Review: Miles Kane - Colour Of The Trap

Unusually, most readers of this blog will probably be more aware of Miles Kane's previous work than I am. He was in a band called The Rascals and teamed up with Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner to form Last Shadow Puppets, but this is his debut solo album and what an impressive one it is.

Packed full of textbook pop hooks and instant melodies, this is a record that also benefits from some brilliant production. Opener 'Come Closer' has a dirty garage rock riff that starts the album with a swaggering swing, before the wonderful 'Rearrange' brings some breezy, soulful elegance, with a charming 60's pop vibe, and a woozy string hook that recalls Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lips. 'My Fantasy' is also incredibly beautiful and has the air of classic T Rex as well as featuring backing vocals from a certain Noel Gallagher. 'Counting Down The Days' features one of the smart, natural sounding breakbeats that can be found all over this album, and rather strangely sounds a lot like 90's indie band Space. 'Happenstance' has a bit of a John Barry-esque feel to it, and with some breathy female vocals also recalls Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. 'Quicksand' is very upbeat, colourful and breezy, slightly reminiscent of Supergrass, while the single 'Inhaler' is a rampant rock n roll number with busy percussion and a filthy riff. 'Kingcrawler' sounds a bit like The Coral, with a dark psychedelic ambience, and also recalls the Arctic Monkeys darker moments, which is understandable as some of these tracks were co-written with Alex Turner.

'Take The Night From Me' has a sound clearly inspired by The Smiths 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want', but has a laid back croon to it that is perhaps let down slightly by its sugary sweet lyrics. 'Telepathy' again sounds a bit like The Coral, with a definite psychedelic element to it and a nice dark surf guitar hook, while 'Better Left Invisible' is a fearsome beast of a song that wouldn't sound out of place on a Kasabian album. The title track 'Colour Of The Track' is a charming relative of 'My Fantasy', that again recalls T Rex as well as Oasis.

So lots of instantly accessible pop melodies, dirty rock n roll riffs, touches of psychedlica, 60's soul as well as good old British indie make up an eclectic collection of often very catchy songs. Definitely worth checking out. 8/10