After 8 years of teasing, Alex Turner and Miles Kane have finally decided to have another crack of the whip, and in doing so have served up a new The Last Shadow Puppets track in the form of the infectious ‘Bad Habits’. The first single from the Puppeteers’ second LP hints a new musical venture from the duo and doesn’t fail to deliver; with the tried and tested hybrid of Turner’s silky crooning and Kane’s coarse growling serving as an indicator of what we can expect from the new album, which is due for a spring release.
While still retaining a slight hint of the acoustic flavouring that accompanied 2008’s The Age of the Understatement, there are definite rock-laced intervals that serve as a subtle reminder to some of the Arctic Monkeys more recent musical concoctions, which can aptly be described as a softened form of grunge rock. Amongst the spectrum of plucky strings and measured percussive beats, the duo’s incandescent charisma and swagger oozes through. Throw in the involvement of producer James Ford and you’ve got all the ingredients for a potential cult classic.
The announcement of the duo’s 2016 Coachella booking is expected to be followed by a host of festival slots, with a Reading & Leeds appearance being touted by many.
Words by Lewis Evans