The Last Shadow Puppets’ Miles Kane still isn’t the superstar frontman he turned down a spot in Arctic Monkeys to become, but this latest moonshot shows he hasn’t given up. Where the Monkeys’ latest edges close to the Puppets’ excellent lounge lizardry, Coup de Grace is punchy and immediate.
“Punky but croonery,” is how Kane describes it. But while great art can emerge from the tension crackling between two polarities, more likely you’ll get something like this: 10 derivative essays in punk, glam and punk-funk, with a karaoke-Bowie honking over the top.
Kane remains stranded in a dusty world where women are little girls or baby dolls, with go-nowhere references to ballroom blitzes and painting it black; co-writers Jamie T and Lana Del Rey are ensnared in his criminal conspiracy of drear. These songs borrow the form of some great rock genres, but steal none of their invention. Everything feels ill-fitting, underprepared yet overwrought. The album’s sole achievement is its brevity.
