The Last Shadow Puppets

2007: Formation

In August 2007 NME magazine reported that Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner and lead singer of then newly formed the Rascals, Miles Kane would be recording an album with Simian Mobile Disco member and former Simian drummer James Ford producing and playing drums. Turner and Kane had become friends when Kane's previous band the Little Flames played support for Arctic Monkeys on their 2005 UK tour. The Little Flames also supported Arctic Monkeys on their April 2007 UK tour, when Turner and Kane wrote songs together for a collaborative project. Their collaboration extended into Arctic Monkeys material, with Kane playing guitar on "505", the closing track of second Arctic Monkeys album Favourite Worst Nightmare and on "Fluorescent...

Influences

The Last Shadow Puppets' musical style has been mainly described as Baroque pop, orchestral pop, and psychedelic pop, while also drawing heavily from vintage film scores, and post-punk. Turner and Kane have cited Scott Walker and David Bowie as main influences, with Turner saying, "[Bowie] is sort of in the DNA of every record, to some extent. He's been built-in for a long time". Other artists that served as inspiration for the band include, Ennio Morricone, Serge Gainsbourg, David Axelrod, Lee Hazlewood, Jaques Brel, Isaac Hayes and bands such as, the Style Council, the Electric Prunes, Sparks, Depeche Mode and the Fall.

Standing Next To Me

"Standing Next to Me" is a song by English baroque pop band The Last Shadow Puppets. It was released on 7 July 2008 in the United Kingdom by Domino Recording Company as the second single of their debut album The Age of the Understatement.

Written by co-frontmen Alex Turner and Miles Kane, the song was produced by James Ford, and recorded at Black Box studios in France in the summer of 2007. The lyrics describe a love triangle between the narrator, a woman, and another man.

Background

The song started during the Arctic Monkeys 2005 U.K. tour, where Kane's band The Little Flames acted as support. Kane played a rough version of the track to Turner in their dressing room, which he had a positive reaction to.

Music video

On 15 July a music video directed by Richard Ayoade was released. The video, shot in London, featured Turner on tambourine and Kane on guitar performing the song with shadowing in what resembles a television studio accompanied by a group of dancers in matching striped dresses, but differently coloured leggings.

Critical reception

For The Skinny, the song is "another testament to the songwriting prowess of Turner and [...] Miles Kane", describing it as, "finely crafted retro pop, but there are certain flourishes present that allude to new territories."