The Last Shadow Puppets - 'The Age Of Understatement' (Domino) Released 21/04/08

What is the first thing that Alex Turner thinks when he wakes up each morning? It isn’t a wild stretch of the imagination to suggest that it must be something along the lines of “Life is good”. Picture this: 22 years old, 3  U.K number one albums in as many years under his belt, critically acclaimed, publicly adored by everyone from kids to stuffy, ageing politicians and everyone in between, he also happens to be lyrically and musically peerless. Life is good.   

So, just what do you do when you’ve already conquered the pop world at such a young age? Thankfully, Turner doesn’t spend time lazing by his monkey shaped swimming pool for too long but instead decides on an interesting detour from his story by grabbing fellow co-conspirator Miles Kane of The Rascals, decamping to France and attempting to live out their spaghetti western fantasies on record. That sounds innocuous enough, even flippant, the stuff of a potentially forgettable vanity project. It could have turned out that way but of course he didn’t forget to pack the melodic Midas touch and gift for storytelling that has placed him at the forefront of British pop.   

Kicking off with solid gold top of the pops single ‘The Age of the Understatement’, the story begins as it means to go on with timeless influences channelled through a breathtaking, restless sense of urgency and romance. The title track’s tale of feather boas and “20 little tragedies” still sounds utterly thrilling jumping out of the radio, at once alien to its surroundings and irretrievably NOW. As with The Raconteurs (yes, that other great super group of the modern age), Kane and Turner’s vocals are very similar, almost indistinguishable in places but this works to their advantage, the alternating narrations of these tales keeping us constantly on the edge of our seats. 

‘Standing Next To Me’ sounds like the 2008 shadow self of The Coral’s ‘Dreaming Of You’ and ‘Calm Like You’ follows it up by throwing pre-Ziggy Stardust Bowie shapes all over the place, inviting Ennio Morricone to the party for good measure. The entire album could be in danger of sounding like a cold, sonic experiment in great influences if it wasn’t so effortless and heartfelt. As a result, the songs are afforded a strange kind of post-teenage intimacy that is now beyond the universal Friday night anthems of T’Monkeys.

‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ has a closing time Tom Waits shuffle to it, Turner documenting an “Innocence and arrogance entwined in the filthiest of minds” in one of his best lyrics to date.          

We should be careful not to underplay the contributions of producer James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco) and the impressive string arrangements of Owen Pallett (Arcade Fire, Final Fantasy) that give the album such a sense of gravitas and elegance. Whose idea was it for Amy Winehouse to sing the next Bond theme tune? These guys have just written the definitive James Bond album, no contest. 
 
‘Black Plant’ may evoke the ghost of the crooning, early years Scott Walker (we’re talking ‘Windows of the world’ era), though the last time we saw Walker he was using animal carcasses for percussion and singing horror soundtracks about Mussolini, not exactly exuding the youthful exuberance on display here.    

The closing ‘The Time Has Come’ sounds like the kind of tune that Phil Spector would prick up his ears and put down his shotgun for, an epic teen pop waltz that adds yet another string to Turner’s golden bow. So, at just under 35 minutes ‘The Age of the Understatement’ is over far too soon and is a riotous fun house of a debut, the sound of stupidly talented and clever young men buzzing off their parent’s record collection and getting it just right. Thanks to this collaboration, life is good for us also.