After four years of no new music from rock band the Arctic Monkeys, fans were happy to hear about their release of their newest album, “The Car.” However, the record wasn’t what fans, including myself, hoped for.

The first mistake the Arctic Monkeys made with their newest album, “The Car,” was releasing it on Oct. 21, 2022, the same day as Taylor Swift released her new album, “Midnights.” Most people weren’t staying up until midnight to hear four British dudes dressed in black singing about disco balls. Aside from that one major marketing mishap of the Arctic Monkeys, the band should have been set for success with this newest record. “The Car” sprung attention from their already large fanbase, or at least their fans that were not rightfully distracted by the release of “Midnights.”

After tracks on their 2013 album “AM” became instant classics, fans expected their new music to be on par with their old work, but that was too good to be true. Their release of the album, “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” in 2018 was, to put it simply, a let down. And the “The Car” is no different. The Arctic Monkeys have lived up to fan’s high expectations with their previous music, but we cannot expect them to exceed these goals every time.

“The Car” sounded somewhat similar to “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.” It seems the style of slower, almost orchestral music is what the band has committed to for now. The primary difference between the two albums is that “The Car” lacks the humor that “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” contains. Humorous lyrics from the title track of the latter album, like “Jesus in the day spa filling out the information form,” made the album more interesting.

Although, “The Car” is not a complete bore. The 10-track album, with its mix of bouncy riffs and swaying vocals, sounds like a crooner’s shot at weirdly orchestral disco music. While there is no clear theme to the album, there are a number of songs that I believe should be candidates for a James Bond movie soundtrack. I can picture the movie playing songs like “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” and “Jet Skis On The Moat” over images of cheesy gadgets, keyed up moments before a chase through elegant foreign alleyways and of characters shaking martinis, not stirring.

It’s the unusualness of this record that gives me hope for the band. The Arctic Monkey’s persistence with “The Car” represents the band’s attempt at making music for purposes other than just to get on the top of the charts. The band still has the gusto to create another groundbreaking album someday if they are willing to try more music styles. For the time being, I have to accept that this album is pretty mediocre, so I’ll give it two and a half out of five stars.