james debate
james debate

Friday 25 April 2008

As soon as I heard this album I knew I was going to have to write about it in my next blog. Released last week, I heard previews of the songs on this album the day before it came out and still couldn't wait the 24 hours to see the full thing for myself.

The Last Shadow Puppets is a band consisting of Alex Turner, frontman of mega record selling band the Arctic Monkeys, and Miles Kane of the Rascals. Their First album 'the Age of Understatement' has been eagerly awaited by many (even though I admittedly only heard of it the day before it came out) and it has not failed to disappoint. Since the day it was released it has been at the top spot of the itunes album downloads, knocking off the kooks (frankly disappointing) new album.

At first listeners might be expecting to go in and just listen to a remixed version of the Arctic Monkeys, and indeed some songs definitely carry that familiar distinctive sound, but to dismiss it as such would be to sorely underappreciate what has been done here. There is enough here to satisfy any fan of any music even vaguely rock-like; faster arctic monkeys-esque indie rock, dark and moody tracks, and slow melodic tunes, all of which are of a consistently good quality. More than that, this is a more consistently listenable affair than either of the Arctic Monkeys albums, both of which sold shedloads, and one can only hope that Alex decides to lend his considerable talent to more melodic songs such as these more often.

Like any album there are one or two great tracks and a bunch of good, but less good songs. So here are the ones you need to go check out.

Must Listen:
Standing Next to Me

Also Worth a Go:
My Mistakes Were Made for You
Meeting Place
The Age of Understatement
The Chamber

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