Review: The Last Shadow Puppets- Everything You've Come To Expect

In 2008, Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner joined forces with musician Miles Kane for the side project known as the Last Shadow Puppets, which infused the indie rock style of Arctic Monkeys with some lavish orchestral arrangements and spaghetti western influences. They have now returned almost a decade later following Arctic Monkey's highly successful AM and hiatus announcement. The record is called Everything You've Come to Expect, but I would argue it's anything but.

Though the songs weren't stellar on The Age of Understatement, the duo's first record (I much prefer the material Turner and the Monkeys have put out), there was a certain energy there, and there was a balance between energetic tracks and balladry. Here, apart from two unremarkable songs awkwardly crammed in the middle of the record, the songs are pretty much all ballads backed by a full orchestra and generous reverb. The reverb on the guitars is so high that a palm muted note sounds like a drop of water in a cavern. I feel like I'm listening to a full album of the My Favourite Worst Nightmare track 'Only Ones Who Know',  which by itself was okay, since it acted as a slower moment on a much more varied and energetic album. This is more like a slog.

That's not to say the album's terrible. There are witty lines (it has songs by Alex Turner after all), and the abundance of sexual theme s and relationship talk that every one else seems to be harping on doesn't really bother me, but the general mid paced nature of this album can get a little stale. Maybe this is due to the lack of Matt Helders on drums here (though he does contribute background vocals, so they should have had him behind the kit). I feel like a huge Helders fan boy, since I just brought him up with Iggy Pop, but his drumming on the first few Arctic Monkeys albums really gave their songs drive. Now that they're kind of in their club/ hip hop influenced material, he doesn't have as much of a license to let loose, but his drumming still has power and momentum that's severely lacking here. While we're on the subject of drums, what is with the drums on 'Bad Habits'? The bass drum groove is good, but the drums (which sound sequenced) could have come off some '80s pop. Why?

All in all, this album was a little disappointing to me. It was very samey, with mid paced ballads dominating, and the tracks that had any uptempo moments weren't particularly notable. I really hope Turner got the mediocre ballads out of his system, because I need some fast paced,quick witted rock from the Arctic Monkeys on their next go around.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

Check back in later, because as soon as I get the EP in the mail, I'll be taking a look at Blind Spot by Lush. I'll also be sharing the fruits of my outing for Record Store Day 2016.


"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."