Submarine is the directorial debut from British TV comic Richard Ayoade, best known for his role as computer nerd Maurice on The IT Crowd.  Set against a blistery winter in the seaside city of Swansea, Wales, Submarine follows two relationships – a pair of teenage sweethearts and a middle-aged married couple.

Craig Roberts plays  teenager Oliver Tate; a high school loner with a floppy Beatles haircut, prone to deadpan facial expressions and general awkwardness. Terrified that his parents are on the verge of divorce, Oliver sets out to save their marriage. Meanwhile he falls in love with classmate Jordana – tough, edgy and harboring  mild pyromania issues, who reciprocates Oliver’s feelings in her own cool way. At the same time, Oliver’s mother is tempted into cheating on her chronically depressed husband by an old high school flame, who just so happens to be a new-age self-help guru with ninja skills.

Oliver and Jordana’s relationship is beautifully romanticised via dreamy sequences of Polaroid photographs and Super 8 film, accompanied by music written and performed by Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), who debuts his efforts as a solo artist on the Submarine soundtrack. Having contributed six original tracks to the film, Turner previously worked with Ayoade on music videos for the Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, ‘Crying Lightning’ and ‘Cornerstone’ singles.

The characters are so freakishly awkward, you can’t help but love them.  Ultimately a coming-of-age film, Submarine achieves a delicate balance between sadness and humour; fuelled by brilliant acting, a witty screenplay and an incredible soundtrack.

Submarine hits cinemas on 8th September – to win a double-pass, please email us your name and street address with “Submarine” in the subject line.

Purchase the Submarine soundtrack from JB Hifi to receive a complimentary admit 2 pass.

This nice little effort from the Arctic Monkeys is the second single from what I consider to be their best album yet, Suck It And See. Although I find it difficult to determine what inspires Alex Turner’s lyrics (I should have expected this from the title), it only makes it all the more intriguing. The whole album is a noticeable change from their last three albums and especially Favourite Worst Nightmare which was far more fast and frantic.

The band has now settled down to a far more relaxed vibe of indie-rock. This particular track is never-the-less a charming one with a smooth 60’s feel that reminds me of the fab four- I know it’s a big call, but I think it’s deserved. I love this song!

If you’re a long-time fan of the Arctics like me, chances are you were slightly underwhelmed by their third album Humbug. Now comes salvation in the form of their 4th album, the curiously titled Suck It And See. What are they on about, eh? More to the point, is it good enough to stop you saying “it’s not like the first one”? Well get over it – this band has grown up and delivered a damn fine album that leaves other pretenders in the dust.

We’ve been playing this to death in our office. Frankly, though, it’s an album for the weekend, not the office (no matter how cool n trendy your office is, boss). This is the perfect album for waking up on Saturday mornings. It warms you up slowly and pretty soon you’re singing along to lyrics about a girl…. quickly followed by some daft nonsense that only an Englishman could write. Yes, the words on this album won’t win a Grammy. There are several clangers, notably the song title Love Is A Laserquest (wince). And She’s Thunderstorms could rival Champagne Supernova for sheer pretentiousness – except it’s equally brilliant in its own way.

If you don’t understand the glittering history of Britpop, you’ll be scratching your head. Daft lyrics are a stock in trade for British groups, right from Slade to The Smiths, Pulp, Blur and The Darkness. It’s an art form that leaves most Americans in the dark (and some Aussies too). Alex Turner may have grown up, but he can’t resist lines like “called up to listen to the voice of reason and got his answering machine”. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala gleefully sets the bar somewhere between Chaucer and Roald Dahl. Besides a killer chorus that has you singing like a demented postman, it boasts some of the finest guitar sounds this side of the Stone Roses. That is until you reach Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair. Blimey, what a killer. This is the sound of the Arctic Monkeys landing in America and shaking things up. The guitar riff on this could make Ozzy wake up and shout “*$#!$* me, where have I been?”. And then he’ll hear this memorable line: wear your shellsuit on bonfire night. Yes, my dears, this is English to the core.

The whole album hangs together brilliantly. While the first half gets you fired up, Reckless Serenade changes tempo. After this it’s a leisurely drive through the streets of L.A. (or insert your fave town here). The pacing is near perfect. Producer James Ford listened to the band’s request and recorded them ‘almost live’, meaning they played together in the studio. It sounds like they threw a mike over the guitar amp and turned up the fuzz in places. There’s the sound of drumsticks counting in one track and I swear they threw a creaking door somewhere into the mix. It makes for a great album that you’ll return to time and again. I’ll stick my neck out here and say you’ll still be hearing this album in 10 years. Seriously, it’s that good – right up there with Parklife, Different Class and – in an odd way – Led Zep’s fourth album.

Now about that title. No, it’s not smutty. Well, maybe a little bit. The latest news from America is that some supermarkets will put a sticker over the album’s title. Seriously. Makes you wonder what happens when a customer asks loudly: “have you got…?” Will other customers clasp their ears in horror and shout back “think of the children” (!?). Once again, a little lesson from English history is needed here. Suck It And See was once used as a tag line for Humbug sweets in England. Geddit? It’s also the advertising slogan for a chain of humbug sweet shops in England. Ok, I can’t prove my first point, but you can look up the sweet shops. So there you have it. No more schoolboy snickering, please. Oh… go on then.

Suck It And See comes out today and is available from iTunes, The In Song and JB Hifi.

In the great tradition of 90’s acid / stoner rock, hypercolour bleeds, monolithic driving riffs… and the macarena (skip to 2:00), we bring you Arctic Monkeys‘ new video Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair.

Listen with your eyes closed and tell me you don’t smell the California Desert dust!? Then watch THIS and it all falls into place (except there are no London cabs in Joshua Tree).

Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair is available on iTunes now. The forthcoming (fourth) album Suck It And See arrives June 3.

Head here for more new Arctic Monkeys music.

Submarine, the debut film from Richard Ayoade, follows the gorgeous story of a 15 year-old boy who is struggling to lose his virginity while struggling to keep his parents together. The film was recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys fame debuts his efforts as a solo artist by writing and performing six original tracks for film.

Turner previously worked with Ayoade on Arctic Monkeys’ 2008 DVD Live At The Apollo. The IT Crowd actor also directed the music videos for the bands Fluorescent Adolescent, Crying Lightning and Cornerstone singles… and is generally one of our favourite people to walk the earth.

Alex Turner’s Submarine is out today.

The Arctic Monkeys boys must have had a whale out at Joshua Tree in the Cali Desert (working on their ‘09 album Humbug)… A brand new track Brick By Brick appeared on the net <48 hours ago and sounds just like a return to that very Josh Homme / James Ford territory.

The accompanying video gives some more clues as to how & where the album was recorded.

HOW: Producer: James Ford (who produced previous Monkeys’ and Last Shadow Puppets albums, plus is a founding member of Simian). Engineer: Self-confessed “analogue freak”and Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs engineer Craig Silvey.

WHERE: Sound City Studios in North Hollywood (where Nirvana’s Nevermind was laid down).

No word just yet as to a release date and/or title. Stay tuned!

Check this out, Arctic Monkeys performing Cornerstone on French TV!!

I don’t know what I love more… the girl presenting them saying god knows what in French that sounds completely adorable and something I could listen to mindlessly for hours, or the fact that the album is pronounced “OM-BARG” in French!!!!

Too cute. And a great performance too!

Les Singes Artiques on Le Grand Journal for your viewing pleasure:

Cornerstone is the second single off the latest Arctic Monkeys LP Humbug. It’s a charming little ballad in the unmistakable slightly embittered cynical Monkeys fashion… seriously have those guys ever written a true love song!?

No need: Alex Turner spits with vitriol even when he’s romancin’.

The clip for Cornerstone is stunningly simple. Shot in one take, Alex Turner croons with vintage headphones and cassette recorder and stares down the barrel of a camera directed by Monkeys specialist Richard Ayoade. It’s a 180 degree turn from the previous Monkeys-Ayoade venture, the bombastic spectacle of Crying Lightning.

Trawling through my 2008 playlist, I re-stumbled across this utterly brilliant video for The Last Shadow Puppets‘ The Age of the Understatement. Videos don’t get much grander than this: sweeping shots of Mother Russia, towering iconic onion-domed Moscow architecture, ice-rinks, Orthodox priests, a rousing chorus of Russian soldiers… and Alex Turner (yannow, that chap from the Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane riding Soviet tanks.

And what a thundering tune! Beats Muse’s Knight of Cydonia right outta the water.

The clip was directed by Frenchman Romain Gavras (son of filmmaker Costa Gavras, but clearly a damn good director in his own right). Romain also shot Simian Mobile Disco’s I Believe and Justice’s Stress, and is a cofounder of the collective Kourtrajmé .

News making lots of people here at HQ very very happy: Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (ummm… every band ever), and John Paul Jones (Zeppelin!) have linked arms to become Them Crooked Vultures.

These guys made their live debut on the final night of Lollapollooza at the Metro in Chicago, and people around the globe have been breaking into manic sweaty air-drumming fits and salivating at the sum total of 33sec of audio we’ve been handed.

Check out a sneak peek of the guys in the studio. The track is Nobody Loves Me And Neither Do I.

What does this have to do with us at theinsound you ask? Well, Josh worked with the Arctic Monkeys in the Mojave Desert on their new album Humbug (out this Friday)… OK it’s a long shot but I’m excited about Josh and Dave playing together!

We’ve blogged about the Homme & Turner connection previously, but now everyone has had a chance to hear the heavy tripped-out QOTSA influence all over Humbug… Listen to the backing vocals on Potion Approaching from the Monkeys’ July Web Transmission. 2:08-3:08 is straight off the Desert Sessions 9&10, don’t ya think?