Bubbling With Vintage Nostalgia: Miles Kane ‘Change The Show’

Releasing his fourth album at thirty-five, Miles Kane is by no means in the moonlight of his widely celebrated career; yet ‘Change the Show’ is deft, soulful and stylishly comfortable in a fashion that only develops with ageing well. 

The album is a brazen appreciation for Kane’s signature influences brought back to life beyond the limiting ‘indie’ title often attached to his music. 

It is crisp and bewitched by a golden era of horns and analogue synths, Motown, and northern soul.

Kane is clearly “done with playing the fool”; the crooning singer-songwriter has matured into a style that is distinctly Miles Kane. When you try to be groundbreaking all the time, sometimes all you end up doing is dragging your heels into the dirt. However, Kane wears his influences on his sleeve, resulting in an album that pleasantly floats along with summer’s first beer and your favourite rom-com.

Lyrically, Kane consistently jabs at the idea of introverted depth without fully delivering a knockout punch. Songs like ‘Tears Are Falling’ hint at Kane’s self-reflection since replacing Los Angeles with Bethnal Green in search of new roots. He is able to laugh at his younger self’s attempts at “bending all the rules”; he has grown tired of the ridiculous notion of more naïve musicians fitting into the school of rule-breakers. Free of this idea, Kane grows into his Motown influences, leading to even his most poignant self-reflection taking on the lightness of writing for oneself.

Like Danny Ocean driving into the credits with Tess in his arms and Rusty Ryan at the wheel, the album’s storyline is pleasing yet teases a sequel or two before it is artistically resolved. While Kane may not be finished perfecting the style in which he is so comfortable, songs like ‘Constantly’ show that he has taken solace in maturity. ‘Constantly’ showcases a more matured version of his ever-charismatic self that has carried on crooning far away from the paper glamour of Los Angeles.

In his usual fashion, this is an album destined to be played live, inevitably feeding the crowd with the endorphins we all need. After several cancelled UK shows this February, Miles Kane will be returning to UK stages this coming May, visiting major cities including Brighton, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester and London.

 

 

Max Bover

@Maximillian299

Image: ‘Change The Show’ Official Album Cover (PRESS)