Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by the Englishrock bandArctic Monkeys, first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2007 byDomino Recording Company. Recorded in East London'sMiloco Studios with producersJames Ford andMike Crossey, the album was preceded by the release of lead single "Brianstorm" on 2 April 2007.[1] It was the band's first album with new bassist Nick O'Malley, replacing their previous bassistAndy Nicholson, who left the band shortly before the North American tour of the band's debut studio album,Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006).
In comparison to their debut album, the album is considered more musically ambitious, withambient sounds and expanded drum rhythms being introduced. As with their debut,Favourite Worst Nightmare received widespread acclaim from critics, who highlighted the band's new emotional depth and frontmanAlex Turner's matured songwriting.NME andUncut ranked it the second-best album of 2007, while Dutch publicationOOR named it the best of 2007. Retrospectively, the album is considered the start of the band's change of sound with each of their albums after their debut.
Like their debut album,Favourite Worst Nightmare debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart, selling over 227,000 copies in its first week of release. "Brianstorm" and "Fluorescent Adolescent" were also both hits on theUK Singles Chart, with the former reaching number two on the chart. In the United States, the album debuted at number seven on theBillboard 200, selling approximately 44,000 copies in its first week. The album has since been certified4× platinum in the UK. It was nominated for the 2007Mercury Prize and wonBest British Album at the2008 Brit Awards.
The album's title comes from a lyric in the song "D is for Dangerous", the third track on the album: "I think you should know you're his favourite worst nightmare". The band said they also considered naming the albumLesbian Wednesdays,Gordon Brown, orGary Barlow.[2] In an interview withNME, Nick O'Malley announced several songs including "D is for Dangerous" and "Balaclava". The tracks "The Bakery" and "Plastic Tramp" also mentioned in theNME interview did not make it onto the album, but were later released asB-sides on the "Fluorescent Adolescent" single. The track "Leave Before the Lights Come On" was also rumoured for inclusion, but did not make the final cut.
Half of the album's songs were debuted at concerts before the release of the album. The album was recorded quickly as the band wanted to start touring and play the songs.
The album's cover art features a black-and-white photograph of a house in theGarston district ofLiverpool, with colourful cartoonish images visible through its windows.[3] This marks the second consecutive time the band used a photograph taken in Liverpool as an album cover, following their debut albumWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.[4]
The music onFavourite Worst Nightmare has been characterised aspost-punk revival,[5][6][7]indie rock,[7][8]alternative rock,[9]garage rock,[7] andpost-Britpop.[10] In comparison to the band's debut albumWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, the album has been described as "very, very fast and very, very loud",[11] being seen as "more ambitious, heavier...and with a fiercely bright production".[12] Reflecting the band's travels around the world more than the local stories of the first record,Favourite Worst Nightmare is a "faster, meaner" album.[13] The album arguably has influences fromThe Smiths – "twanging, quasi-ambient backdrops...andTurner's voice [...] crooning likeMorrissey orRichard Hawley."[12]Matt Helders said "James was DJing loads in the evening so we'd go out and [...] have a dance."[1] As a result, the drum rhythms of Helders and bassist Nick O'Malley have drawn comparisons to the Eighties funk bandESG.[1] The band's love of classic films also influenced their new style. For example, the organ at the beginning of the album's final track, "505" replicatesEnnio Morricone'ssoundtrack forThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly (where Angel Eyes enters before the final standoff).[2]
Like with the band's debut album, Favourite Worst Nightmare has received widespread critical acclaim since its release. It has a score of 82 onMetacritic, which assigns anormalised rating out of 100, based on 38 reviews.[14]
In a 5-star review,The Daily Express described it as "a shockingly good release that just gets better, faster and stronger with each listen",[24] whileThe Guardian said it had "successfully negotiated the daunting task of following up thebiggest-selling debut album in British history" and stated that the second half of the album was the stronger half, noting the similarity to Morrissey in "Fluorescent Adolescent" whilst criticising the opening tracks, "Brianstorm" in particular. Their progression was also highlighted withThe Guardian saying "if you removed everything from the album except Matt Helders' drumming, it would still be a pretty gripping listen",[16] andThe Observer praising the new sounds on the album referencing the "piercing, melodic guitar by Jamie Cook" and "where Turner reveals the other weapons in his armoury" when referring to Alex Turner's progression.[25]Pitchfork Media noticed the "new emotional depth" of tracks such as "Do Me a Favour", "Only Ones Who Know" and "505",[20] which were also commonly cited by most other critics as being amongst the highlights.NME andUncut ranked it as the second-best album of 2007.[citation needed] Dutch publicationOOR named it the best of 2007.[citation needed]
Jacob Stolworthy ofThe Independent reviewed the album on its 10th anniversary in 2017, saying, "Favourite Worst Nightmare was the first sign that Arctic Monkeys would change up their sound with each new record in as drastic a fashion as they wished [...] If theirdebut defined a generation, this record shaped the band's future in a manner more mature, sexy and - just like the party depicted in the rowdy track 'This House Is a Circus' - berserk as f*ck."[26]
In its first week of release,Favourite Worst Nightmare sold 227,993 copies,[27] emulatingWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in going straight to number one on theUK Albums Chart, albeit selling 130,000 copies fewer than the band's record-breaking debut. The first two singles from the album, "Brianstorm" and "Fluorescent Adolescent", were both UK top-10 hits. The album's first day sales of 85,000 outsold the rest of the top 20 combined, while all 12 tracks from the album entered the top 200 of theUK Singles Chart.[28] By September 2022, 1,200,000 copies of the album had been sold in the UK; it was certified4× Platinum in 2022.[29] The album was nominated for theMercury Prize in 2007[30] and won Best British Album at theBRIT Awardsthe following year.[31]
In the United States, the album debuted at number 7 on theBillboard 200, selling around 44,000 copies in its first week and become the band's first top-10 album there.[32] The album also achieved top-10 debuts in 12 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand.
^Sylvia, Dave De (21 April 2007)."Review Summary".Sputnikmusic.Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved11 June 2016.blending seamlessly with the group's rough-edged post-punk sound.
^オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2007年度 [Oricon Annual CD Album Ranking 2007] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived fromthe original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved29 January 2021.
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