Miles Kane has long been a familiar face within the indie rock community. Debuting as frontman of The Rascals before joining Alex Turner to form The Last Shadow Puppets – and occasionally popping up to perform with Arctic Monkeys – his near twenty year career has been expansive. The newest addition to his far-reaching repertoire is ‘One Man Band’ – swiftly on the heels of 2022’s ‘Change the Show’ – but, in all honesty, little has changed.
In a recent chat with NME, he explained his new tracks, which features credits for Blossoms’ frontman Tom Ogden and The Coral’s James Skelly, were designed for festival stages. Lead single ‘Troubled Son’ and title track ‘One Man Band’ somewhat succeed in that pumping, energy with their euphoric choruses and chugging, sing-along riffs, but aside from that initial energy, there’s not much to chew on.
But when Kane’s good, he’s great. Listen to the wiggling bass of ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ skipping and jumping beneath his sultry, smug vocals and you’ll feel like an empowered bandit on the run. The infectiously feral ‘Never Taking Me Alive’ – which references Hollywood heroes Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro – has a similar effect: the scuzzy bass licks and urgent lyrical delivery encourages you to adopt that same attitude as the rebellious movie stars it name-checks. Then there’s ‘Heal’, sleazy and seedy and creeping along, subtly showing off Kane’s vocal control.
It’s not only his zippy indie rock that shines, either. ‘Ransom’ is the album’s highlight, reminiscent of Alex Turner’s Submarine EP and Blur’s ‘To The End’. Slick, immersive, and totally gorgeous, it’s filled with a desperately romantic longing. ‘The Wonder’, too, is a real earworm. With a psych-rock solo that is rightfully cocky, this is perhaps the kind of festival bangers he should’ve focused on making.
And then there’s everything else. ‘Scared of Love’ feels a bit like you’re stuck on a train that’s stopping and starting – you’re desperate to get to your destination, but it never arrives, despite the false starts. On the backs of ‘Heal’ it’s an underwhelming ending. ‘Doubles’ is a jaunty, jangly slice of indie-pop that’s sweet, but forgettable, and the chorus of ‘Heartbreaks (The New Sensation)’, “We light the city tonight / ahhh / now tell the lies that you like / ahhh”, passes without notice.
‘One Man Band’ is a mixed bag. After almost two decades making music, you’d think Kane would have a more definitive and distinct identity by now. Where he’s inventive and precise in directing his energy, he’s able to make real uplifting and imaginative indie bops. It’s a shame this album’s not full of them. The potential is there, but he’s not quite hit it.
