一聽音樂網

英國全明星級陣容樂團 The Last Shadow Puppets，由 Arctic Monkeys 的 Alex Turner 與 The Rascals 的 Miles Kane 擔任雙主唱，製作人 James Ford 擔任鼓手，以及 Mini Mansions 的 Zach Dawes 擔任貝斯手，并且在 2008 年發行了《The Age of the Understatement》，拿下英國排行榜冠軍。
相隔了八年，The Last Shadow Puppets 預計將于今年的 4 月 1 日，發行第二張專輯《Everything You’ve Come to Expect》，而同時身為 Arctic Monkeys 主唱的 Alex Turner，在日前接受 NME 專訪時提到，他和 Miles Kane 原本只預計推出三張專輯，然而，他們目前有打算要多延伸一張專輯，「我們可能會將原本的三部曲延伸為四部曲，不過目前還沒有定案?！挂簿褪钦f，The Last Shadow Puppets 原本只預計要推出《The Age of the Understatement》、《Everything You’ve Come to Expect》以及另一張專輯，但他們有打算要額外再推出一張，建構一個完整的四部曲概念。（roxyrocker）
The Last Shadow Puppets have announced a new album, Everything You've Come to Expect, the follow-up to their 2008 debut The Age of the Understatement. Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner and Miles Kane, who perform together as the band, have reunited with their regular producer, James Ford, and string arranger Owen Pallett. Mini Mansions' Zachary Dawes joins them on bass. Check out the album art and tracklist below. Update 8:05 a.m.: The album is out April 1 via Domino.

The album was recorded at Shangri La Studio in Malibu.

From ‘The Age of The Understatement’ to the era of matching velour tracksuits, a lot of water has passed under the bridge between The Last Shadow Puppets’ 2008 debut and this long-awaited follow-up. Alex Turner has swapped Sheffield for LA and youthful recalcitrance for “that rock’n’roll”, while Miles Kane is no longer just Turner’s plus-one but an indie-rock playboy with a sizeable fanbase of his own. A second Shadow Puppets record always felt inevitable, given how inseparable the pair are (Kane has even followed Turner to California) but the real question was what that album might sound like after eight years on the back-burner.

Unlike their debut, ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect’ isn’t fixated on the ’60s baroque-pop of Scott Walker and David Axelrod, although a different vibe and era – ’70s soft-rock and blue-eyed soul – does prevail in places. Opening track ‘Aviation’ may be the closest they come to sounding like their former selves – it’s the “Puppety tune” that convinced them to reprise the project – although we don’t recall them ever being so forward as Kane’s reptilian come-on of “It’s your decision, honey/ My planet or yours?”. The lounge-lizard act – which, judging by Kane’s behaviour during a recent Spin interview, isn’t confined to the music – feels especially self-parodic on lead single ‘Bad Habits’, although it’s redeemed by Owen Pallett’s sweeping, cinematic string arrangements (once again, the Canadian composer is the Shadow Puppets’ unsung hero).

In any case, the standout moments tend to be the softer, sweeter ones, with Turner putting that sardonic croon to good use on ‘Sweet Dreams, TN’ and the surreal ‘The Dream Synopsis’, while the honeyed soul-pop of ‘Miracle Aligner’ and ‘The Element Of Surprise’ sound custom-made for sunset cruises along the Pacific Coast Highway. These days, Turner and Kane are a far cry from the doe-eyed 22-year-olds who made ‘The Age Of The Understatement’, but as a partnership they continue to provoke intriguing responses from each other, with Kane upping his game significantly from his last solo record and Turner seemingly less inclined to couch himself in irony. This album isn’t quite what we’ve come to expect from The Last Shadow Puppets, but that’s just how we like it.