Last Shadow Puppets - Age of Understatement

ARCTIC Monkeys singer Alex Turner and Miles Kane of The Rascals made their first album together in a fortnight in the French countryside.

Not that you’d ever guess from the quality of sound they have managed to produce.

The strings, by Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire, sound like a million dollars. And the cute ballads are pure  swinging ’60s.

Slower Monkeys songs like 505 are the key, as Alex proves a surprisingly great crooner and Miles stakes a claim as a name to watch.

It’s no understatement to say Separate And Ever Deadly and My Mistakes Were Made For You are as good as anything the Arctics have done.

No one wants the onkeys to split, but this is a great romantic sideline<

Being loved up with Alexa Chung just makes Alex a sweeter singer; if they ever need a Bond theme in a Sheffield accent, these are perfect.

Nor does it sound like it was recorded in a fortnight. The strings, by Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire, sound like a million dollars. Who needs months in a studio when In My Room sounds so gorgeous?