Now that it is the turn of a new year, it is edging closer to the release of Miles Kane's second album as a solo artist. His debut album was a resounding success, not only for himself but for British guitar music as a whole. It's going to be hard to better "Colour Of The Trap". But if Miles can continue to produce songs as good as "Rearrange" and "Inhaler" it's a certainty that this record is going to be great. The currently unnamed album is set to be released early this year. And we were given even more reason to be excited when it was confirmed early last year that no other than Paul Weller will be collaborating with the Last Shadow Puppets man. The Modfather has previously expressed his admiration for Miles Kane's music and his energetic live performances, so it's no surprise he is keen to get into the studio with him.
We were given an idea of things to come when the lead song from his EP for Record Store day "First Of My Kind" was released. Although it's not the singer's best work, it did give us reason to be excited. It's powerful and the lyrics are excellent. At times it almost has a Bond theme atmosphere about it and the chorus is pretty uplifting as Miles exclaims he is the first of his kind, to the heavy sound of brass instruments. The song has also been fairly well received in its rounds at live gigs and festivals - it's given us a good insight into what his second album will sound like. Not only that but "First Of My Kind" has been nominated for Zane Lowe's Hottest Records of 2012 so it is receiving the recognition it deserves. And this week there was the luxury of the chance to hear the first song that will be released from the new album. "Give Up" was played over the radio and a lyric video was released online (which can be viewed below). Like "First Of My Kind", it isn't really up to the standards of some of the gems on "Colour Of The Trap" but it is a great song nonetheless. It's got that classic Miles Kane swagger about it and you can certainly see crowds singing "Come on and give up control" back to the indie rocker at live shows. It's a good sneak peek into the album but we should hope that there will be stronger songs than "Give Up" on the record. This album has the potential to be one of the top Indie Rock records of the year - so let's hope it delivers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anIWlG1RhMc Sources: NME and GQ