It’s been two years since Miles Kane first flew solo releasing Colour of the Trap. In the space of those two years guitar music has died, been reborn, died and is in the process of getting saved again—and ‘Give Up’ is definitely one of the tracks that will be able to breathe some life back in to the genre.
Miles Kane has this uncanny ability to make songs that sound both classically rock and roll and very much modern at the same time. ‘Give Up’ is no exception to this; it feels like an instant classic the moment it starts and yet every time I listen it doesn’t seem to grow any older.
‘Give Up’ is full of gritty guitar riffs with a no-holds-barred punch. It’s so raw and simplistic that it stands apart from a lot of the indie that’s currently filtering through. The drums are a fierce driving force throughout and when the track is stripped back to just them and the vocals you truly get to admire how much of an integral part of the song they are.
Vocally Miles Kane is his normal angsty self here—which seems at odds with him saying the album will showcase a more ‘uplifting’ side of him. The lyrics are the normal Miles Kane level of clever, singable and vicious with a chorus that feels like it’s both snarling and smiling at you. Even if it sounds a little clichéd, when Miles Kane tells me to “Come on and give up control” I feel like I have no other option to oblige.
My only problem with this track is the fact that at under just 3 minutes long, I don’t feel like there’s quite enough time for me to completely give up resisting it and just go with it.
8/10
