We don’t know what it is about this pairing of Alex Turner and Miles Kane, but Standing Next To Me and previous single The Age Of The Understatement are in a different league to the Arctic Monkeys altogether.

There’s a retro 60’s feel to this music, but with a dark intensity that underlies the song. The video reinforces this with the guys decked out in early Beatles-era suits and surrounded by dancing girls in equally 60’s style costumes. Everything is shot in a low light, and the only splashes of colour are the girls’ tights.

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OK, let’s get up to speed on these Shadow Puppets people. The Last Shadow Puppets are Arctic Monkey Alex Turner and Miles Kane from The Rascals.

I trusted Alex Turner not to simply rehash Arctic Monkey’s type material and pass it off under a different name. Boy, does he deliver. This is good stuff.

The Age Of The Understatement has all the ingredients of an epic tune. Big drums, a galloping rhythm, Kane and Turner sharing vocal duties with a sense of suspense during the verses.

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