The Last Shadow Puppets’ The Age of the Understatement

What do you get when two of the UK’s leading front men collaborate with a 22—piece orchestra on an indie—fueled album that owes as much to the Libertines as it does to the spaghetti western film genre? The answer is Alex Turner’s (Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane’s (The Rascals) new creation: The Last Shadow Puppets and their debut album, The Age of the Understatement. It may seem like an overly self—indulgent act, releasing a collaboration record, that is. After all, the Arctic Monkeys have only been around for a few short years and The Rascals’ first album hasn’t even come out yet. Shouldn’t a side project between the two artists come along much later in their career?
Well, maybe, but The Last Shadow Puppets justify the collaboration with good songwriting, demanding the attention of today’s music scene in an industry that would typically overlook such composition. Despite the hype and the image surrounding these two, Turner and Kane have put together a record full of songs that stand on their own. The melancholy drone of “I Don’t Like You Anymore,” the calming tune “The Time Has Come Again,” and the epic fanfare of the title track make it clear that The Last Shadow Puppets are more than a gimmick. And considering the whole record was laid down in two weeks makes it easy to wonder what else these two have up their sleeves. I am certainly looking forward to finding out.

Leave a Reply