For those label reps and music retailers out there that piss and moan that the internet and file sharing are killing the music industry, I submit to you exhibit A, the Arctic Monkeys. Over a year ago, demos of this band's yet-to-be-released debut album surfaced on the internet and caused such a commotion over in the U.K. that you could hear the clamoring all the way across the Atlantic. Well, Whatever People Say I Am was finally released about a month ago over there, and let the hype machine begin! NME: "Likely to make you form your own band." The Guardian: "They look and sound unstoppable." All of this has caused Arctic Monkeys to become the fastest selling U.K. debut record OF ALL TIME! It sold 118,500 copies in its first week, beating out Oasis' Definitely Maybe. Take that number and times it by 10, and you might come close to the kind of equivalent in the U.S. That kind of exuberance has even spread over here. Look at the New York Times: "You probably won't hear a better CD all year long." Know what I say to all this? Bollocks. Don't believe a single word of it. I've already heard at least five that are better, and it's not even Spring yet.

Just for arguments sake, let's take a look at U.K. bands debut records for the last 30 years and see if the Arctic Monkeys are better shall we? Sex Pistols? No. The Clash? No. The Jam? No. The Jesus & Mary Chain? No. The Smiths? No. The Stone Roses? No. Oasis? No. Even The bloody friggin' Libertines? NO! Then why in God's name did NME just call this album the 5th greatest British album of all time? Not just debut album, greatest album period. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What a joke. Whatever People Say I Am isn't even the greatest debut album ON THEIR OWN LABEL! Bands like Franz Ferdinand and Clinic put out better debuts on Domino Records! But whatever, sorry about the rant, let's just talk about this album shall we?

For all the buzz and relentless hype, people forget that these guys are just kids. Not a single one of them is even old enough to drink yet. They didn't even pick up their first guitars until 2002, so that's a good indicator to where their influences lie. The melodic guitar work pays homage to The Strokes or The Libertines, while the more angular stuff points to Franz Ferdinand and The Futureheads. Vocally, Alex Turner is very British, like a Pete Doherty, but you can tell he's influenced by someone like a Jack White from The White Stripes. All of this makes for a respectable debut that if anything shows a good deal of promise - it's a decent record, but you've heard countless other bands do it much better many times before. Even first single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" inspires nothing but yawns from me. But I will say this, there are moments where Arctic Monkeys show amazing potential. "Dancing Shoes" is very rousing, and mellower tracks on side B like "Riot Van" I find more interesting than the testosterone heavy first half. The last three songs however, ("When the Sun Goes Down," "From the Ritz to the Rubble" and "A Certain Romance") are the bread and butter. If these lads can build around the stadium-sized hooks from those three tracks, the future points to a possibility of talent outweighing the hype. Ironically, as far as all the hype is concerned, the album's title sums up my sentiments quite succinctly.