Miles Kane - Don't Forget Who You Are

Miles Kane veröffentlichte bisher 3 Alben unter 3 unterschiedlichen Namen mit unterschiedlichen Partnern: neben der Zusammenarbeit mit seinem Kumpel Alex Turner als The Last Shadow Puppets ("The Age Of The Understatement") kam 2008 auch das erste Album seiner Band The Rascals ("Rascalize") heraus. Diesem ließ er 2011 sein erstes Soloalbum "Colour Of The Trap" folgen.

Man durfte also gespannt sein, ob als nächstes unter einem dieser Namen ein zweites Album erscheinen oder ob ein neues Pseudonym das Licht der Welt erblicken sollte.

Als im Februar mit "Give Up" eine neue Single von Miles Kane unter dem eigenen Namen auf den Markt kam, war dieses Rätsel gelöst. Im April folgte "Don't Forget Who We Are" als zweite Single und seit Anfang Juni ist das Album gleichen Namens erhältlich.

Kane offeriert mit "Out Of Control" eine Streicher-Ballade, die auch von den Last Shadow Puppets stammen könnte, mit dem akustisch-folkigen "Fire In My Heart" beweist er, dass er in diesem Metier genau so gut aufgehoben ist wie Jake Bugg und "Don't Forget Who You Are" hätte 1995 zahlreiche Britpop-Anhänger glücklich gemacht. 

Ansonsten ist "Don't Forget Who You Are" eine Spur rockiger und gitarriger geraten als der Vorgänger, wandelt auf den Spuren von Oasis ("Bombshells") und The Who ("Better Than That"), bietet einige recht schlichte Rock-Songs ("You're Gonna Get It", "Darkness In Our Hearts") und kann das hohe Niveau von "Colour Of The Trap" (immerhin Platz 3 bei Platten vor Gericht mit 8,333 Punkten) nicht erreichen.     

Now aged 27, he's already been undercut as the Great White Hope of retro rock first by the teenage Jake Bugg, then by the even younger Strypes, leaving Kane looking like a grandad in comparison.

For the time being, however, the Kane camp are gamely giving it another punt, with a second solo album. Its chances are boosted by Ian Broudie's bright, bold production, but, apart from one obligatory Beatlesy ballad, it's full of route-one glam-rock stompers with not a single interesting or original twist and lazy stuff-that-rhymes lyrics.

If this one doesn't do the business, surely even NME will be having a word with Kane to take the hint of his own song title: "Give Up".

(The Independent)

Miles Kane 'Give Up' from Jake Scott Cinematographer on Vimeo.

For ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’, 27-year-old Kane has trimmed the fat from his sound. Fitting, perhaps, for an album with a cover that has him standing in front of a butcher’s shop. The longest of the 11 songs, the finale ‘Darkness In Our Hearts’, is only three-and-a-half minutes long, and almost every other track whizzes along and maintains the pace and intensity of Kane’s live show. Lightning Seeds head honcho Ian Broudie is on production duties, and he has a big say in the pacing, keeping Kane’s foot to the floor and curbing any indulgent excesses or throwaway moments. The fuzzy glam stomp of opener ‘Taking Over’ sees him coming on like T.Rex frontman Marc Bolan, and is a song so instantly familiar it seems remarkable that it’s not been recorded before. The title track stomps just as hard, and delivers Kane’s key message to any who might doubt his abilities: “Don’t build me up/Make up your mind/And keep the faith/I’ll keep the faith”. ‘Better Than That’ completes the album’s flat-out opening. By the time the trio of songs finish, less than 10 minutes in, you start getting the sense that ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ is a real step forward. The energy is outrageous. The lyrics are forthright. And, most importantly, the majority of the ideas are Kane’s.

Vocally, he still owes a giant debt to Liam Gallagher – hear his arrogant, snarling delivery on the title track and ‘Tonight’ for proof – and John Lennon. On ‘Out Of Control’, a song backed by a ‘Jealous Guy’-style piano and string arrangement, Kane couldn’t sound more like the former Beatle if he tried. Elsewhere, Paul Weller pops up to play piano on ‘Fire In My Heart’, a song the former Jam man also co-wrote. Oddly, considering its title and the rest of the album’s otherwise aggressive nature, it’s a misjudged dip of the toe into the stagnant waters of dadrock, plodding along and going absolutely nowhere. It’s particularly jarring sandwiched between the lively ‘What Condition Am I In?’ and Weller’s other appearance, ‘You’re Gonna Get It’. The latter compensates for the lull in momentum, being as it is a simplistic pre-night-out song that can’t seem to make up its mind whether the titular ‘it’ is an act of aggression or a sexual encounter. 

The most impressive thing about ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’, though, is that for all the guest spots from Jam members and Lennon, Gallagher and T.Rex nods, it only ever sounds like Miles Kane. Only two albums into his career, that’s an achievement in itself. This record is a triumph of belief and dogged determination over those people who thought he was a barnacle on the coattails of his famous friend. Much like one of his suits, it’s measured, sharp and extremely well put together. Kane’s present is just as exciting as his past. 

(NME)