Miles Kane
Coup De Grace

At his third solo attempt (after the now outdated experiences with The Little Flames and The Rascals, not to mention the well-known project The Last Shadow Puppets with the much more prominent Alex Turner), Miles Kane hits the mark and delivers his best work among the three already published.

"Coup De Grace" (so named by Kane inspired by a move from his favorite wrestler Finn Balor, who also appears in the music video for the single "Cry On My Guitar") was born from a very troubled working process, interrupted by two significant stops: the first was in 2015, when his friend Alex called him back to record the second album of the aforementioned side project. The second, however, stemmed from a severe "writer's block" following the end of an important love story (enough to prompt the singer-songwriter to describe this new album as his "break-up album, Adele-style").

It took a meeting with another English singer-songwriter, Jamie T, to reignite the spark and get Kane back on track. With the new writing partner co-signing seven of the ten tracks on the list, the project restarted and came to fruition thanks to the help of other friends (Mini Mansions members Zach Dawes and Tyler Parkford, Guards' Loren Humphrey, and even Lana Del Rey, co-author of the lead single "Loaded").

Although it's declared as a break-up album, the tone of the tracks is not at all subdued or resigned; on the contrary, we are faced with the most rock-oriented of the three albums offered so far by the good Miles. The more energetic tracks are very aggressive and blend together Buzzcocks, The Libertines, and the early Supergrass, in a whirlwind of cutting guitars and fast-paced rhythms ("Too Little Too Late", "Cold Light Of Day", "Silverscreen" – almost stoner - , "The Wrong Side Of Life" – original and bluesy - , "Something To Rely On"). The pace slows down only in the languid "Killing The Joke", which brings back the unjustly forgotten Oasis of "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants", and in the delicate piano touches of the closing "Shavambacu", while the game of citations in the other tracks becomes fun and expertly dosed (Marc Bolan in the stunning "Cry On My Guitar", the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers in the aforementioned single "Loaded", a Bowie intoxicated with funk in the beautiful title track).

While Turner with the latest album from his Monkeys had fun citing the past to look to the future, Kane stops at the first phase and plays the rock star with a truly engaging attitude and talent. He cites without mimicking, but making the characteristics of each individual track his own, creating a well-crafted, fresh, and accomplished album.

One of the great surprises of this year.

Best track: Coup De Grace