Confession: I am an Arctic Monkeys enjoyer at best and enthusiast at worst. I can even admit when I saw them live at United Center, I teared up a little. Judge me all you want, but this is my party and I’ll cry if I want to. As I crafted my entire music taste around this band, a few other adjacent artists worsened my personality and superiority complex. Since I have now been given the DeJamz platform to scream into the void, time to educate the masses on my totally, super-elite music taste. Get ready to learn why I’m so annoying. 

“My Mistakes Were Made For You” by The Last Shadow Puppets

While Arctic Monkeys were first on my Spotify Wrapped this year, The Last Shadow Puppets were a dangerously close second. The Last Shadow Puppets is a side project between Arctic monkeys frontman Alex Turner and solo artist Miles Kane with only two albums, both of which make me feral. Each album perfects the psychedelic pop genre that sounds like precursors to Arctic Monkeys’ album “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino.” I am now using this DeJamz opportunity to respectfully beg and plead for a third album. It’s been eight years, guys. I need this for my mental health. 

“Mirage” by Alexandra Savior

If you fall in the middle of the Lana Del Rey and Arctic Monkeys Venn diagram, this one is for you. Savior’s first album, “Belladonna of Sadness,” not only makes this list because it’s one of the greatest indie albums ever made (you can fight me on this but I’ll win) but because Turner was one of the producers. Savior’s music is the perfect example of sad girl indie music, with melancholy lyrics and dreamy basslines. Simply put: the girls who get it, get it. 

“I Love You” by Fontaines D.C.

Fontaines D.C. opened for Arctic Monkeys this past summer during their North American tour for “The Car” and upon hearing them live, I was hooked. Specifically hearing this song live instantly altered my brain chemistry. This Dublin-based band definitely falls more into the post-punk genre which their 2022 album “Skinty Fia” exemplifies. Nevertheless, if they are good enough to open for Arctic Monkeys, they are good enough for you to look them up right now on Spotify. Do it, right now. 

“Henrietta” by The Fratellis

Firstly, I would like to thank my parents for introducing me to this band. Secondly, I would like to introduce you to my first love, the Scottish rock band The Fratellis. If you are an Arctic Monkeys purist who only likes their first few albums (ugh), The Fratellis are going to make you weak in the knees. Both “Costello Music” and “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” were each band’s debut albums and released within one year of each other. Even if you don’t agree they sound similar, at least they have similar histories. Don’t knock it till you try it. 

“Gasoline” by Måneskin

Last but definitely not least is the Italian rock band Måneskin. This glam rock band is perfect for the Arctic Monkeys’ listener looking for a little bit more of “that rock’n’roll, eh” (a reference to Turner’s infamous 2014 BRIT Awards speech, anyone?). After winning Eurovision in 2021 and becoming viral sounds on TikTok with their cover of Four Seasons’ “Beggin,’” they refuse to become one-hit wonders. Their 2023 album “Rush” is banger after banger and one of my favorite albums of all time.