The Arctic Monkeys are back—sort of. The Sheffield quartet will release their first new music in four years this Thursday at 3:00 p.m. GMT as part of a charitable compilation benefiting War Child, an organization supporting children affected by armed conflict.
Four years is an eternity in pop music. It's also exactly the right amount of time for a band that's spent two decades systematically deconstructing and reinventing itself with each album cycle.
When we last heard from the Monkeys, it was 2022's The Car—a lush, orchestral fever dream that divided fans and critics in equal measure. Some called it their most mature work. Others wondered what happened to the scrappy kids who made Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Both were right.
The announcement came via War Child's Instagram, promising "more info about our upcoming project to support children living through war" alongside the track premiere. No word on whether this signals a new album cycle or just a one-off contribution.
Here's what we know about Arctic Monkeys in 2026: they don't do anything casually. Alex Turner is constitutionally incapable of releasing music that sounds like the previous album. Whether that's admirable artistic evolution or insufferable pretension depends on your tolerance for lounge-jazz arrangements and Turner's increasingly theatrical vocal affectations.
My prediction? The new track will sound nothing like The Car, which sounded nothing like Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which sounded nothing like AM. Fans will complain they want the old Arctic Monkeys back, not realizing the old Arctic Monkeys died sometime around 2013 and were replaced by a completely different band that happens to have the same members.
And honestly? That's why they remain interesting. In an era where most legacy acts are content to tour on nostalgia and release competent-but-safe albums every few years, the Arctic Monkeys keep taking risks. Some land, some don't. But at least they're still trying.
Tune in Thursday. It'll probably be weird. It'll definitely be intentional. And we'll all have opinions about whether it's brilliant or insufferable.
In Hollywood, nobody knows anything. In indie rock, the Arctic Monkeys know exactly what they're doing—they just refuse to tell us what that is until the music drops.
