Alex Turner says Arctic Monkeys band name ‘alludes to how limited the expectations were’

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Alex Turner has theorised that Arctic Monkeys might have picked a different name if they’d known they would still be “doing this 20 years later”.

The Sheffield rock band recently announced that their new album The Car would be released in October featuring 10 new songs.

In a recent interview, frontman Turner suggested that the band’s success was not seen as inevitable, as proven by their name.

“The name of the band seems to allude to how limited the expectations were,” Turner told The Guardian.

“If you realised you were gonna be doing this 20 years later, you might’ve had another hour in that meeting.”

The songs on The Car will be written by Turner and made with the band’s regular producer James Ford.

Turner said that he was “ interested in switching the ‘rock band’ bit on and off” while discussing the new album.

This week, the Arctic Monkeys dropped the second single from the album entitled “Body Paint”, with fans calling it the “best song since AM”.

It comes as they announced their 2023 UK and Ireland tour, which will take place throughout May and June and include two homecoming shows at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield.

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You can find out how to get tickets here.

During the interview, Turner hinted at embarrassment of old lyrics, suggesting that cryptic ideologies are more suited to his current style.

“I like the idea that I’m getting better at the… I sort of want to say distillation,” he said. “I think I’m better at picking the moment to expose the idea behind the song. But you have to be comfortable with the idea that things don’t have to be a pop song.”

The Car is released on 21 October.