REVIEW: Miles Kane - Coup De Grace

The last time we saw Miles Kane bring out any music was in 2016, when he brought back The Last Shadow Puppets with Alex Turner. Now, he has ventured back out on his own, bringing out his third solo album, Coup De Grace.

The follow up to 2013's Don't Forget Who You Are, Coup De Grace has been what Miles Kane fans have been waiting for. Okay, they did have The Last Shadow Puppets to keep them going but it had been a long wait to hear any new solo material. Well now...that wait is over.

Coup De Grace, french for the final Blow, is actually named, according to Kane, after a move made famous by WWE's Finn Balor. Kane himself is known to be a fan of wrestling, showing his love for the sport by once dressing up as Ric Flair for Halloween. Not only this, he also managed to get Finn Balor to star in the music video for his latest single, Cry On My Guitar.




However, it is not only WWE that has had influence on this album: it is also clear that musical influences have been involved. For example, Cry On My Guitar has a slight Muse influence, which makes sense considering Kane was part of a Beatles tribute band called Dr Pepper's Jaded Hearts Club Band, where Matt Bellamy played on bass. Additionally, you can tell the album was co-written with Jamie T, from listening to songs like Too Little Too Late, Sliverscreen and Wrong Side of Life, which have the familiar Jamie T sound. You could also argue that The Fall have played a part in providing inspiration for this album: The Last Shadow Puppets had previously covered The Fall's Totally Wired for their Dream Synopsis EP.

The other thing worth noting about this album is this is obviously a break up album.  From the lyrics in Loaded, co-written by Lana Del Rey,  "My baby's always threatening to leave" to those in Wrong Side of Life: "Oh I'm a wreck/ I'm sitting all alone, I feel like I'm fighting for you." Of course, there is also the obligatory ballad, in the form of Killing the Joke, along with fellow slow-ish song Shavambacu. In fact, Kane joked in an interview with the BBC that this was going to be his Adele record.

Overall, this album is a lot more guitar filled then his last two, Colour of the Trap (2011) and Don't Forget Who You Are? (2013), but Coup De Grace has allowed Kane to evolve further. Indeed, he is often seen by people as Alex Turner's hanger on but this album has proved that this is definitely not the case!

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