You don’t have to listen to Sunlight In The Shadows (Easy Eye) for long to witness the sound of two talented ’60s/’70s obsessives bonding over their favorite artists. And it’s a definite plus for the rest of us when one of them is the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, a guy with an uncanny ability to bring out the best in the diverse slate of artists on his Easy Eye roster. Recent signing Miles Kane has already established himself at home in the U.K., with a pair of number-one LPs as the Last Shadow Puppets (with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner) and five top-20 releases of his own.
Apparently, Kane hadn’t met Auerbach before he arrived at his Nashville studio. But the two hit it off over their mutual love of Link Ray, Motown, British beat bands and various other titans of the classic rock and soul era. Once Kane and Auerbach got down to the business of writing actual songs, they ended up with three keepers in a single day—and the inner circle started to expand. Nashville institution Pat McLaughlin got involved in the project, as did Grammy-winning writer/producer Daniel Tashian and Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney. That core was augmented with a small fleet of guitarists, including Nick Bockrath (Cage The Elephant), Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie) and Easy Eye regular Tom Bukovac.
The actual recording of Sunlight In The Shadows was finished in just three days, with most songs tracked in one or two takes. Just this side of raw, the album’s gritty glam-rock swagger is both eerily authentic and weirdly immersive—as if Kane emerged from the womb clutching a copy of Bolan’s Electric Warrior in one hand and the Move’s Shazam in the other.
Kane offers his thoughts on Sunlight In The Shadows’ 12 tracks.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “Love Is Cruel”
“This was always going to be the lead single in my eyes. It’s got a perfect balance of that cinematic sort of Tarantino Western sapphire that I love. I see Clint Eastwood in the desert. There’s a hint of Judy Garland in there. It’s a perfect opener.”
2) “Electric Flower”
“Straightforward glam rock … T.Rex’s own. A beautiful little love song that’s got a vibe to it that makes you want to put on boots and strut around the dancefloor.”
3) “Sunlight In The Shadows”
“This, for me, sums up the album. It’s got that big riff, those dark-undercurrent lyrics on the verse and the big chorus. It’s about finding the light in the dark—and the light in life, at times. It’ll be the big sing-along, and by the end of the gig, that big riff will be stuck in your head.”
4) “Coming Down The Road”
“The most iconic tune on the album. It’s got a bit of a Batman vibe … one for the lads in the mosh pit. It’s a bit like a ‘Never Taking Me Alive’ from my last album, One Man Band. It’s all about following the path and showing them all who’s boss.”
5) “Always In Over My Head”
“It’s something my mother would say to me: ‘You’re always in over your head.’ And there’s lyrics about being in my bedroom in my mum’s house as a kid. I had stars and moons on the curtains. There’s the lyric, ‘Never thought I’d be tall enough to grab a hold of the stars above,’ and this sort of ‘I’m a dreamer’ theme. It’s about making my dreams reality. It’s a deep, meaningful one, with a beautiful Neil Young vibe.”
6) “Blue Skies”
“A simple song about looking for a brighter day. I can follow in that path—blinkers on, quiet out in the darkness. It’s the most bluesy tune on the record. It’s swampy, it’s gnarly, it’s badass—so get on it. I like that power.”
7) “My Love”
“This is the most Scouse song I’ve ever written. It reminds me of early Beatles, and it’s the one my mum loves. You can imagine your nan in the kitchen singing along to it on the radio. As a song, it reminds me of a family gathering on a Boxing Day. It’s beautiful.”
8) “Without You”
“This one has that swampy, whiskey-bar rock ’n’ roll vibe. The chorus is the first time I’ve ever sung in just falsetto without doubling it up. Get the jeans and leather on and start strutting, guys.”
9) “Sing A Song To Love”
“It’s got a powerful riff. That’s just me, Dan and Pat—like the Pythagoras Trio of ultimate rock ’n’ roll. It’s one for the lads … a gnarly one.”
10) “Slow Death”
“A cover of the Flamin’ Groovies song. We were talking about doing a cover one day because we had time to spare in the studio—and we worked it out and rearranged it into our style. The lyrics are about addiction … about how everyone deals with temptations in life in their own way. It’s relatable.”
11) “I Pray”
“I’ve got an old song called ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are.’ For me, this sort of in the same bracket. Like I mentioned before, I’m a dreamer, so it’s a song about having little goals for yourself and sticking to your path to get to them.”
12) “Walk On The Ocean”
“This sums up where I am as a 39-year-old man. The style and the vibe have got that cinematic at-dusk setting—poncho on, the ocean in the background, searching for something.”
See Miles Kane live.
