You can’t move through the music press at the moment without the creeping tides of adulation that are directed at Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys. In an age where the charts and radio are congested with an endless stream of identikit guitar bands, this lot have been subject to levels of hype not seen since Oasis’s opening salvo in the early nineties.

There are of course comparisons that can be drawn between the two bands, although the former have moved on to dizzying heights of success on a road that is littered with moments of dubious output and a sound that has taken on the odd symptom of middle aged spread while it has to be said that The Arctic Monkeys are a band that still have the vitality of youth on their side.

“Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” released on Domino Records is thirteen slices of what its like to be young in the 21st Century, granted some of the themes are timeless. Those teenage years when eyes meet across a crowded dancefloor and the hormonal fuse is lit are illustrated to perfection in songs like “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”.

Alex Turner the band’s singer and songwriter also sweeps across subjects such as watching crap bands and enduring the embellished stories of their exploits. The struggles one has to endure with late night cab journeys (Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secure) and nightclub bouncers. Not to mention darkly shaded tales of inner city prostitution (When The Sun Goes Down) and police altercations (Riot Van).

There has been much made of the band’s youth and it is a relevant point in the respect that the band interplay lyrics that belie their tender years with white hot musicianship, its loud and raw but the wordplay has a maturity to it that many bands with a lot more miles on the clock struggle to achieve. There’s a wry humour to the songs that is accentuated with the strongly accented delivery, this is a voice that sounds like it has been dragged through some of life’s little adventures and emerged on the other side with a knowing wink and an arched eyebrow.

There has also been claims that the material won’t necessary travel because of the close geographical references the songs place to their home town of Sheffield and the localised slang references. For my money there’s no truth in this, the stories woven into the tracks could take place in any large city, this is generational stuff it could happen anywhere.

As a result what you’re getting for your money is a band that for once live up to the hype and for that matter have set themselves an incredible benchmark to beat with their next release. However for now, do yourself a favour and have a good look at what a band can do when they are caught in the camera flash moments of youth and take full advantage of the creative forces at their disposal.