The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
MusicMash Rating: not rated yet
music.guardian.co.uk Rating: 0
Whatever the poison of inactivity may be, Alex Turner is knocking back the antidote. At 20, his band released the fastest-selling debut album ever. At 21, he headlined Glastonbury, released another No 1 album and lent a hand to Dizzee Rascal and Reverend and the Makers on their records, too. His Brits are heaped higher than Terminal Five's baggage drop.And now, at 22, in the precious few months between finishing a stadium tour and releasing the Arctic Monkeys' third record, he's bringing out an album of duets with Miles Kane from Mersey indie tykes the Rascals.The Last Shadow Puppets is the vehicle for the smug Scouser and starry-eyed Sheffielder to expose their northern souls. They discovered a shared passion for the pop aristocracy of the past - Scott Walker, Shirley Bassey - while touring together last year. Now, in the vein of their heroes, they've recorded an album of would-be Bond themes, backed by a 22-piece orchestra. Songs packed with John Barry string flourishes and Ennio Morricone horn fanfares, scored against pummelling 'I Fought the Law' drums.Yet despite the grandness of the music, this is an intimate record. The tenderness comes in their vocal performance: the interplay between Turner and Kane's rough, almost identical voices brings a touching humility to all the flashy orchestration. It's obvious the pair were destined to work together.The question is, why now? While the Monkey enjoys a respite from his punk rock typecasting, things aren't so clear-cut for the Rascal. His band have always made Sixties-influenced pop music incorporating the grandiose guitar and minor melodies of Understatement. But this record is so much more spectacular than the humdrum garage rock of the Rascals, you wonder how Kane will feel about going back to the day job.Turner, too, might find the release a mixed blessing. He was fast-tracked through the industry rigmarole of promotion and publicity, carried to success by the devotion of kids who hung on his every shrug and grumble. Arctic Monkeys became a soundtrack to this generation's adolescence. This record, however, hasn't been made for them.Understatement is a more adult affair altogether. It's about the masochism of the chase, the addictive high of seduction, the ambiguity of romance. There are no 'Mardy Bum's here, and that might alienate fans who fell for Turner's brutal candidness first...
Read the complete review here