Miles Kane has gone solo with his new album Colour of the Trap. The end of the Rascals in 2009 left him with nought but his and Alex Turner’s side project, The Last Shadow Puppets, but in Colour of the Trap he’s back in lead guitar and vocals in a self named band. While moves like this don’t often work, Kane has pulled the album together well, producing something that is consistent and varied.
Opening song Come Closer is a driving guitar track with great vocals. The variation of songs is distinct on Colour of the Trap and things change from the guitar led rock of Come Closer to the freaked up organ of Rearrange that sounds like a great continuation of The Last Shadow Puppets.
Things take another melodic shift without losing the overall dynamics of the album with My Fantasy that has a subtle Mark Bolan influenced glam rock vocals in the verse. The fluctuating guitar riff in the middle is pretty cool too. Counting Down the Days is difficult to pin down, it’s reverb dripped vocals stand in contrast with a sort of hip hop beat and wild surf guitar, but somehow it works.
Happenstance is a bit ska pierced with psycho surf guitar flashes. The duet with actress Clemence Poesy (Harry Potter & In Bruges) is hot. Quicksand is a jump into pop of the Banana Splits variety, but instead of sounding silly it’s got enough maturity to make it stick as a fun interlude, especially with the echoing licks near the end.
Inhaler is garage rock slick, but weaker than earlier songs. Kingcrawler sounds a lot like previous Last Shadow Puppets work, so it’s at once instantly likeable, but just as instantly forgettable in the mix. Sort of. The tribal drums are ace. This moves into the wistful romance of Take the Night from Me, followed by the dark surf of Telepathy.
Better Left Invisible is a big song with an attention grabbing introduction and crunching guitar. And Miles Kane’s debut album closes on the slow mo 60s doo whop melody of Colour of the Trap, capping off an album that has been well crafted. I’m not a big fan of ending on shalalalas, but it’s fairly forgivable under the weight of the record.
Colour of the Trap album review: 4.2/5
