Arctic Monkeys - Don't Believe The Backlash

Two things to get clear before we start. One: I'm not usually the type to go all gooey over bands proclaimed to be the Next Big Thing. I really don't see the point of Bloc Party, for example. Show me any number of Test Icicles, Forward Russia or The Kooks, and my reaction is likely to be something like "Yes yes, now run along sonny." That, and "Shouldn't you be in school?"

Two: I think Arctic Monkeys are fantastic. Their album, "Whatever People Think I Am, That's What I'm Not" (Domino) has camped out in my CD player, and snarls furiously at any CD that tries to usurp it. Full of Pop Hooks and fuzz-guitar theatrics, riddled with huge choruses and bags of attitude. It not only boasts wonderful lyrics (is there a better line in recent memory than "His bird thinks they're amazing though so all that's left, is the truth that love's not only blind but deaf"?) but each track is actually about something, a little potted summary of subjects like Love, lust, prostitutes, insincere bands, bouncers and moody girlfriends.

It's not perfect - there are probably one too many breakneck shout-alongs, and occasionally the lyrics are clever-clever rather than clever. But these are minor quibbles, and what's to complain about when they round things off with "A Certain Romance" - rollicking Zeppelin intro falling away to a lilting ska, describing all the things wrong with society and gently railing against them. Witty, exhilarating and yes, romantic, it's the closest the Arctic Monkeys come to genius.

So having established these things, you understand why I worry about this band, for make no mistake there will be a backlash. No band can hope to live up to the hype they're generating at the moment. As an example, last week NME voted this album the fifth best British Album of all time. That's "Of All Time". When the record had been out for three days. The same issue compared them favourably to The Clash, Oasis and The Stone Roses. Plus now that they're a bona fide success, people are likely to feel that they no longer need to be championed, and the easily-bored music fans like us will go off in search of the next Next Big Thing, be it The Young Knives, The Fratellis or whatever.

Arctic Monkeys seem to be brilliant. They're not original - these are old tricks but they're done very very well, and with a fresh twist. They may go on to be legendary, and their debut may come to be regarded as a classic. It's so hard to tell this close to all the hype. Remember how lauded Be Here Now was to begin with? Let's give it time.