I wanted to like this album more.

That said, “Fluorescent Adolescent” is a stunning poison. It will freeze your muscles and heat your blood while your brain focuses in on two things: your most wistfully nostalgic memories in a mental Powerpoint complete with one of the most beautiful melodies modern rock has to offer. Alex Turner’s voice bursts with yearning, the first time he conveys an emotion deeper than spitting disdain for pretentious and/or fake compatriots of his at bars and clubs. This song single-handedly makes the entire album worth it, but you can’t help but yearn, as much as Turner does, for more tracks like this one.

The rest of the album, with too few exceptions, is rife with licks that aim for foreboding but fall short and end up being just harsh — including “Brainstorm,” “Teddy Picker” and “Balaclava.”

Based on their debut and select tracks from this LP, the band has it in them to write the next chapter in rock history, but this album is probably my favorite worst nightmare: wasted potential from a brilliant band.