Alex Turner and Miles Kane reinvent their own wheel with this oversaturated retro-pop delight. The Last Shadow Puppets may not have matured per se, but there has definitely been an evolution since the debut of this UK supergroup. In retrospect, their 2008 debut The Age of the Understatement now sounds like a bunch of English kids bashing around in the studio, Turner’s voice only a shadow of the lush baritone drawl he has since developed.
In these 11 tracks are soaring, emphatic stringed sections, often recalling exacerbated film sound effects, while Turner and Kane’s vocal harmonies have improved tenfold.
Standout songs include Miracle Aligner, with its glacial strumming and catchy hook. Bad Habits is another stabbing, punkish gem and one of the more upbeat moments on the record. But none of this compares to the compelling vocals on Sweet Dreams, TN, a stunted ballad full of grandeur. You’ve never heard Alex Turner like this, no matter how many Arctic Monkeys tracks you flash through.
So is it everything we’ve come to expect? In some ways, yes, but even with a slight formula in place there are enough twists and turns to send its predecessor out of business.
BY CHELSEA DEELEY
