Newcomer of The Year: And The Winner is . . .

Soul Kitchen Newcomer of The Year 2011: Miles Kane

First he was a Little Flame, a Rascal and then a Shadow Puppet. This year however, the Mersey's most bespoke Mod went solo. Quite predictably, he did it in some style.

Three years ago, Miles Kane was Alex Turner's mate, a Peacock strutting upstart playing sidekick to the Voice Of A Generation. How wrong this perception was. Fast forward three years and Kane has experienced the high of a Number One album and Mercury Prize nomination with The Last Shadow Puppets' Age of The Understatement and the lows of professional and personal break ups (with his band The Rascals and supermodel girlfriend Agyness Dean). Many would have floundered at the prospect of a solo jaunt after only ever experiencing the security blanket of a band. Kane though, has the frontman gene ingrained into his DNA.

From his first backing vocals with The Little Flames, Kane couldn't tear himself away from the mic stand. This unrelenting desire to follow in the swinging footsteps of his idols shines through on record and stage. Being a Merseyside mop top with a penchant for sharp suits and even sharper guitars will draw the Fab Four comparisons out in their droves. Yes, Kane cites John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band as his favourite album, 'Gimme Some Truth' as his favourite song AND even blatantly pilfers the Walrus' 'Cold Turkey' riff for Colour of The Trap track 'Better Left Invisible' but there's more to Miles Kane than being a mere modern day Lennon caricature.

Catch an interview with Kane and he regularly namedrops French connoisseurs of cool Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Dutronc as heroes. The Gallic duo no doubt inspiring the filthy garage riffs of 'Inhaler' and 'Come Closer'. Dutronc's fingerprints are all over the video for single 'Rearrange' and Monsieur Kane recorded a cover of 'Le Responsable' (albeit an anglicized version) as the B Side for lead single 'Come Closer', which has now also become a rousing live set staple.

In fact, Kane consistently brims with unpredictability. Upon the release of Colour of The Trap in May of last year, many were expecting rehashed Rascals or perhaps sub par  Shadow Puppets. Contrarily, Kane rattles off scuzzy garage with aplomb on the aforementioned 'Come Closer' and 'Inhaler', flirtatiously duets with the bewitching Clemence Poesy on seductive slow burner 'Happenstance' before sailing effortlessly through the Style Council pop of 'Quicksand' and thundering out Middle Eastern cinematic soundscapes on the grandiose 'Kingcrawler'.

The fun doesn't stop there either. To see Kane play live is akin to witnessing a young Giggs, Gascoigne or Rooney take to the field for the first time. He's young, talented and absolutely fucking fearless. The Soul Kitchen was lucky enough to bear witness to Kane's mercurial live talents twice last year. The first time, in late October, was a headlining show at Manchester's HMV Ritz. The venue's infamous rubber dancefloor suitably bounced from start to finish as Kane did likewise, boomeranging around the stage like a Scouse Tazmanian Devil, complete with Taz's customary howls and some bonus kung fu kicks that stamped an exclamation point onto the end of every riff.

A month and a half later and he's supporting the rock and roll colossus that is Kasabian on the Manchester leg of their cretacious sci-fi Velociraptour. No easy task, with the vast confines of the Manchester Arena providing a much more ominous presence than the Ritz six weeks previous. However, despite being charged with the task of warming up Pizzorno, Meighan and co's baying masses, Kane takes to it like an impeccably coiffed duck to water. His boundless energy is soon matched by the 15,000 strong audience who begin to filter in with much more urgency as if this is the main event that they're potentially missing.

Closing with 'Inhaler' Kane hollers "Manchester, let's lose our fucking MINDS!" and amidst the traditional overpriced Carslberg downpour, they promptly do. The set finishes with Kane holding his guitar aloft, roaring his appreciation back at his new found devotees. You get the impression that if he had a few million more album sales to his name, he'd Pete Townshend the guitar through the nearest amp.

Then, much like the cocky young upstart who's netted a hat trick on his debut, Kane exits left, leaving behind an enraptured crowd who now impatiently await a repeat performance. If young Mr. Kane continues in the same vein as 2011, he'll soon be returning to the arenas as the main event.

Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

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And The Nominees Are: Best Newcomer Award

In the increasingly fickle world of popular music, the role of the newcomer is one to be treated with the utmost caution. One minute you’re topping the NME’s painfully irrelevant ‘Cool List’ and being championed as the voice of a generation. The next minute your sophomore album is being panned and you’re venturing into the wilderness to join Razorlight and The Kaiser Chiefs. Grim times indeed.

That the ‘Best Newcomer’ category only contains four nominees isn’t a pretentious damning of modern music, but rather a digression from the outrageous hyperbole so often thrust upon debutants as they spring forth into the limelight.

The four nominees here are simply the ones we’ve enjoyed the most over the past 12 months. Mercury Prize nominees in the ilk of James Blake and Ghostpoet they may not be, nor are there any indie poster boys ala The Vaccines to be found here. However, the amount of time these artists have occupied on our speakers this year at the expense of the aforementioned darlings of the musical media is testament enough to their talents and also a reassuring sign that their best is yet to come.

Ready?

Miles Kane

Not a newcomer Per sae, but riding solo has finally brought the best out of young Mr. Kane. No longer meandering in The Rascals or playing understudy to Alex Turner in the Last Shadow Puppets, Kane peacock strutted his way into singledom with the release of Colour of The Trap in May. His evolution into a lone wolf has undoubtedly been aided by friends in high places (Turner co-wrote half of Colour of The Trap while Noel Gallagher and actress Clemence Poesy also make guest appearances) but one glimpse of Kane in a live surrounding and it’s plain to see that he’s a born rock ‘n’ roll entertainer.

Not content with having an already impressive catalogue of catchy psych pop nuggets in his repertoire, Kane screams, leaps, bounds and high kicks around the stage looking like Paul McCartney’s immaculately cool long lost lovechild. The real acid test for Kane will come when he has a little less help from his friends.

The Carpels

This Midlands quintet first sprung to The Kitchen’s attention back in July in the basement of The Queen of Hoxton during a This Feeling club night. Their fresh faced innocence was offset by their splicing of post punk with ominous electro synths. Ian Curtis-a-like frontman Dylan Williams and towering lead guitarist Michael Darby make for a fine double act who perform beyond their years despite retaining a frenetic youth in their music. Charlatan Jon Brookes wasted no time in making his interest known when he signed them up to his One Beat record label. If handled correctly, The Carpels should be able to take the current synth laden indie scene by the balls and not let go until they say so.

The Black Belles

Imagine if The Munsters had an all-female house band that was managed by Jack White. Configured that image in your brain? Chances are its The Black Belles. Fusing scuzzy 60’s garage with more than a touch of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, The Belles are 40 years behind their time while still feeling strangely refreshing and original. Their debut self titled LP was produced by the multi-band troubadour White himself on his Third Man Records label and saw the light of day last month to a whirlwind of acclaim and even an unlikely collaboration with US satire extraordinaire Stephen Colbert. In typically Gothic fashion, their debut LP was also released on limited edition absinthe vinyl that glows in the dark. Perfect if you’re thinking of inviting Syd Barrett and Roky Erickson round for a knees up.

The Sand Band

Arriving in February with All Through The Night, Liverpool’s The Sand Band brought with them the melancholic Merseyside pop that has served The Coral so well over the past decade. Whereas Skelly and co tend to channel Jim Morrison in their tunes, David McDonnell’s gang tug at the heartstrings in a way much akin to Richard Hawley. Lead single ‘Set Me Free’ is as delightful a song as you’ll hear this year, with its touching folk simplicity and yearning vocals. So not quite the ‘Psychedelic Alt Folk Space Rock Ballads’ that their Facebook page suggests. Still, space ballads or not, yet another outfit that proves Liverpool’s uncanny knack for churning out fantastic guitar bands.

Stay tuned this week as the nominees for Best Film, Best Album and Best Compilation are also revealed!

Until then,

Keep on Keepin’ on,

Baia

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