After the release of the album AM in 2013, the Monkeys had a 5 year hiatus. Many fans though they had broken up, but this was not the case. During the 5 years of hiatus,three members of the group minus Alex, had gotten married and had kids and were just busy with their own lives. During this time Alex was living in L.A. and gathering inspiration for the band's next album as well as being part of and touring with "The Last Shadow Puppets" alongside Miles Kane.
And then.... finally....on May 11 2018, TRANQUILITY BASE HOTEL + CASINO (TBHC) was released. Everytime the band had released an album, each one was different in sound, always captivating the listener, and TBHC was a prime example. This album's sound emphasized the piano more than the guitar, and fits into many genres like psychedelic pop, lounge pop, space pop, and glam rock.
TBHC is more story-like than the rest of the Monkey's album as it ventures into "the concept of a luxury resort on the moon told from the perspective of various characters". These charcters, that are slightly mentioned in many of the tracks such as a singer of the in-house band on "Star Treatment" and the Tranquility Hotel's receptionist on the title track.
Even though the band went through a 5 year hiatus, TBHC recieved a lot of positive reviews and was named the best album of 2018 by Q Magazine.
TBHC ERA left to right: Nick O' Malley, Jamie Cook, Matt Helders, Alex Turner
