The Age Of The Understatement

What's worse? 3 stars or 1 star? To me, 3 stars says the album is perfectly unoffensive. Not great. Not something you must hear before you die. But not something you don't need to hear. At least 1 star makes you feel something. I love Alex Turner but this band is not him at his best. There are definitely a few cool songs but on a whole this album is a waste of creative energy. Favorite Tracks: Separate and Ever Deadly, I Don't Like You Any More, In My Room

"This sounds like the Arctic Monkeys with a 60s mod rock feel" - was the first thought I had when I started listening to this album. Turns out that's exactly what it is, and, well, I like both those things and I like this album.

Dramatic, lavish (over-orchestrated at times), intense -- quite strong. Feels like a higher-end version fo the Las debut or a high-gloss Kinks record.

This album really kicks ass. It has a violent and heroic feel, with hints of despair and loss. Totally blew me away.

This has a very specific rock sound reminiscent of the late-1960s/early-1970s, like, I dunno, flower power rock or MOD rock or surf rock something like that, in combination to like those old cowboy Western country songs. I dig it, and I love Alex Turner's voice. It's very repetitive, but I gotta be honest, I am totally vibing with this shit.

Not an album I was expecting to see on this list. As someone who grew up listening almost exlusively to bands like the Arctic Monkeys and a lot of random noughties landfill indie I'm very familiar with this already. As I think was common with a lot of the indie rock of the time, this album is a few strong singles and a lot of filler, although maybe I'm being a bit harsh as there's nothing really terrible on here. The musicianship is solid and Turner and Kane write relateable songs full of their classic northern charm. I do also think this album is trying to be cool and it pulls it off well which is quite hard to do intentionally. That said I struggle to give this a high score. It was better than I remembered but I can name at least 5 Alex Turner projects I like more than this. I don't think the hooks are strong enough to be memorable and a few of the songs are underbaked especially in the back half with songs like In My Room and Time Has Come Again sounding like the duo are just going through the motions and hoping something sticks. Highlights: The Age of The Understatement, Standing Next To Me, Seperate And Ever Deadly.

Best 007 album I’ve heard

Fiery and lush in equal portions, this album goes by fast but left an impression that will last, landing solidly in an over saturated genre while still standing out by a large margin.

There’s a tendency on this record to cram as many lyrics as possible into the songs. People, you don’t have fill every possible second with vocals. Let the songs breathe a little bit, sometimes less is more. As a result, I’m left with the impression that the sound of their own voices is more important than the music to these guys. It lessens the impact of the music, because someone is always going on over it. It’s not until fifth or sixth track where they give a song an instrumental break for more than 10-15 seconds. Especially considering this is sort of a spaghetti western-ish rock record. The reason those spaghetti western scores of the 60’s worked so well is because they were spacious - a musical stand-in to represent the vast, wide-open American West. This record makes that space feel very small and claustrophobic. It’s a weird combination and I can’t say I’m a fan of it.

This album is an homage to 60s British pop. Its production is lush and full keeping in the spirit of the time. There are moments that seem almost Beatlesesque, moments that pay tribute to spaghetti westerns, and other moments that take inspiration from surf rock. Overall the album is incredibly well done and was clearly a labor of love for the Last Shadow Puppets

Have this on vinyl and it's a great listen - very cinematic production with some great vocals.

Brilliant album. The transition from old Arctic Monkeys to new started here. Solid 4 for me. Probably suffers from my thought process that this album isn’t as good as a 5 star Monkeys album but yet I would say it’s on par with other albums I may of given 5 as I’m so far up Alex Turners arse, you can only see my toes peeking out.

I think this could have been insane. But even from the first track, which I thought was the best, I didn't like the vocals. It reminded me too much of Brendon Urie, and I'm sorry, but I have zero tolerance for anything Panic! at the Disco related. I also thought the synchronized chorus vocals were a bit tacky and uninspiring. What saved this album from the dregs of the barrel was the instrumentality. It was creative, captivating, and thrilling, but it's where they fell short the hardest. There were countless times when I had faith in a promising build-up that would culminate into this world-changing, eyes-rolling-into-the-back-of-my-head climax. But right as I'm about to scream for my mother, it just...went soft. I feel like they kept playing it safe when they were right on the cusp of making something really interesting and unique. I wish they had taken that risk, because now it's just making me cringe.

Cinematic and lush, this is a perfect homage to grandiose late-60s music.

Inspired by tales from The House of Darkness.

10/10 one of the most magical alternative albums I’ve ever heard truly beyond words

Call my music taste boring, but I like a good variation on sixties rock motives. The texts, on the other hand, are sharp and modern. I also like the cinematic touches in some of the tracks.

Have never hard of this band or album didn’t know what to expect. Really like this album, cool baroque sound, pretty James Bond-ish, like Alex turners delivery not a bad song on this album

It started as a standard cliche of any indie 2000s rock, but it began to change when some songs looked like a vintage movie soundtrack from the 50s and 60s but still sounded like indie rock. The musical evolution was natural. Suddenly, I finally noted the orchestral work and fell in love with the album. So that is a very nice discovery from the 1001 list. After finishing the listening session, I looked through their following album, which was far from the same quality but still worth it.

Pop sinfónico que me recuerda a canciones de algún tipo de western. Me ha gustado. Vinilo.

Brilliant. Bold step away from what the Arctics were doing at the time and put me on Miles Kane properly (think I’d only heard Rascalize at the time). Some of my favourite songs are on this album. Age of The Understatement is massive. Standing Next To Me is superb (did a duet with one of the lads on karaoke to this in a bar in Portugal. Nobody had a clue what was going on.) The Meeting Place and The Time Has Come Again are close to perfect. Amazing album.

Pop sinfónico que me recuerda a canciones de algún tipo de western. Me ha gustado. Vinilo.

An interesting combination of indie rock and many other things, each song sounds different but still contains some core elements. This creates continuity, as well as sounding interesting and stays fresh throughout the whole listening experience. Though at times the lyrics feel a bit unfocused and vague, they are still interesting and feel new. This album suffers from a better last half than first half, which I don't believe I've heard before. Time Has Come Again is a great album closer that feels very satisfying when listened to after the rest of the album. It reminds me of Love is a Place on Old World Underground, where it is one of the only mellower songs on the album that gives you a break from the chaos and a chance to reflect on what you've heard so far. This was a solid album, but I feel it may have been carried a bit by the last 6 songs. If it weren't for those, I would probably rank it lower.

Retro 60"s, maybe 80's, vibe to this one. Frenetically energetic at times and well balanced when tending towards balladry . Another good listen from the list.

Muito parecido com Arctic Monkeys, gostei bastante. Melhor música: Standing Next to me

This was a really cool album! I'm surprised I've never heard of this band before as they seem right up my alley. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole record as it was super consistent and unique. It is absolutely crazy that this came out in 2008 as it gives off strong 60's vibes throughout. I thought the combination of British pop rock with old western soundtrack music was very interesting; some bands might have made this seem polarizing or too weird, but it fits the group perfectly. I believe that this one has the potential for me to consider it excellent upon multiple listens, but I am knocking it a tad bit as there were no individual tracks that stood out to me which is strange for an album of this caliber. Besides that, this is definitely one I would come back to in the future. 3.5/5.

This has a very lavish sound and feel to it, with nods to the 60's and 70's. I quite like it and it grabs your attention and sucks you in because it's consistent and enjoyable throughout. Well done!

Onda muy James Bond 70s. Armonías y patrones rítmicos no comunes. Hay que volver a escuchar definitivamente

Who are The Last Shadow Puppets ? After Arctic Monkeys touring Favourite Worst Nightmare, lead singer Alex Turner took a brief hiatus to work on a side project with two other guys from bands I don't know. While it still retains quite a bit of Arctic Monkeys' personality vis-à-vis Turner, the dramatic strings and Spaghetti Western flair gives The Age Of The Understatement a unique sound that can't be compared to it's contemporaries. Honestly, this whole album is spectacular. My core problem is that there are too many songs that are too short to be fully absorbed. I think The Age Of The Understatement had the potential to be a real hard-hitting classic of the aughts if they decided to do fewer songs that were longer in length, creating more memorable moments from track to track. I don't know why but pop music song structures has held this one back from it's full potential. Still worth a listen.

This is fine I guess, but I'm a bit puzzled why it made it into this list. It didn't exactly make a huge splash at the time, and doesn't interest me any more in 2023 than it did in 2008. It's not terrible, but does wear its 60s influences on its sleeve. I just don't find the songwriting particularly interesting.

Well, this is definitely a record of its time. It is signature indie brit rock from the late '00s. But a lot less... interesting? The strange thing is that it feels like there was a very deliberate effort to make this album sound so unremarkably similar to other artists. I get Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys (obviously), and other bands of the era, except The Last Shadow Puppets are exactly that, puppets who fall in the shadow of their fellow artists. There are single Arctic Monkeys songs that are better than this as a collective record. Nowhere near is it something that needs to be heard before you go.

Absolutely didn't need to hear this before I died, which is probably why it's no longer in the book. Very derivative. Had a few good tracks (Separate and Deadly and The Chamber), but generally completely forgettable. Did my two listens and done.

Yet another ex-1001 album! http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex It was alright. I can see why it was originally added to the 1001, noteworthy due to it being by a contemporary "supergroup", alas, in this case, time has proved that the sum isn't greater than its parts.

Not for me

This one is a keeper!

I’ll throw this on for the laid-back retro mood, but the propulsion and drama surprises me every time. It’s always better than I remember it. I think it’s an understated album, just doing its own thing, but it’s stood the test of time for me. I also like the other TLSP album and the last two Arctic Monkeys albums, which are in a similar style.

Extremely chad.

Love this album. Don’t think it should be here.

Short, varied, exciting, fun!

Considering Arctic Monkeys are my favourite band of all time I embarrassingly have not given these guys as much attention as I should have. Excellent album with lots of hints to Josh Homme's influence and also the new sound of Tranquillity Base. Stands strong as not just a side project but a fully formed and seperate being.

Unexpected good album.

Such a sick album. Sometimes punky, oftentimes lovely. I heard it three times and it's only gotten better on each listen. I also love the album cover which isn't that important but still appreciated, especially when the artwork matches the album contents.

I AM AN ALEX TURNER AND MILES KANE LOVER

Parallel universe to Arctic Monkeys and it's great. I've always liked the dryness in Alex Turner's voice and lyrics as it's always been pretty tongue in cheek and kind of funny and that carries over here. I already knew My Mistakes Were Made for You, but I alos liked Standing Next to Me, I Don't Like You Anymore, and In My Room. Really I liked most of this album, will definitely listen again.

Kind of like my favorite era of the Arctic monkeys but slightly harder arrangements

One of my favorites

I'm surprised about how much I liked this as it's not really my style but I really enjoyed it. Improved version of Arctic monkeys in my opinion. Would listen to it again

Alex turner

I’m about 50 albums in and this is the first that I both never heard of and really enjoyed. I’ll be looking into more from this group.

someone please let alex turner write a bond theme hes begging you 🙏

What if I’m giving this 5 stars! I enjoyed it okay!!! Could change my mind later.

The Last Shadow Puppets has got to be one of my favourite 'Supergroup' bands. The combined vocals and styling by both Alex Turner & Miles Kane is, in my ears, perfection. With the stylings of mid sixties pre-psychedelic pop music helped along by period reverb settings, mariachi drum beats, horn sections and rapid strum acoustic guitars it's feels like you're in the middle of your very own car chase scene in a James Bond movie, whizzing through the mountains of Europe. Best: Black Plant Worst: Meeting Place

I love this album starting with the cover

Muse but good

This album is a solution in need of a problem, only the "problem" was "What would an Ennio Morricone indie band record sound like." Only, that isn't a problem as much as it is an opportunity. And these folks, took it, ran with it, and finished the race with the aplomb needed for something so garish and extravagant that the world is better off.

Loved!!!

Interesting retro sound. I really enjoyed listening to this album. It was a musical experience.

Great album, wasn't aware that this is one half of the Arctic Monkeys

Everything that has an Alex Turner signature is gold!

Knew this album before this and really liked it but for some reason always listened to arctic monkeys and not to this so much

Love every second of this album

One of my all time favourites. Love every aspect of this album and it greatly increases my Alex Turner man crush

Great album although i like everything youve come to expect better

Gut gemachtes Indie-Pop-Rock-Album.

Alex Turner 😍😍😍😍😍🫶🫶🫶

never heard of these guys and immediately heard alex turner. great album. listened to it while i walked my pooch

I had a great time listening to this album. Can't really go wrong with Alex Turner. My favourite song is My Mistakes Were Made For You

Alex Turner's voice is so sexy

This was fun! I want to spend some more time with this album

Oh hell yes a supergroup featuring Alex Turner. I knew the voice sounded familiar when I started the album. Love the strings in Stand Next to Me. Then more strings on The Chamber are also great. I love rock bands that incorporate strings. Ok now this is just turning into a straight up symphony with Only the Truth. Such an awesome album from a band that I did not know existed, I wish they were in my life much earlier. The orchestral instruments that they are able to blend in with the rock is one of my favorite styles of music. And with Alex Turner being the front man and this guy Miles being the backing vocals for most of the songs just creates a perfect vocal combination. Easy 5, going to go listen to their other album right after this.

Superb. often super groups fall short of the mark. But Alex turner rises above the crowd in a brittastic celebration of English rock

AMAZING STUFF HELL YES TLSP2023

That voice makes it for me

Lightning in a bottle, this. Tribute to the old days, but brought up to date.

it was so fucking nice i love it

Loved it and makes me want to listen to more of this and Arctic Monkeys.

Wow, I sure am glad that we listened to some Scott Walker earlier in this project so I know his influence when I hear it. I can't believe this music is so modern --- it sounds like a movie from the 60s or maybe a few different movies from the 60s. Very fun!

2 topartiesten met gevoel voor megalomanie. Dat maakt een topplaat natuurlijk

I'm glad I got this album - it's great. It's a 9 out of 10, so a strong '4' or a weak '5'.

More of this, please. It has this complexity that doesn't appear too often in popular music, but it's still easy to listen.

Wow. That was great. Great voice fits so well with music that I am not sure if it could be done better. Music is very rich and it really profits when You listen it on heaphones or just good setup. I should listen it couple times more and listen lyrics more carefully

Oh I love Alex Turners voice. I had a couple of songs from this album already but I'd never heard it fully. Very enjoyable!

I mean I love A. Monkeys. So this album just hits different. Great sound throughout and very happy to have this list to help me find albums like this. Ez 5.

I was honestly very surprised with how much I enjoyed this album. Very solid songs all throughout without one bad song in my opinion. That’s what having Alex Turner will do for you.

This album rules, it put me in mind of early Panic! at the Disco with some cool touches that give it its own flair. I’m a sucker for music that includes brass and strings in fun or unexpected ways.

Oh zo leuk dat deze 2 samenkomen om een prachtig album te maken

Fantastic album start to finish, felt almost like a video game OST at first and I really loved the sound

I’m positively surprised, for real. 5/5. Highlight: The Age of The Understatement

This was a genuine revelation. Orchestral instrumentation and production combined with Alex’s grimy voice wasn’t something I expected, but I really loved it. Has the vibe of an actor in full sci-fi makeup chain smoking on set. Calm like you was particularly excellent, though every song had something great about it.

Astounding! What arresting sound! It feels cool and dark and frenetic and wonderful. Even two songs in and I have a hard time imagining not loving the rest of the album. And I loved it.

Brilliant

Muito bom. Revisitar!

This album really reminds me of Arctic Monkeys, and not just because of Alex Turner's vocals. The sorrow tone and characteristic Turner lyrics really tie it in. The instrumentals are so beautiful, especially in Only The Truth. Also, I just have to mention the strings, it makes everything so much more magical. Overall, it's a good album and I could see myself going back to it at some point. Fave track(s): Separate and Ever Deadly, Only the Truth, I Don't Like You Anymore, The Meeting Place

Rating: 10/10

Super goede cd!

Love, love, love, love.

Good enough to explore band’s other albums

Masterpiece!

Noice

I really liked it.