ARCTIC MONKEYS.

Arctic Monkeys do not let their own beginnings last forever. The sharp observations of early guitar songs later become space, groove, and a strange kind of cinematic calm.

Alex Turner's delivery changes along with the music. A phrase can dart hastily past the guitar or, conversely, lie broadly over a slow arrangement. On vinyl, that distance between the records becomes tangible: a different LP sometimes requires a different way of listening. Let the music determine its own tempo first. The changes in voice and accompaniment then tell more than a comparison to a single familiar hit.

On AM, rhythm and self-confidence take center stage; The Car slows down the gaze. It is precisely between those two records that you hear how far a band can change form.

The artist story of Arctic Monkeys connects the stories behind those choices. Indie rock and alternative rock help place the first riffs, but do not explain everything that came after.

Oasis brings the collective refrain, The Doors the nocturnal atmosphere. Foo Fighters keeps the band direct, Talking Heads lets a groove tilt, and Radiohead calls the form into question again and again.