poppedmusic

The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala

Released 15th August 2011

The Arctic Monkeys are set to release The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala as the second single from their recent album Suck It And See. It is an interesting choice, it must be said, as it’s not really the most “single” sounding track in comparison to some of the others on the album. It’s actually one of my least favourite choices when it comes to a single, although it’s quite quirky and we like it in its album context I’m just not too sure of it as a stand alone track and the more I listen to it on its own the more perplexed I become. What on earth is it even about? Not that it has to be about anything I guess. It is kind of catchy, I grant it that much and it is one of the lighter sounding tracks on an album that sounds quite dark in places.

The Arctic Monkeys have always been known for their clever, witty and perceptive social commentary within their songs. In a way this does have all of those ingredients but until I can unravel the mystery of what a Hellcat Spangled Shalalala is even in reference to I’m afraid I can only pinpoint certain lyrics that just make me go “yes! that’s brilliant”. Lyrics such as “Makes me want to blow the candles out just to see if you glow in the dark” and “I take the batteries out my mysticism and put them in my thinking cap.” You can’t argue that there’s something really intriguing and almost magical about lyrics like that and it’s these along with the oh so catchy riffs that make this a song that actually just about gets away with being a single, even if it makes no sense in the slightest.