Matt Helders says being the "rock guy" is less challenging than drumming on The Car album

21 October 2022, 20:25 | Updated: 22 October 2022, 12:39

The Arctic Monkeys sticksman told Radio X's John Kennedy why having a more subtle technique to drumming is more difficult than traditional rock drumming.

Matt Helders believes it was much harder to drum on Arctic Monkeys' The Car album than it was to be "the rock guy" on their early work.

The Sheffield rockers released their seventh studio album on Friday 21st October, and Alex Turner and Matt Helders sat down with Radio X's John Kennedy to discuss the record in a special Track by Track album playback.

When asked about tackling different styles of drumming throughout his career, Helders - who's played with the likes of Iggy Pop and Josh Homme - revealed why he finds the subtle approach much more challenging.

"The rock guy is easier," he told John Kennedy. "To the naked eye it probably appears less technical, but in actual fact it is more of a challenge to do what was going on on this record and more considered in a way.

"And it's fun to be able to achieve it as well. I notice more of a difference when this kind of playing is good".

The I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am drummer added: "There's more room for improvement. The subtleties of it can be more of a big deal."

Listen back to Arctic Monkeys' Track By Track of The Car with John Kennedy on Global Player

READ MORE: Arctic Monkeys: There'd Better Be A Mirrorball was the "cue" for everything on The Car album

It's no secret that Arctic Monkeys have changed their style over the years and The Car seems like another step away from their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

However, frontman Alex Turner insists the band are still working in the same way as when started out by letting their instincts guide them.

Asked if there was much discussion and back and forth when it came to the new release, Turner revealed: "I don't think excessively so, no. I think most of this stuff in this process comes down to instinct at the end of the day and always has done.

"I think we're still listening to the same voice inside, that instinct, that we were in 2005."

READ MORE: Arctic Monkeys on The Car album: "We're still listening to the same instinct we were in 2005"

If you're wondering exactly where The Car started out, however, look no further than the sumptuous almost one-minute intro to their album opener There'd Better Be A Mirrorball.

Quizzed if the cinematic ballad set the tone for the rest of the album, the rocker reflected: "I think so. Even just the intro does that for me. I think that was really the cue for everything that came after that within that song but also everything else on the record."

He added: "Everything else on the album had to be able to hang out with Mirrorball. That was that."

Joking about the track's rather wordy and cryptic title, Turner said: "It was almost going to be, Their Bedding In A Mirrorball, which is not without merit... Is it too late [to change it]?"

Arctic Monkeys on There'd Better Be A Mirrorball

Listen back to Arctic Monkeys' Track By Track of The Car with John Kennedy on Global Player

Listen to The Car in its entirety here:

See Arctic Monkeys' The Car tracklisting:

1. There’d Better Be A Mirrorball
2. I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am
3. Sculptures Of Anything Goes
4. Jet Skis On The Moat
5. Body Paint
6. The Car
7. Big Ideas
8. Hello You
9. Mr Schwartz
10. Perfect Sense

Listen back to Arctic Monkeys' Track By Track of The Car with John Kennedy on Global Player

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