In May 2005, a Sheffield band with a terrible name released their first single. The Arctic Monkeys' Fake Tales of San Francisco was a righteous indictment of groups who pretended to be something they were not. Write about what you know seemed to be the mission statement of the frontman, Alex Turner, as he picked his way through the smashed alcopop bottles - a snarky bard for South Yorkshire adolescents.

How times change. Three years later, after two superb albums, millions of record sales and nearly as many awards, Turner has moved on. His life now involves London parties and a television presenter girlfriend. Turner, though, is too self-aware to recycle this lifestyle in his music.

Consequently, the first album by his side project represents a flamboyant step away from rock vérité. The Age of the Understatement is a saturated romantic fantasia, far removed from both the meat markets of Sheffield and the elite dives of East London. In the company of Miles Kane, Turner has created a lush and meticulous homage to 1960s baroque pop.

Ravishing orchestrations fill out every corner of the sound. The ambience is filched from the first four Scott Walker albums, and from opulent trinkets such as Barry Ryan's Eloise. While plenty of indie bands have visited this territory before, few have done so with such gusto.

At heart, though, Turner is still writing the same sort of skinny, discursive tunes, just placing them in a different context. For all the lovely detailing on tracks such as Black Plant, there is a sneaking suspicion that they might be better suited to the rumbustious treatment of Turner's usual accomplices. Only Meeting Place, an arch sashay into Burt Bacharach's boudoir, really stretches Turner's melodic sensibilities.

It is all, undoubtedly, a gorgeous experiment. But Turner's biggest challenge lies ahead: to address the realities of his privileged new life, alongside the musicians who still complement him best - the Arctic Monkeys.

(Domino, TMS £9.99)

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