[2011-05-09] Miles Kane (The Last Shadow Puppets) "Colour Of The Trap" with guests Noel Gallagher, others (Columbia UK)

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:07 pm

BBC Review
When Miles Kane absconded from his day band The Rascals to knock out the scintillating Bacharach update that was the Last Shadow Puppets album with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, he clearly found his niche. For this, his solo debut, Kane carves for himself a position as one of alternative pop’s prime retro-visionists as firmly as Brian Cox has cemented his role as the universe’s smiliest harbinger of doom. Not since The Bees’ A Minha Menina has 1960s psych-soul sounded so fresh; authentically swathed in Tornados twangs and spooky cellar-pop atmospheres, Colour of the Trap could have been unearthed from some hidden basement lair beneath Joe Meek’s old studio. You half expect to blow on the sleeve and dislodge a cloud of dust.

While so much Ronson-sealed retro is all about re-upholstering Motown for the nostalgia market – the equivalent of digitally colouring in old footage of Aretha Franklin – Kane knows that the true power is in the spirit of the time, and this he sets about capturing with a craftsman’s eye. So Inhaler makes a buzzy, rootsy, garage gospel-blues racket out of what might well be a song about asthma treatments, while Quicksand squishes all the miniskirt-flapping thrills of the entire 1963 run of Ready, Steady, Go! into three minutes of twinkling pop brilliance. There’s detail and reverence in the Stones riff stabs of Come Closer, the Bolan bounce of My Fantasy, the Spaghetti Western surf of Counting Down the Days and the Hammond helltones of Kingcrawler that make them feel like lovingly reassembled dinosaur skeletons given new flesh.

That all of the songs recount romantic misdeeds and obsessions only serves to conjure all the more a period when 99.99% of all pop songs were about girls and the remaining 0.01% were about surfing or satellites. But how long can Kane keep his time-travel pop sounding relevant? Colour of the Trap, impressive an achievement as it is, is begging for diminishing returns. First the Shadow Puppets, now this… let’s hope Miles shows us what he can do with the current decade next time, or he’ll date as ferociously as a pre-nuptial David Walliams.

--Mark Beaumont

Product Description
Recorded in London with Dan Carey (Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip) and San Francisco with Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, Kasabian), Colour of the Trap is a glorious exploration into the darker corners of vintage pop, psych and blue-eyed soul sounds by Miles; half boy-next-door, half charisma-firework, all instantly loveable star quality.

Starting work on the album in the famous Konk Studios in Hornsey, this natural frontman went on to bunker down with producer Dan Carey in Streatham for four action packed weeks. The Wirral bred singer songwriter then travelled to the West Coast of the United States to hook up with Dan The Automator, who lent additional production to the lithe, lean R&B flavoured funk of "Come Closer", the album’s first fully available single. The infectious "Rearrange" as well as the erudite groove of "Counting Down The Days" were also honed with the Gorillaz collaborator.

For such a stellar record, it’s perhaps fitting that this 12 track collection boasts an all-star cast. Miles’ Last Shadow Puppets sparring partner and full time Arctic Monkey Alex Turner worked with Miles on the aptly named "Telepathy", while Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys provides backing vocals throughout the album and co-wrote the turbulent moody blues of "Kingcrawler".

Noel Gallagher appears as well, helping out with harmonies on "My Fantasy". The breathy, psychedelic romance "Happenstance" features another guest: French actress Clemence Poesy, best known for her roles in In Bruges and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

"Rearrange" is a finger-snapping instant classic complete with guitar effects of which Joe Meek would be proud - a reference Kane happily accepts. "A friend of mine did say it was like the modern day Telstar in a weird way."

Further knowing nods to musical greats feature in "Better Left Invisible", which opens with a direct and purposeful reboot of the riff from John Lennon’s "Cold Turkey", while ‘Inhaler’ is a tribute to one of Miles’ favourite acts – Los Angeles’ psychedelic garage group Bonniwell Music Machine.

Very much a modern man, most of Miles’ accomplished material comes in the form of love songs, lyrically encompassing everything from the sleazy and seductive to the fragile and heartfelt.

Joined by a brand new band, featuring Jay Sharrock from The Sand Band on drums, singer-songwriter Eugene McGuinness on rhythm guitar, Ben Parsons and Phil Anderson from Cherry Ghost on keyboards and bass guitar respectively, Colour of the Trap is just as scintillating live as it is on record.

1. Come Closer
2. Rearrange
3. My Fantasy
4. Counting Down The Days
5. Happenstance
6. Quicksand
7. Inhaler
8. Kingcrawler
9. Take The Night From Me
10. Telepathy
11. Better Left Invisible
12. Colour Of The Trap

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004E9SU14/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004E9SU14/?tag=imwan-21

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:07 pm

Quote:

Miles Kane: 'Last Shadow Puppets to return after my solo album'

Miles Kane has confirmed that he and Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner's band The Last Shadow Puppets will return.

Speaking in an interview which you can read in full in this week's issue of NME, Kane said he thinks he and Turner will resurrect the band after the release of his debut solo album, which is due out next spring.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely," he said when asked if the duo would reconvene. "After I've done this stuff, I guess. I've got a few things up my sleeve."

Kane has worked with Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys on the solo album, and although he admitted that he thinks The Last Shadow Puppets are "a tough act to follow". However, he is confident that his new album will rank alongside the band's 2008 debut 'The Age Of The Understatement'.

"I've made a record that does stand up to that," he declared. "It's musically and lyrically as good, and that's all I can do."

http://www.nme.com/news/the-last-shadow-puppets/53457

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:10 pm

Quote:

Miles Kane reveals new Noel Gallagher album collaborations

Miles Kane has revealed that Noel Gallagher sings on his forthcoming solo album – while Kane plays guitar on the ex-Oasis man's forthcoming solo effort.

The Last Shadow Puppets member played a solo gig at London's Water Rats venue last night (November 23), where he explained that Gallagher features on a song called 'My Fantasy'.

"I texted him [Gallagher] saying, 'I need some icing on this tune,' and he said, 'Icing is what I do very well,'" Kane told BBC Newsbeat. "I'm very honoured that he did it. It's a nice little touch."

Kane's album is set to be released in early 2011, but Gallagher's is not expected to be released any time soon. He has said it won't be released until "well into" 2011 at the earliest.

http://www.nme.com/news/miles-kane/53970

Linda · **Posted:** Sun May 01, 2011 2:16 pm

Quote:

Miles Kane: 'Noel Gallagher is a legend for appearing on my solo album'

Miles Kane has praised Noel Gallagher for helping him out with his debut solo record 'The Colour Of The Trap', which is released next week (May 9).

The Last Shadow Puppets man spoke to NME about the hook-up before playing a solo set at the Camden Crawl 2011 yesterday (April 30).

Kane explained that the collaboration with Gallagher on new track 'My Fantasy' came about pretty late in the day.

"He just came down one afternoon when I was mixing to have a cup of coffee and ended up doing a bit of singing. It was a beautiful afternoon, what a legend," he recalled.

Kane also confirmed he would never play Last Shadow Puppets songs during his solo shows and praised bandmate Alex Turner's latest material with Arctic Monkeys on their forthcoming new album 'Suck It And See'.

"I love their new record, I think it's amazing, the fans are gonna love it," he said, before enthusing about his own new material.

"It's very exciting to be getting out and doing these gigs, there's a great buzz and that makes me buzz," Kane concluded.

He went on to play ten songs during his gig at the HMV Forum, including 'Inhaler' and 'Come Closer'.

Miles Kane played:

'Better Left Invisible'
'Kingcrawler'
'My fantasy'
'Rearrange'
'Quicksand'
'Telepathy'
'Counting Down The Days'
'Hey Bulldog'
'Come Closer'
'Inhaler'

http://www.nme.com/news/miles-kane/56389

Linda · **Posted:** Sun May 01, 2011 2:25 pm

Linda · **Posted:** Sat May 14, 2011 1:40 pm

Quote:

Miles Kane hadn't heard of Clémence Poésy before she sang for him

Miles Kane has admitted that he has no idea who Harry Potter actress Clémence Poésy was before she had agreed to sing backing vocals on his debut solo album 'The Colour Of The Trap'.

Speaking to the Daily Record, Kane said he was annoyed with his record label after they had offered the actress the chance to contribute to his album track 'Happenstance'.

He said: "We were looking for a girl for my song 'Happenstance' then someone from the label met her at a party in Paris. He mentioned that I had a song and would she be up for doing it? Then he got back to me and I asked him, 'What's an actress going to be able to do? She's not going to be able to sing'. I was like, 'What are you doing asking her you stupid prick?'"

Kane then admitted that he change his mind once he heard Poésy sing. "Then she demoed the track and it sounded great so I got her over to the UK," he said. "We went into the studio and did it live and it was amazing. It really suits the tune. I had never heard of her."

'The Colour Of The Trap' was released on Monday (May 9).

http://www.nme.com/news/miles-kane/56652

[2011-05-09] Miles Kane (The Last Shadow Puppets) "Colour Of The Trap" with guests Noel Gallagher, others (Columbia UK)

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