This is the age of the understatement

(Review of The Last Shadow Puppets' "The Age Of The Understatement", Released 21 April 2008 on Domino Records)

The first thing I noticed about the debut record from the side project of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and The Rascals frontman Miles Kane, The Age Of The Understatement, was the clear Pulp inspiration. The eponymous opening track features sweeping instrumentals that mirror Pulp's "Monday Morning". Turner's lyrical style has always been reminiscent of Pulp's frontman Jarvis Cocker's, but when left to his own devices (without the rest of the Arctic Monkeys) he creates full novels out of three minute songs and clever little one-liners that show a profound sense of human nature (in particular, "Now I am craving heartbreak while you're making your demands" from "Calm Like You", paints an equally stark and charming portrait of the dynamics of a relationship) which also attracted me to Pulp. Turner's vocals have even shaped themselves to be more reminiscent of Cocker's (both hail from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and have the charming drawls to prove it). Which isn't to say that there is nothing inventive about The Age Of The Understatement. The album is almost a concept album without trying to be, with each song complimenting the next so nicely that one almost feels lost at the end of the record. It's a haunting, powerful, unendingly inventive debut that has you hooked from the first track to the last. While I'm comparing The Last Shadow Puppets to Pulp, I do hesitate to compare The Age Of The Understatement to their Different Class, but there are parallels--the novel-grade lyrics and stories of relationships combined with the similarity in the instrumentation creates the same feelings.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Alex Turner is the next Jarvis Cocker (Arctic Monkeys achieved near-instantaneous fame out of nowhere, and he is practically privileged in comparison), but he certainly comes from the School of Jarvis. The Age Of The Understatement is a perfect example of why Alex Turner is one of the most brilliant lyricists of this generation, and proves that he is just as good--nay, better--by himself as he is with the rest of his band.

Welcome

When I was about ten years old, I decided that it would be really cool to be the editor of a magazine. Over the past seven years the dream has grown and changed, but the principle has remained the same. I wanted to have a magazine that appealed to people like me--people who were interested in fashion and media but who wanted something more than mainstream media could provide. Although the magazine dream is one that will likely never become a reality, I still wanted to reach out to people like me, and a blog is a good place to start.

To introduce myself, my (real) name is Breanne. My first middle name is Clare and it's the name I'll use throughout the blog, because I like it better. Either one is fine, though. I'm seventeen years old and I have grown up in the small town of Cold Lake, Alberta. I spend a lot of my time writing, reading (books and a healthy dose of fashion and music magazines), and listening to music. My style icons are the Britpop band Pulp. I hoard sunglasses, shoes, and CDs. I chose the name of this blog ("Professionally Trendy") from "Narcissist" by The Libertines, because I do think that there is a little narcissism in fashion. We fashionista-type people always think we look good. ;)

I hope you enjoy what I have to say.