Whiteboard Project

Single: Miles Kane

Title: Rearrange

Label: Columbia Records

Release: 02.05.11

Rating: 4.1

Taken from his debut album ‘Colour of the Trap’, Rearrange is the new single from Miles Kane.  Laid back, bright and bouncy, this summery tune is definitely a contrast from the darker punk sounds of Kane’s former band The Rascals, not to mention the tone of cynical disappointment and angst we have learned to recognise as The Last Shadow Puppets.  Is it possible that, freed from the constraints of a band identity, Miles Kane is finally showing his true musical colours?

Best known as the other half of indie favourite The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane’s embark on a solo career can surely be expected to bring great things.  The fact that he comes to mind as the other half, however, might remove some of this initial promise.  There are those that would say pretty much anyone’s collaboration with iconic Arctic Monkey’s singer Alex Turner would prove a success – a significantly cutting comment on Kane’s musical credibility.  Unfortunately, Rearrange does relatively little to disband thistheory.  Upbeat and breezy as it may be, there is superficiality to the new track which gives it a kind of grimacing cheeriness.  The generic guitar rhythm does little to help this, along with excessive use of the effects pedal on the over-shimmery lead guitar part.  What’s more, there’s hardly a drum fill in sight, making the beat feel slightly flat and monotonous.  There’s no doubt that Kane’s got that whiny indie vocal down to perfection, yet the overall tone of the track seems to lack some essence of reality and passion.  It’s as if you’re waiting for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place.  Having said that, there is no doubt the song is catchy, but the reason for this is probably its predictable and over-repetitive lyrics.  Perhaps if Kane was to actually ‘rearrange his mind’ he would come up with something a bit less banal. 

If this single is anything to go by, it’s unfortunate to say that without an injection of punk, and perhaps lacking the presence of his indie-counterpart Alex Turner, Miles Kane’s solo sound appears to be slightly bland and maybe even clichéd.  Rearrange is without doubt a perfectly decent and inoffensive pop song, but it is lacking an edge of passion and originality that would raise it to greater levels of excitement.  Hopefully the album will consist more of the promised energy of debut single Inhaler, rather than the hazy sing-along impression left by tracks like Rearrange

Words And Thoughts Of Anna Lumsden

Miles Kane - Rearrange - Released 2nd May 2011 by Miles Kane

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