“I just try to let the tunes lead the way” – Miles Kane on his latest album, ‘Change the Show’

The latest effort from Birkenhead-born indie rock giant Miles Kane, entitled Change the Show, marks his fourth solo album since releasing Colour of the Trap back in 2011. I spoke with Miles ahead of the release, as he reflected on his previous work and gave us some insight into the production of this fantastic new album.

In many ways, Change the Show can be viewed as a departure from the heavy indie sound Kane became known for on his most popular tracks (such as ‘Rearrange’ or ‘Come Closer’). The new album tends to have a much more mature sound. Commenting on this development in his trademark sound, Kane said “I try to just let the tunes lead the way with it. Demoing it up and recording it, I was still doing tunes that were a bit more heavy or a bit more glammy, but then the ones that were a bit more in this world just seemed to sort of resonate more with me. It became clear to make it all like this.”. Whilst the album is not a million miles away from his previous work, Change the Show definitely has a more suave, classy style to it, with influences of soul and Motown present throughout. The inclusion of horns on tracks such as ‘Don’t Let It Get You Down’ came as a welcome inclusion to the new LP, Miles commented, “It’s probably a bit less aggressive than the last one but it’s still upbeat and stuff. I think as a collective of tunes, the order of it and the way they go into each other it works really well.”. The record does very much feel like it is an album, as opposed to a collection of songs, it almost dictates that it should be listened to start to finish rather than dipping in and out. As Miles said, it flows very well from song to song and the journey through the album is a very pleasant one. 

Change the Show is the fourth solo studio album released by Kane, his first album Colour of the Trap was released back in 2011 on Columbia Records. Reflecting on his solo career, he said, “I’d like to think my writing process has changed a lot – but whether it’s this album or the last album, I feel like I have that same feeling as I did when I did my first album. Every album I make I feel like it’s my first one. This album compared to that one, I’d like to think it’s moved on a bit, it’s cohesive and it’s its own little world.”. Previous to his solo projects, Miles fronted the indie band The Rascals, who received critical praise in the NME and supported Arctic Monkeys during their 2007 tour, “When I was younger and I was in the Rascals and Flames, that’s how I learnt my craft”. Miles has seen some great success throughout his solo work, with two top ten albums in Don’t Forget Who You Are (2013) and Coup de Grace (2018) – with Change the Showlikely to add that list. In addition to his solo work, though, Kane has also witnessed success with other projects such as The Last Shadow Puppets; his duo project with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys fame. Asked about what he likes about working on solo projects versus working with a band, Kane explained, “When we do the Puppets – that’s its own sort of thing, I love that – a duo – I like a partnership. Even the thing I’ve done with Corine [Corine Bailey Rae] on this record, there’s something about duos that I really like. Even if it’s just a song, that kind of battle between two people or the back and forth – that’s something I enjoy a lot. I mean I love writing tunes on my own and recording with people; I did this album with Dave and Oscar from Sunglasses For Jaws and they’re an amazing drummer and bass player so it’s almost like being in a band when you’re making it. It’s still that aesthetic, I guess, but just no nonsense really.”.

In addition to this new album, Miles also featured on ‘Dealer’, a recent single by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, “We did that tune a while ago, there was a few tunes done and I love that tune. I think it that was one of those tunes that felt so unique at the time.” said Miles of the track. Whilst he did say the pair have recorded more songs together, so far ‘Dealer’ has been the only one to see the light of day. The single has proved to be incredibly popular, with over 30 million streams on Spotify. On the reaction to their song, Kane said “Seeing the reaction it’s had, all the streams and all that,  it’s blown my mind to be honest.”, he puts the popularity of the track down to its unique nature in comparison to the rest of Del Rey’s work, “It’s an intense tune and I think where she takes that song – no one’s ever heard her sing like that before. She really lets go and rips on it and I think that’s what makes it, it’s mind blowing.”. 

For depressingly obvious reasons, Miles has been forced to postpone his UK tour to May, which will see him play 16 dates across the country. Speaking on how it feels to be back playing live shows after so long, the artist said, “I can’t wait, to be honest. We had a little taste of it at the end of the summer, we did a couple of little festivals and one little gig – so the carrot’s been dangled. I’d play anywhere right now.”. Known for his exciting and energetic live performances and armed with a brand-new album full of effortlessly cool tracks, the tour is certainly not one to be missed. Kane will be visiting the O2 Academy in Leeds on Sunday the 29^thMay, tickets are available from the artists’ website.