British rockers the Arctic Monkeys have returned with their third long player, Humbug. Following from their previous albums, Humbug is also mellow and sombre with lead singer Alex Turner’s voice rarely changing pitch or volume. Arctic Monkeys have received some rather harsh criticism since their inception back in 2002 with the band being called over hyped and one dimensional. Perhaps they are worthy of this criticism, as the band has never quite lived up to the expectations placed on them.

There is no denying that the foursome are talented musicians who put together well crafted songs such as “My Propeller,” “Crying Lightning” and “Pretty Visitors” but they unfortunately lack variation. Maybe the reason why they have such devoted fans is because they do not churn out typical mainstream songs like countless other bands. Nonetheless you can’t help but feel a little cheated by the Arctic Monkeys. Humbug no doubt will be a hit with the band’s long time devotees who will appreciate their style of music, but those who have never quite gravitated towards the band will find it lacklustre and difficult to digest. This album appears to be lacking that certain something that makes an album go from being just OK to out of this world. Humbug is a good effort, but it’s nothing to get overly excited about.