Hailing from Sheffield, England,
the Arctic Monkeys gained a devoted live following soon after their formation in 2003, well before any major record labels had a clue about their existence. Released in advance of their eagerly awaited debut album,
When the Sun Goes Down is an EP featuring a trio of the band's U.K. B-sides. It displays a
Ray Davies-style songwriting sensibility, which, combined with
the Monkeys' improbable youth, conjures memories of '70s teen punk prodigies
the Undertones, if
the Undertones had been into U.K. and U.S. hip-hop, Oasis,
System of a Down, and
Queens of the Stone Age.