Shadowplay

Until about a week ago, I had completely forgotten about The Last Shadow Puppets. It was one of those situations where I put the band out of my mind until I had the chance to hear their full-length album. The sad thing is when the album finally arrived on my doorstep I had a "who are they again?"-type reaction. Forgive me for not paying more attention to what's happening with Alex Turner. Turner, for those who don't know, happens to have gotten quite the bit of recognition and critical praise from his band Arctic MOnkeys, and now he's branching out with a different kind of musical endeavor. As some musicians are prone to do, you could call this a side project.

If you've not paid much attention to my varied musings on this here site, you may not be aware of my fondness for Arctic Monkeys. While their second album didn't quite make as much of an impression on me as their auspicious debut, it was still every bit as wonderful. The Last Shadow Puppets are a different sort of breed when compared to the Arctic bretheren, and that's a good thing considering a good side project shouldn't sound too much like one of your other projects.

Turner isn't entirely alone in this Last Shadow Puppets record, which is called "The Age of the Understatement" as I've failed to mention until now (also, it's in stores next Tuesday). He's joined by Miles Kane, who makes this a side project of his own as his other band is called The Rascals. You've also got persons like James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco producing, and Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy helping out with composing some orchestral pieces for varying tracks on the album. Kind of a mish-mash of talents, but all the more impressive is how it comes together to form a whole record.

What's most fascinating about "The Age of the Understatement" is how all the songs follow a particular theme and tell vivid stories about unique characters. Turner's lyrics are quite different compared to what he's written for Arctic Monkeys, and the ability to switch-hit like that is impressive in itself.

Then there's the entire grandiose production that is the instrumentation, which goes from a full-on orchestra that sounds incredibly cinematic to the quietly strummed acoustic guitar on last track "The Time Has Come Again." The whole record could function as a soundtrack to some epic movie, only it'd probably have to be several different films to cover the several different styles showcased across this record. One minute you get a spaghetti western vibe, and another you're going for broke in a stylized action flick with gorgeous swagger and debonair ambitions.

The whole affair is quite grand, and very retro as well, most reminiscent of soundtracks from the 60s and 70s. And though the styles are varied as I've mentioned, as a cohesive whole the record works. It has not failed to impress me with it's cavalier style and charms. Whether you're an Arctic Monkeys fan or not, this is worth checking out. Actually though, I cannot recommend The Last Shadow Puppets over Arctic Monkeys. Yes, both bands are great, but I just prefer the scuzzy, more straightforward hooks of Arctic Monkeys to the more avant-garde and sometimes schizophrenic album here in "The Age of the Understatement." There's no way I'll throw this torrid affair of The Last Shadow Puppets out of bed, but at the end of the night all I want is to return to the warm, homely marital mattress that the Arctic Monkeys have provided until now.

The Last Shadow Puppets- My Mistakes Were Made For You

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Labels: arctic monkeys, the last shadow puppets