Miles Kane’s 2011 solo debut Colour Of The Trap was a disappointment. Lacking any obvious hits, it failed to build on the potential of his Last Shadow Puppets collaboration with friend Alex Turner.

Two years on Kane is back and getting straight to the point on opener ‘Taking Over’. Though sticking to the ‘60s garage, soul and rock ‘n’ roll blueprint, it already feels crisper and more polished than anything on Colour Of The Trap.
The positive, upbeat mood continues on the punchy ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ and the bullish ‘Better Than That’, a tune that will undoubtedly have Pretty Green-wearing twenty somethings fist pumping in festival tents throughout the summer.
It’s when Kane slows down that the cracks start to appear. ‘Out Of Control’ and ‘Fire In My Heart’ are straight out of the Liam Gallagher school: the lyrics uninspiring and overloaded with all the usual rock ‘n’ roll clichés. Things never really pick up thereafter – closer ‘Darkness In Our Hearts’ is a potentially decent track that doesn’t quite cohere. Miles Kane has talent: one suspects he can do a lot better than this...

Key Track: ‘Taking Over’