Miles Kane – Coup de Grace

Even though Miles Kane’s name is plastered on the front of Coup de Grace, he did not do it alone. Like most of his work, it would be nothing without his collaborators. The artist is, in fact, most famous for his project with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. Kane even pushed back this album to focus more on the band The Last Shadow Puppets, of which both musicians are a member. This album is seven-tenths Jamie T, one-tenth Lana Del Rey, two-tenths other contributors and a small fraction of the vocalist himself.

With all of these writers, and all of this talent, you would expect the record to be more than just a few generic indie tunes. But opener Too Little Too Late suggests otherwise. When you’ve heard one song from the album, you’ve heard them all. Every track follows the same basic formula: stereotypical indie vocals equipped with a strong British accent; lyrics telling a failed love story; and repetitive, basic guitar chords – all backed up with a light drumbeat and overdone synths.

The singer should be praised, however, for trying something different in Cry On My Guitar, where he mimics his glam rock inspiration, T-Rex. Not many indie artists delve that far. His vocals are also central in Loaded, despite Del Ray singing backup. However, Shavambacu shows the real weakness of Kane’s singing, as his falsetto falls flat, and the delivery reflects how the artist drones in a monotonous tone throughout each number.

Killing The Joke is a beautiful release from the overpowering cheesy songs. Although the lyrics are generic, the music is not. Electric guitars are replaced with acoustic and the tempo is drastically slowed. It definitely stands out in an album where every other track blends into the next. Another highlight is the eponymous Coup de Grace. The chorus is slightly more catchy than that of the other numbers. The vocalist growls how the title should be pronounced, and it is not how it looks. This is definitely the dance song of the bunch.

Overall, the record is as deep as the name, which originates from the wrestling move rather than the actual French meaning of the phrase. Coup De Grace means mercy killing, and Kane definitely killed with this album – whether that is good or bad is still open for discussion.

Regan Harle
Photo: Lauren Dukoff

Coup de Grace is released on 10^th August 2018. For further information or to order the album visit Miles Kane’s website here.

Watch the video for Cry On My Guitar here: