A Favour", "Only Ones Who Know" and "505"[26] which were also commonly cited by most other critics as being amongst the highlights.
All lyrics written by Alex Turner, except where noted, all music composed by Arctic Monkeys.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brianstorm" | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Teddy Picker" | 2:43 |
| 3. | "D Is for Dangerous" | 2:16 |
| 4. | "Balaclava" | 2:49 |
| 5. | "Fluorescent Adolescent" (Turner, Johanna Bennett) | 2:57 |
| 6. | "Only Ones Who Know" | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Do Me a Favour" | 3:27 |
| 8. | "This House Is a Circus" | 3:09 |
| 9. | "If You Were There, Beware" | 4:34 |
| 10. | "The Bad Thing" | 2:23 |
| 11. | "Old Yellow Bricks" (Turner, Jon McClure) | 3:11 |
| 12. | "505" | 4:13 |
| Japanese edition bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 13. | "Da Frame 2R" | 2:20 | |||||||
| 14. | "Matador" | 4:57 | |||||||
| Country | Peak position | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 2× Platinum | 712,597 |
| Australia | 2 | ||
| Ireland | 1 | ||
| New Zealand | 4 | ||
| Canada | 4 | Platinum | 150,000 |
| United States | 7 | 240,000 | |
| Germany | 2 | Gold | 100,000 |
| Japan | 4 | Gold[28] | 175,000 |
| Denmark | 1 | ||
| Finland | 14 | ||
| Belgium | 1 | ||
| Netherlands | 1 | ||
| Switzerland | 1 | ||
| Norway | 2 | ||
| France | 6 | Gold | 100,000 |
| Sweden | 6 | ||
| Austria | 6 | ||
| Italy | 14 | Gold | 60,000 |
| Spain | 2 | ||
| European Top 100 Albums | 2 |
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 18 April 2007 | Hostess | CD | HSE-10043[29] |
| Germany | 20 April 2007[30] | CD | ||
| Ireland | ||||
| Spain | ||||
| Australia | 21 April 2007[31] | CD | ||
| United Kingdom | 23 April 2007 | Domino Records | LP | WIGLP188 / 5034202018810[32] |
| CD | WIGCD188 / 5034202018827[33] | |||
| Brazil | EMI | CD | ||
| France | CD | |||
| Belgium | CD | |||
| United States | 24 April 2007 | Domino, Warner Bros.[34] | CD | DNO 136 / 801390013621 |
| Israel | CD | |||
| Canada | Domino, WEA International | CD |
| Preceded by The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne |
UK number one album 29 April 2007 – 19 May 2007 |
Succeeded by Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park |
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