Album Review – The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement (Domino Records)
The Last Shadow Puppets are Alex Turner of The Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of The Rascals.
This is the debut album of songs written and performed by Alex Turner, Miles Kane and The London Metropolitan Orchestra. The twin vocal delivery of Kane & Turner is reminiscent to the Arctic Monkeys but the music is drenched in the sixties orchestral easy listening pop of the likes of Gene Pitney and Dusty Springfield.
Listening to the album, I could almost imagine an album and band like this to follow the Arctic Monkeys in the same way as The Style Council followed The Jam to allow Paul Weller to move in a different direction.
The Age Of The Understatement replaces the witty, social commentary and indie pop of The Arctic Monkeys with a more mature and expansive sound that will appeal to an even wider audience, comfortably slipping into Radio 1 and Radio 2 playlists. This will have your granny tapping her foot as she fondly remembers 24 Hours To Tulsa and Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart, while the kids will be bopping up and down with youthful energy before being introduced to a whole new easy listening back catalogue.
The Last Shadow Puppets debut album is a great success. Unlike many other ’side projects’ it is as good as the main events. In fact, if I were in The Rascals or The Arctic Monkeys I might not be so pleased!
The Age Of The Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets is released by Domino Records on 5th May.
Listen to tracks from The Age Of The Understatement
2 comments so far
1 Dan H. // May 6, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Any artist that brings to mind Gene Pitney or Dusty Springfield, for that matter, is aces with me! I’ll give them a listen.
I do resent that there is a new group calling themselves the Rascals! C’mon, be a little more inventive – that name has been claimed!
Thanks for the post!
Dan H.
2 The Last Shadow Puppets For Leeds & Reading | Buzzin Music Blog // May 6, 2008 at 6:15 pm
[...] is thought that The Last Shadow Puppets will play their album, The Age Of Understatement in its entirety at the gigs. No Comments Tags: Alternative · Indie Pop · Indie [...]