Miles Kane's second album ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ is a fast, hard-hitting, feel- good record with the longest of the 11 songs, ‘Darkness In Our Hearts’, being only three-and-a-half minutes long. The album almost mirrors the pace and intensity of Kane’s live shows. The fuzzed up, glam-packed opener ‘Taking Over’ is a song that seems instantly familiar as if it's already a chart topping hit. The title track also does this, just as hard. Continuing Miles' simple yet in-your-face rock n' roll song structures and guitar riffs, the track delivers a key message to any who might doubt his abilities: “Don’t build me up/Make up your mind/And keep the faith/I’ll keep the faith”. The third track ‘Better Than That’, concludes the album’s outrageously strong opening. By the time these songs finish (which, by the way, is less than 10 minutes in) there is a quite obvious sense that ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ is a real step forward. The energy is out of this world. No human being should be able to provide that amount of energy. But Miles does, and most importantly, the quality of the songs doesn't dwindle. Not once. Miles Kane is back, and even better than before.
In his vocals you can hear his arrogant, snarling delivery on
the title track and 'Give Up' where the influence of Liam
Gallagher's mode of delivery can be heard. Miles' influences emerge throughout the record as in the song ‘Tonight’ where he sounds almost John
Lennon-esque. On ‘Out Of Control’, a song backed by a string arrangement, Miles couldn’t sound more like the former Beatle if he tried. Paul Weller co-wrote
and performs on ‘Fire In My Heart’, a moment in the record that displays a much slower and more collected feeling. However by placing the song between
the lively ‘What Condition Am I In?’ and Weller’s other contribution, ‘You’re
Gonna Get It’, the pace and aggression of the album is maintained. The
latter ('You're Gonna Get It') is a simplistic pre-night-out song,
something that Miles deliberately set out to achieve with this record. He has
certainly done this.
Despite Paul Weller's contributions and the clear influence of bands
gone by, ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ is well and truly a Miles Kane album. Through it's entirety, it only ever sounds like Miles Kane. To
all those people who thought he was riding on the back of his famous
friend, he simply sticks his middle finger up to them and says: "this is my
record. If you like it, great. If you don't, I don't care". Much like his
fashion sense, it’s measured, sharp and extremely well put together. Rock n'
roll needs this album. Rock n' roll needs Miles Kane.
10/10
