‘Squeaky Wheel’ – new from James Ellis Ford

Listen now ↓https://t.co/NMnXeW6HdF

— Warp Records (@WarpRecords) April 12, 2023

Ford initiated his music career in 2000 as a founding member of rock band Simian before teaming up with Jas Shaw from the aforementioned group and forming the spin-off duo Simian Mobile Disco in 2003, this time with a focus on electronic music. The duo have enjoyed a fair deal of success since, even amassing somewhat of a cult following, but have been on hiatus ever since Shaw was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis in 2018, which has in turn afforded Ford the chance to think about producing music solo on his own terms.

Watch the video for “It’s The Beat”, the lead single from Simian Mobile Disco’s first album Attack Decay Sustain Release, below:

Ford is also a founding member of The Last Shadow Puppets, formed in 2008 with Alex Turner, Miles Kane and Zach Dawes, yet his musical exploits do not stop there. He has producing credits on 55 albums, most notably Klaxon’s Myths of the Near Future (2007), Florence and the Machine’s Ceremonials (2011), Gorillaz’ The Now Now (2016), and all of Artic Monkeys’ records to date, and plays a multitude of instruments on many, mainly on drums, keyboard and percussion.

Quite the CV then. With this quite frankly stupendous amount of musical prowess Ford naturally sets the bar sky high, and fans of Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets, and possibly even Artic Monkeys themselves, will undoubtedly be tremendously excited by what Ford has to offer in his first solo outing.

If we are to judge the rest of the album by the two singles released from it already (“I Never Wanted Anything” is the other track), we should expect dreamy, partly funky, partly Pink Floyd-esque vibes. Tape loops are used immaculately in both songs, lending an ethereal touch that allows them to float on and along flawlessly whilst simultaneously giving the tracks a satisfying cohesive arc.

Listen to  “Squeaky Wheel” below:

Pre-order your copy of The Hum now here.

Supergroup is absolutely the right term for the combined talent of Miles Kane (The Last Shadow Puppets) and Nic Cester (Jet) as joint frontmen, Graham Coxon (Blur) and Jamie Davis playing guitar, Matt Bellamy (Muse) on bass and Sean Payne (the Zutons) as the drummer. Sometimes Abi Harding (The Zutons) joins them on the saxophone. Musically, they are as fantastic as you’d hope – Kane and Cester have different but extremely powerful voices, and the rest of the band make their instruments look and sound like a natural extension of themselves.

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OCTOBER 2ND. PRE-ORDER NOW YouveAlwaysBeenHere link in bio.

A post shared by The Jaded Hearts Club (@thejadedheartsclub) on Aug 17, 2020 at 5:10am PDT

Currently, we’ve only seen the group publish covers – mainly incredible, stripped back, guitar-based versions of Northern soul classics. There is rumour of original music, and they play all sorts at their infamous live shows, but it doesn’t look like any of this will feature on their debut album. For now, having the band re-invigorate Northern soul classics is more than good enough! The singles they’ve released in 2020 include versions of ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ (July), ‘This Love Starved Heart of Mine (It’s Killing Me)’ (April) and short little version of ‘We’ll Meet Again’, sung by Matt Bellamy.

Regarding their newest track, Kane called it: “‘Love’s Gone Bad’, a rare northern soul stomper that we dug from the underground. We beefed it up and gave it golden wings with matching loafers! Be prepared to dance!” 

The video is so cool – it’s all in black and white, set in London’s Moth Club, and Matt Bellamy is wearing heart-shaped sunglasses. It’ll have you dancing, spinning, and probably online shopping for loafers and corduroy trousers. Mainly it’s Kane dancing with a partner. The other band members do show up though, playing their instruments while Kane and his partner leap about, spectacularly in time with each other. Although, of course, The Jaded Hearts Club offer a rock-based take on Northern soul, the video is very much in the spirit of the 1960s dancehalls where the genre really took off.

The group formed in 2017. According to Rough Trade, Davis wanted a Beatles band to play for his birthday, and he’s quoted as saying: “I knew a bunch of 1/2 decent musician friends so I asked if they’d form an early ‘60s Beatles band. Everyone had such a good time that we decided to do it again.” In 2019 they recorded a live album at London’s iconic ‘The 100 Club’. Their website declares that they “have been described as the ultimate Beatles cover band.”

It’s not so long to wait for their album now – but you should know that the 12” version, on marble patterned vinyl, is already sold out for pre-orders! The Jaded Hearts Club are so fantastically energetic, even these three-minute videos feel like a true taste of what they’re like live. Hopefully there will be more of that to come, following the release of You’ve Always Been Here.

30/05 – Newcastle – Newcastle City Hall

31/05 – Leicester – De Montfort Hall

24/06 – Bristol – Lloyd’s Ampitheatre

10/07 – Manchester – Castlefield Bowl

12/07 – Bridlington – The Spa

13/07 – Bournemouth – BIC

15/07 – London – Alexandra Palace

16/07 – London – Alexandra Palace

Fans had a long wait for Everything You’ve Come To Expect, with the band’s debut album The Age Of Understatement being released way back in 2008. According to current figures, Everything You’ve Come To Expect is on course to beat competition from the likes of Lukas Graham and The Pet Shop Boys to become the band’s second UK number one album – and Alex Turner’s seventh number one, having topped the charts five times with his original band The Arctic Monkeys.

In addition to their UK tour, The Last Shadow Puppets are due to embark on a US tour next week and will also be making appearances at various festivals this summer including Glastonbury, T In The Park and Coachella. The Arctic Monkeys announced a hiatus in 2014 following the widespread success of smash hit 2013 album AM, leaving Alex Turner to focus much of his attention on The Last Shadow Puppets for the near future.

Tickets for The Last Shadow Puppets’ Newcastle and Leicester gigs go on sale at 9am on Friday 8th April.

Full list of confirmed acts to perform at Glastonbury 2016:

Coldplay

Muse

Adele

Beck

Foals

Jeff Lynne’s ELO

Stormzy

Chvrches

M83

Jack Garratt

Bring Me The Horizon

Jess Glynne

Cyndi Lauper

LCD Soundsystem

PJ Harvey

ZZ Top

Disclosure

Underworld

James Blake

Bastille

Kurt Vile

Wolf Alice

Two Door Cinema Club

Of Monsters & Men

Roisin Murphy

Years & Years

Ezra Furman

Gregory Porter

Madness

Baaba Maal

Ernest Ranglin

New Order

Earth, Wind & Fire

Savages

Floating Points

Laura Mvula

Art Garfunkel

Daughter

Little Simz

Vince Staples

John Grant

Band Of Horses

Carl Cox

Nao

Fatboy Slim

Richard Hawley

The Lumineers

Lady Leshur

Rokia Traore

The Last Shadow Puppets

Ellie Goulding

Skepta

The 1975

Santigold

Dua Lipa

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Bat For Lashes

Protoje

Jake Bugg

Mac DeMarco

St Etienne

Blossoms

Grimes

Annie Mac

Guy Garvey

Kamasi Washington

Explosions In The Sky

Alunageorge

Hinds

Sigur Ros

Ronnie Spector

The Syrian National Orchestra

Stanley Donwood, known for his work on Radiohead’s album artwork amongst other things, designed 2016’s poster. See it below:

This exciting news re-enforces Glastonbury’s reputation as being the most diverse and distinguished festival in the UK – and incites regret among those of us who were unable to get tickets before they sold out upon their release in October last year.

Glastonbury 2016 kicks off on 22nd June and finishes on 26th June. See the official website for more details.

Watch the video for new single 'Aviation' here: https://t.co/4IYfwpCszs – available to download – https://t.co/VyOPXaNJ2X

— TLSP (@tlsp) March 16, 2016

The Last Shadow Puppets’ eagerly anticipated second album is set to be released publicly April 1st, titled ‘Everything You’ve Come to Expect’. A couple of tracks from the album have already been released, with the main single ‘Bad Habits’ having been released two months ago; listen to that below:

Pre-order the album here. Also under the same link you can listen to the three tracks released as ‘singles’ by the band; respectively: ‘Aviation’, ‘Everything You’ve Come To Expect’ and ‘Bad Habit’s. The full track list is:

1. Aviation 3:43
2. Miracle Aligner 4:05
3. Dracula Teeth 2:51
4. Everything You’ve Come To Expect 3:13
5. The Element of Surprise 2:52
6. Bad Habits 3:00
7. Sweet Dreams, TN 3:56
8. Used To Be My Girl 2:55
9. She Does The Woods 3:30
10. Pattern 4:15
11. The Dream Synopsis 3:03
12. The Bourne Identity 3:05

Miles Kane and Alex Turner are set to tour as The Last Shadow Puppets throughout the spring and early summer. Tour dates are as follows:

24/3 – Cambridge – The Corn Exchange
25/3 – Middlesbrough – Town Hall
26/3 – Edinburgh – Usher Hall
29/3 – Paris, France – Olympia
30/3 – Brighton – The Dome
1/4 – London – Hackney Empire
2/4 – Liverpool – Olympia
3/4 – Sheffield – City Hall
24/6 – Bristol – Lloyd’s Ampitheatre
10/7 – Manchester – Castlefield Bowl
12/7 – Bridlington – The Spa
13/7 – Bournemouth – BIC
15-16/7 – London – Alexandra Palace

March 26 –  Edinburgh, Usher Hall
April 01 – London, Hackney Empire
April 02 – Liverpool, Olympia
April 03 – Sheffield, City Hall

However today the band consisting of Alex Turner and Miles Kane have now confirmed four more UK dates:

Manchester, Castlefield Bowl (July 10)
Bridlington, The Spa (July 12)
Bournemouth, BIC (July 13)
London, Alexandra Palace (July 15)

This tour is all in support of their upcoming and eagerly anticipated album that doesn’t yet have a release date. Alex spoke to NME earlier on in the week discussing the sort of music to expect from the new album:

“I think the last record ended up being just one thing. We talked about Scott Walker a lot and our record became perceived as a homage to that sound. This one, in my head, doesn’t wear its influences on its sleeve as much as the first one did. We were definitely listening to a bit of Isaac Hayes this time, but it was less of a big deal.”

The band has of course already released their initial single from the album, so we can try to figure out what the sound is going to be like!

These dates will no doubt sell out quickly, so make sure you’re on the website when they go on sale! Which is next month on February 5th at the standard 9am.

The UK shows include stops at Edinburgh,  London and the the respective hometowns of Kane and Turner – Liverpool and Sheffield

The project has been inactive for near a decade now, with their debut album, The Age of Understatement, having been released eight years ago and the band not having toured since 2008 either. Kane and Turner have performed together since though, with Kane having joined Turner onstage with The Arctic Monkeys to play The Last Shadow Puppets songs during the interim.

Speaking about why the new album has taken so long to come out, Turner told the NME in an interview how they intended to write a trilogy, and that they “wanted to write the second and third parts before we released the second”.

If you’re unsure what to expect from the new album, the band released the first taste of the album earlier this month, with their single ‘Bad Habits’, which you can check out below, and below that you can find their UK tour dates:

UK Tour Dates:

March 26 –  Edinburgh, Usher Hall
April 01 – London, Hackney Empire
April 02 – Liverpool, Olympia
April 03 – Sheffield, City Hall

The band rose to fame when their debut album ‘The Age of Understatement’ reached number one in the UK when released in April 2008 and was followed by a couple of live performances including a secret set at Glastonbury and a short but sweet two-song set at a pub in Camden. Over the years, Kane and Turner have played a number of tracks from the supergroup at various shows including Arctic Monkeys gigs but due to busy schedules have never gotten to give the group the time it needs to consistently release music.

However with the start of 2016, The Last Shadow Puppets have released their new song ‘Bad Habits’ with a wonderfully edited music video which is expected to be followed up by an upcoming second album even though no clear release date has been revealed aside from the clue that it is somewhat around the spring time. You can watch the video below.

In the past 7 years, fans have constantly been asking the question “When will the second album be released?” and after phases of no activity, Miles Kane made a surprise guest appearance at the Finsbury Park Arctic Monkeys’ gig in 2014, increasing the anticipation among fans.

James Ford confirmed that the second album was in the process of being mastered in an interview with a Chilean radio show, saying that the second album was almost complete. Evenmore Owen Pallett posted (and then deleted) a tweet hinting at his involvement and at the fact that a second studio album was definitely on it’s way.

Two album teasers posted in December answered all the fans questions as it ended the silence on the supergroup’s social media accounts whilst hinting at the new album which would come out in spring 2016. Now that the first song has been released, all we have to do is wait with the satisfaction of knowing that a second album is definitely guaranteed to be released by the iconic supergroup later this year.

The indie rock super group The Last Shadow Puppets are set to release their heavily anticipated second album in early 2016 as recording is finished.

The band, which is made up of Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner, The Rascals lead singer Miles Kane and Simian Mobile Disco drummer James Ford, released their very first album in 2008 with ‘The Age of the Understatement’ which was an immediate success; being nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize, but ultimately losing out to Elbow’s ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’.

When speaking to Chilean music site ‘Rock & Pop’, drummer James Ford had this to say on the new album:

“This year, I’ve just done a Last Shadow Puppets record, which is the guy from Arctic Monkeys and Miles,” Ford said. “So we did the follow-up album to that. That’s the last thing I did.”

Two years ago in 2013 Alex Turner spoke to NME discussing the future prospects for The Last Shadow Puppets:

“It’s something we’d both love to do at some point but I don’t know what that point is. I certainly don’t think it’s tomorrow. Miles is doing his thing and that’s going great. It’s like he’s become whole. Although he always was a superstar, wasn’t he?”

Listen to the eponymously titled single from their first album below:

Since their last release in 2008, Alex Turner has arguably gone onto bigger things, with the release of AM in 2013 being regarded as one of the most defining albums of the decade so far.

The new album is expected to feature work from solo artist, composer and member of Arcade Fire, Owen Pallett, who worked with The Last Shadow Puppets on their debut album, arranging the strings. A while ago, Pallett tweeted – and deleted – a hint about recording a new album with the supergroup, saying that the album was beginning to fuse with the “classic status”. The full tweet from Pallett read:

“That rare and thrilling moment when the record you’re working on crosses the threshold into Classic Status #tlsp2″.

Earlier in 2013, Kane also mentioned that he was certain something would happen again eventually. In an interview with NME he mentioned:

“I think the plan is to release something again, for sure…Since we did that [Alex Turner] has been busy and I had to find my feet by being on my own. If it comes after the end of this cycle and the end of his next record we’ll probably both be ready and really up for it. It’s just on the sidelines, there’s nothing written for it.”

The Age of Understatement conquered new territory for Miles Kane and Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turners typical style, with a Phil Spector-esque sense of scope and a romantic, vivid lyricism with the likes of “Standing Next To Me”. So who’s ready for the killer-combination of Alex Turner and Miles take two? Watch out for their new album which is set to come out in 2016.