The Last Shadow Puppets - "The Dream Synopsis EP"

The Last Shadow Puppets more or less are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys, James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco, as well as Miles Kane and Zach Dawes.  This project has kinda been off again-on again since 2008.  However, if your a fan of any of these artists I don't think you'll necessarily go GaGa for Last Shadow Puppets, cause this is a whole different ball game completely.  Honestly. when I first heard these guys were getting together, I was expecting almost a post-punk sound.  But not even close, there are elements of art rock in their music to no end, with constant lavish instrumentals, as well as plenty of Baroque Pop and elements of Indie Rock to go around.  When it comes to their first album, "The Age of the Understatement", honestly I love that album.  It's not for everyone, and I know reviews were absolutely mixed for that album, but I just loved hearing Alex Turner's fiery delivery over these gigantic orchestrations, it really felt like these were tracks were made for a really decent musical.  However, as much as I loved "The Age of the Understatement", even by the end of it I felt like some of the orchestral arrangements were a little too much.  We wouldn't hear from them in a studio fashion for 7 years, unless you want to consider their short but enjoyable "My Mistakes Were Made For You" EP.  In early 2016, we got "Everything You've Come To Expect".  Now, there were some alright songs scattered throughout.  But overall, I seriously was feeling like in the 7 years between these albums, they lost their ambition for this project.  All of the same elements were there, but brought down so many notches where everything came off almost as boring.  Alex Turner's vocal performances seemed exhausted, and even the lavish instrumentals seemed uninspired.   But here we are, a few short months later with a new EP from Last Shadow Puppets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cQloro92xA

(And oldie to get you guys in the mood)

Lets start out with the alternate takes here.  Now usually, I’m not big fan of alternate takes of songs from albums, mostly because more times then not their really aren’t that many differences.  But here for the most part they turn out pretty well for The Last Shadow Puppets.  The first being the EP’s intro, “Aviation”.  The first thing you’re going to realize if you heard the original version, is that the production on this version is absolutely different.  The production here on this new version has much more of a mysterious tone to it, as do Alex Turner’s vocals.  Turner’s vocals here are less extravagant, and much more subdued, letting some of the instrumentals shine more.  Not to mention it’s fascinating how just by taking his vocals down a few notches gives this track a much more seductive vibe to it.  “Aviation” on this EP has a much more elegant sound compared to the album version, mostly due to the toning down of Alex’s vocals.  The strings on this version flow so much more freely and accompany everything else without overpowering anything.  Outside of that, the track is pretty similar to it’s album version companion, but it’s absolutely worth a listen.  But that’s not the only alternate take here, “The Dream Synopsis” closes this little EP out.  Now going into this, I really didn’t know what to expect, while “Everything You’ve Come To Expect” didn’t wow me, “The Dream Synopsis” was a damn fine track.  However, quickly The Last Shadow Puppets took care of all my doubts, cause this version here is fantastic.  Right off the bat you’re going to realize that the acoustic guitar is more heavily featured, and this version has a much more jazz oriented feel. To be honest though, it comes off super classy.  Alex’s vocals aren’t drastically different on this version, but up against the jazzier atmosphere, he comes off much steamier.   While “Everything You’ve Come To Expect” lessened my interest in Last Shadow Puppets, this little EP is quickly regaining my interest in them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omm4d6aCR5k

A few tracks later, we see Last Shadow Puppets diving heavy into some classic Post Punk covers, one of them works perfectly, the other ends up being a little underwhelming.  First, Last Shadow Puppets take a stab at The Fall’s “Totally Wired”.   As far as the rhythm goes, they seriously have it down, and Alex Turner’s vocal performance is filled with energy.  While it’s filled with energy though, sadly the rest of his performance here is borderline obnoxious.  No, The Fall’s iconic version if this track wasn’t exactly a vocal masterpiece, but here Alex seems like he’s putting on way too much of an act.  It’s almost like he’s trying way too hard to completely copy The Fall’s performance.   And that’s a real shame, because instrumentally there is a TON to love here, a lot of the instrumentals come off legitimately wild.  The bass here really is spot on and the strings are absolutely intense, if only Alex brought his A game here.  However I will say that his inaudible shrieks in the last moments are a huge improvement.  The other Post Punk cover however is much more enjoyable.  Their cover of Glaxo Babies “This Is Your Life” is easily the most sinister thing I’ve heard from Last Shadow Puppets.  Those keys that start us off as seriously some dark stuff, and everything picks up quickly after.  This is seriously exactly what I wanted to hear from Last Shadow Puppets on “Everything You’ve Come To Expect”.  Everything about this is wild, in the moment sounding, and most importantly fun.  They remain in their comfort zone just enough to sound like they know what they’re doing, and respecting the original version while making it their own just enough.  Alex here sounds completely wild, adding to this gloriously twisted atmosphere, these are seriously the risks I wanted to hear them take on “Everything You’ve Come To Expect”.  Those twisted keys keep rolling, Alex’s vocal rants become more and more crazed sounding, and the sheer calamity of everything else seriously makes “This Is Your Life” some really dark stuff.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlEuxxP9fI0

There are two other covers on here, the first being a cover of Jacques Dutronc’s “Les Cactus”.  The start of “Les Cactus” has a serious, grimy, garage rock flavor that totally caught me off guard.  It’s something we haven’t heard from Last Shadow Puppets, and it’s something I would love to hear more of.  It has the same unpredictability as a modern garage rock track, but that same elegance they carry with them as well.  This is seriously a road they should consider going down some more, this set of songs has been some of the most adventurous and fun tracks they’ve ever touched.  While Alex’s vocals continue to be smooth as hell, his performance here is fiery, and the instrumental surrounding is one of the heaviest thing’s I’ve ever heard from Last Shadow Puppets.  Overall, this is seriously a fantastic single, any garage rock-heads that listen to this bad boy will definitely want to give this a shot.  And of course, “Les Cactus” has enough retro flare to give you a dose of nostalgia, while Turner’s energy brings it to this generation just enough.  Finally, The Last Shadow Puppets take a crack at Leonard Cohen’s “Is This What You Wanted”, and honestly hit it out of the park.  Now, there have been so many great Leonard Cohen covers over the year, so when bands want to cover his material they have quite the shoes to fill.  Turner’s performance here though, completely fills those shoes with a truly haunting performance.  We forget that when Alex Turner wants to hit these low notes he can easily nail it with such a degree of certainty that it comes off so cool.  This EP overall is certainly darker for Last Shadow Puppets, and “Is This What You Wanted’ certainly fits the feel of this EP.  It’s on the slower side, yes, but if you have the patience for this one, it certainly pays off.  On top of all of that, this is just a seriously heartfelt performance from Alex, and it’s very impressive.  Like I said, these are the risks I wish they took on “Everything You’ve Come To Expect”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8LtrwbEUow

Rating: 7.7/10

Give A Listen To: "Les Cactus", "Is This What You Wanted", "This Is Your Life", "The Dream Synopsis"

Overall Thoughts:  The Last Shadow Puppets last album, "Everything You've Come To Expect" was seriously lacking in creativity, and it's a shame because the groups always had a good sound.  This EP though, while it's short, shows them traveling in a fantastic, dark new direction.  If you're a fan of any of these guys, give this a shot.