Miles Kane, a name that’s been floating around for years. We mainly knew the guy from his work with The Last Shadow Puppets. He was a bit overshadowed by his best pal, though, the notorious owner of the Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Alex Turner. We didn’t had the chance to see Mr Kane in action until last summer, at Finsbury Park Festival, when he rushed on stage sunglasses on and half naked.
Now don’t get us wrong. We do find a six-pack quite enjoyable and the man exceeded our esthetic expectations. But, we always feel a bit concerned when that’s the first side of the performer you get to enjoy. We were – as usual – completely wrong : Miles Kane and his band put on an outstanding performance ! Moreover, with his third album nearly out, we got to discover a great bunch of new songs, including the intoxicatingly funky “Coup de Grace”, aka the Final Blow, a tribute to Miles huge passion for wrestling, aka for our fellow French people “Coup de Gras” (“Fat Stroke, Fat Stroke, Stroke of, stroke of !”).
So what about the album itself ? We were really surprised to see bad reviews poping everywhere on the net right after the release. Sure, “Coup de Grace” has its flaws. The lyrics may seem a bit immature, and Miles dwells a lot on his latest relationship. The collaboration with Lana Del Rey and Jamie T, which was highly anticipated, is actually really discrete. Nevertheless, we think that Miles deserves some love.
“Coup de Grace” is everything we love about British Indie Rock : punk riffs, loud bass, a striking energy and infectious melodies. The album core might be classic, but Miles added a clever combination of funk and soul : first time we heard the track “Coup de Grace”, we could’n’t help but pushing the “Repeat” button over and over again. God, that bass line ! This funky vibe instantly made us wanna dance and sing along outloud.
No song really stands out, but here, it’s quite a good thing. Miles cries his heart out, making the songs really honest and emotional. It literally made us want to bring him to the nearest pub to confort him. The album alternates between fast-paced punk-glam tracks and old-school ballads, ‘Wrong side of Life’ being our personal favorite. The raging ‘Cold Light of the Day’ honours Victoria Smith’s fantastic drumming skills. We also adored “Shavambacu”, an elegant yet funny power ballad, the perfect closing song.
“Coup de Grace” is not revolutionary but it’s still a very endearing album, perfect to blast on the road or to start the day with. We cannot wait to see more of Miles Kane live, and we’re eager to discover his new – ahem – outfits.
PS : We loved this album so much we had to turn it into a cake. Check out our « Coup de Grâce » cupcakes below !
