Duo made of Alex Turner (leader of Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals and Little Flames) does not need a special introduction, although it has been on spontaneous hiatus for eight years. Last Shadow Puppets were huge when last.fm started operating. They have built a strong fanbase. When you make such a long pause, it is normal that everyone is going to have high expectations. Some artists manage to satisfy listeners’ expectation, others fail. There are those who don’t care what you expect from them.
According to the record sales in the UK, their comeback is a success. The album Everything You’ve Come To Expect has made it to the top spot on the official album chart.
On their way to the top, the duo continues to serve their retro sound. In my opinion, it is not as glorious as before. Why? Verses are pretentious, messy and lame. Don’t get me wrong. The fans will not be disappointed. It’s just that the album sounds a bit fake and artificial.
My favorites are Aviation and atmospheric surf-rock Dracula Teeth. The rest of the songs have a major flaw, and it is Turner and Kane desperately trying to be cool. Their irritating voices sound like they are teenagers who think they just need to stand there, and everyone will love them. The worst moment from the album is Bad Habits, a mess that stands as a weak copy of Dead Weather. Even though it starts with Owen Pallett’s violin section, the song spreads its toxic wings when singers wine their corny mantra.
There are other positive tracks out there. Miracle Aligner and Sweet Dreams, TN are ballades that could easily find their place on any Orbison’s album from the 60s. Because of few nice tracks from the album, Everything You’ve Come To Expect is not a complete failure. Without them, this would be below average release.
