When Arctic Monkey Alex Turner revealed his Scott Walker-esque side project The Last Shadow Puppets, it showed a side to him that had only previously been hinted at in his main band.

Fratellis fans are going to experience the same sort of feeling when they first hear frontman Jon Lawler’s new side project, Codeine Velvet Club, which is playing only its ninth show in Brighton tonight.

Whereas power-trio The Fratellis inhabit a world of big, guitar-heavy, terrace-pleasing singalong choruses, this band recalls the heady days of Phil Spector’s orchestral Wall Of Sound, and the boy-girl duets of Sonny And Cher and Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

“I guess I’m a nostalgic guy,” says Jon. “I used to fight it and be a little bit embarrased when people asked me what I was listening to.

“I haven’t moved on from the same bands that got me excited about music. My favourite records so far this year have been Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life and The Beatles Remasters.

“I’m getting to the point where I’m happy to accept that is the way it is. It’s almost nostalgia for an age I wasn’t around for.”

Aside from the period sound, the self-titled album, which is being released on Monday, December 28, also showcases the voice of Glasgow chanteuse Lou Hickey.

The pair met while Jon was mid-way through writing songs for a possible solo project.

“The Fratellis were always going to take some time off,” says Jon.

“I don’t have the time to take some time off though, I’ve got some sort of restlessness.

“I’d written four or five of the songs on the album already when I met Lou through my wife.”

While sat together at the piano for a couple of hours, the pair wrote album highlight Vanity Kills, which is released as a single today.

“Within a weekend we’d got an album together,” says Jon. “Things weren’t planned out, they just happened.”

The original Vanity Kills was written just for Lou to sing, but the idea of turning it into a duet inspired more songs.

“It was definitely ‘Here’s an angle we can use’,” says Jon. “It’s good to have a direction before you’ve even started – it’s interesting to do it from that point of view.

“Anyone who is in a couple would tell you there is tons of stuff you can write about.

“It’s a great dynamic. You’ve got that question and answer, male and female thing. I liked playing around with it.”

The next stage was to take the music out on the road, but rather than just go down the session musician route, the pair put together a proper band to back them up.

“We’ve made the live side of things different from the album,” says Jon. “It was a sheer fluke we put a band together which has that little bit of spark in it you get when you’re in a band when you’re 18.

“We’ve had a lot of impact live, even from those first couple of shows. I could see puzzled faces in the crowd at first, but by the end the bewilderment had changed to smiles and laughter, like they had seen something great. That’s what it felt like anyway!

“It has been fun making this record, and fun playing it live. I’m having a ball right now.”

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