U.K. buzz band Arctic Monkeys will release their debut album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” Feb. 21 in North America via Domino. The set will arrive Jan. 30 internationally. Five songs, including the hit single “I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor,” can be purchased now via Apple’s iTunes Music Store.
“Far and away, there hasn’t been a band which has created this kind of a buzz amongst record companies and publishers [in 2005],” EMI Music Publishing U.K. senior VP/director of A&R Mike Smith tells Billboard. Smith was instrumental in signing the band to a long-term, worldwide, exclusive publishing deal last year.
Released Oct. 17, “I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor” vaulted to the top spot on the U.K. singles chart and to No. 7 on the Billboard Eurochart Singles survey. A new single, “When the Sun Goes Down,” is due Jan. 16 in the United Kingdom.
As previously reported, the group will join Maximo Park, Mystery Jets and We Are Scientists for the Shockwaves NME Awards tour later this month, beginning Jan. 23 in Dublin. The Monkeys are also confirmed to play at the South by Southwest Music Festival in March in Austin, Texas.
