With their new single “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala,” the Arctic Monkeys included a B-side titled “Little Illusion Machine (Wirral Riddler).” But it’s not a hard-and-fast Monkeys tune: Alex Turner and Co. have dropped the cut under their alias The Death Ramps, a pseudonym they’ve used since 2007. Hear it here (via Arctic Monkeys’ Facebook).
“Little Illusion Machine” features lead vocals from Miles Kane, who Turner collaborated with on the Last Shadow Puppets’ spaghetti western-themed debut The Age of the Understatement. It’s a blast of crunchy guitars, headbang-worthy drums, swaggering bass, and Kane’s sneering croon. Josh Homme, who produced the Monkeys’ 2009 effort Humbug, also looms large: That stinging guitar solo is straight out of the desert rock playbook.
Hear It: The Arctic Monkeys, “Little Illusion Machine”
