Words: Dan Smith
After two successful albums with Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, lead singer Alex Turner decided to embark on a side project which would also be incredibly successful. Alongside scouse musician Miles Kane, The Last Shadow Puppets were born. Of course, they were no strangers to working together, with the former Rascals man playing guitar on ‘505’ taken from ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’.
When ‘The Age of the Understatement’ was released, it was met with critical acclaim, with Mojo magazine awarding the band Best Breakthrough Act 2008. More than that though, the album was Alex Turners first venture into writing more profound lyrics, which would later be a mainstay in future Arctic Monkeys albums as well as the second Last Shadow Puppets album ‘Everything That You’ve Come To Expect’.
With Miles Kane providing vocals as well, the two blend together perfectly almost as if they are brothers – ‘The Meeting Place’ a prime example of the soft romance which would become a theme throughout The Last Shadow Puppets live shows.
Almost writing as if they have been taken off the leash, the duo site influences from the likes of early 60’s David Bowie, doo-wop and girl groups to harmonize beautifully to backings of string quartets. Other songs such as ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ and ‘Time Has Come Again’ make this album a gem to go back on.
Personally, their second album blew the first out of the water, but I’m sure many of you will disagree. But it is safe to say that The Last Shadow Puppet side project not only propelled Alex and Miles into the stratosphere, it laid down the benchmark for their future work. Without this, would we have had albums such as ‘Humbug’ or ‘Coup De Grace’?
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