In a preview article on Clash , writer Simon Harper claimed that the

In a preview article on Clash , writer Simon Harper claimed that the band had “completely defied any expectations or presumptions to explore the depths they can reach when stepping foot outside their accepted styles,” and that “Turner is his usual eloquent self, but has definitely graduated into an incomparable writer whose themes twist and turn through stories and allegories so potent and profound it actually leaves one breathless”. On the same site, Turner revealed that the band had listened to Nick Cave , Jimi Hendrix and Cream while writing the new album, the title of which would be Humbug . Humbug was released on 19 August 2009, and, like both of its predecessors, the album went straight to No. 1.