Everything this guy touches turns to pop. Every band he’s been in, from The Rascals frontman to co-partner in The Last Shadow Puppets (with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner), has been a commercial success. And why not? This Brit has followed in the footsteps of his fellow islanders, The Beatles, in taking britpop by storm. He’s got killer shoegaze guitar sounds on this debut album, Colour of the Trap, and the companionship of today’s songwriting greats — Turner, Jack White, and Noel Gallagher to boot. He’s also got artists like Skream reaching across genres to dubstep the shit out of Mile’s single, “Rearrange.”
Skreamix witholding, “Rearrange” is everything one could expect from Miles. Nothing too avant garde or out-there, but a strange hint of dissent from straight pop-rock shines loud and clear with Alex’s technical chops on the guitar. It’s got a chorus that is radio-ready like none other, and it’s so catchy it’ll bump whatever Tyler, The Creator song you claim to be listening to right out of your head.
Having said that, it’s clear there’s more to this musician than strained pop vocals and catchy choruses. Given it’s his first attempt at going solo, his mastery of songwriting is only hinted at on a few tracks on this album, notably “Colour of the Trap.” But it’s got his name out there, and hopefully he’ll use his newfound name to really dig down for output number two, because to me this album was an indictor of something very, very good to come.