The last we saw of the Arctic Monkeys was a whopping four years ago, where during their headline sets at Reading and Leeds festivals frontman Alex Turner said it “seems like the perfect place to leave things for a while.” Now, alongside the sudden announcement of a slew of summer festival dates, what can we expect from the follow up to the critically acclaimed AM? With four years of built-up hype and the title of England’s biggest current band still stamped deep into the backs of their Fenders, it’ll take a lot to surpass the biggest-selling vinyl of the decade so far. We’re rooting for them, and to get even more excited about their return, here’s a few of the best and most successful comebacks bands have made from hiatuses.
Fall Out Boy
Although having just released their seventh studio album, the Chicago-born pop-punk icons spanned perhaps the most infamous hiatus period in modern music history between 2009 and 2013. Disillusioned by the music industry and swarmed by negative critiques of their fourth LP Folie a Deux, the band called it a day back in October 2009.
Three years later and the boys met up in secret to begin work on their comeback album, denying all rumours of their reunion even up until the day before their announcement. “This isn’t a reunion because we never broke up,” FOB said in a statement in February 2013. “We needed to plug back in and make some music that matters to us. The future of Fall Out Boy starts now. Save Rock and Roll…”
Save Rock and Roll was released mere months later and reflected the new, murky, pop-infused era Fall Out Boy had risen into. Songs like ‘Light ‘em Up’ and ‘Alone Together’ brandished a bold and modernistic sound, free from the chains of their noughties prevalence that had sent them spiralling into the hiatus to begin with. It was a breathtaking renaissance of what Fall Out Boy had come to mean – to critics, fans, and themselves alike.
Weezer
The hallmarkers of ‘90s pop-rock, with songs like ‘Buddy Holly’ and ‘Say It Ain’t So,’ scored the day-to-day lives of many a teenager, but broke off into hiatus after their second album, Pinkerton, hit commercial failure.
The summer of 2000 saw Weezer reunite for several festival dates and release the Green Album in 2001. The band’s third LP, a power-pop powerhouse of strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies and flashy guitar riffs, was a critical and commercial success recognized as a much-needed rebirth for the band. ‘Island in the Sun’ and ‘Hash Pipe’ reached soaring acclaim, becoming worldwide hits alongside Weezer themselves who are on the cusp of releasing the long-anticipated Black Album this year.
Blink-182
The evolution of the Californian pop-rock top-dogs has been anything but steady over their near three decades. Famed for their high-energy and irreverent lyrical toilet humour, the group entered into an “indefinite hiatus” after Tom DeLonge quit the band in 2005 following conflict between members.
After drummer Travis Barker was involved in a serious plane crash, the trio met up in hospital and laid the groundwork for what would become their reunion. They went on to headline the 10th Annual Honda Civic Tour in 2011 and Reading and Leeds festival in 2014 to promote their sixth studio album Neighbourhoods, before rising tensions led to DeLonge leaving the group yet again. “I never planned on quitting,” he said in a statement, “I just find it hard as hell to commit.”
Luckily, Barker and frontman Mark Hoppus chose to continue with the group, enlisting the help of Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio to take up guitar and vocals. California, Blink’s seventh studio album, was released to critical and commercial acclaim and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards, marking the rebirth of a more modernised Blink-182. “It does feel like a new beginning,” Hoppus said. “Somehow, Blink has had this resurgence like we never expected.”
Arctic Monkeys will be performing at several festivals this summer. Check out tickets here, and remind yourself of the iconic ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ below.
