Kasabian – Kasabian
Kasabian were the surprise hit of the British summer festivals, playing just about anywhere that would have them and taking the crowds by storm. Hailed as ‘the new Oasis’ by more people than I care to count, all UK music industry eyes were on this band as they released their debut LP, which flew into the chart at #7. This is a band that can do no wrong; surrounded by a degree of mystery, represented by a mysterious logo and the simple slogan ‘join the movement’. This band have done everything from playing a guerrilla gig in the Cabinet War Room to slagging off The Darkness, and for once the media hype surrounding the band is fully justified because Kasabian are truly fantastic.
As a side note, their name is taken from one Linda Kasabian, a former lover of Charles Manson’s, who testified against him at his trial.
Kasabian are:
Tom Meighan – lead vocals
Sergio Pizzorno – lead guitar
Chris Edwards – bassist
Christopher Karloff – drums
This album fairly
explodes into life with the mega-anthem
Club Foot. A work of atmospheric, pounding art this was the song that started all the hype many months ago. Hypnotic vocals, a driving rhythm and some crazy synthesisers make this song a serious contender for any Track of the Year award. This is a song that if it catches you in the right mood can leave you breathless and exhilarated. Worth checking out by just about anybody.
We then move on to
Processed Beats and
Reason Is Treason, another couple of radio-friendly yet inventive songs that sets up this band’s highly distinctive sound. You can see where all the Stone Roses comparisons are coming from, but somehow Kasabian turn their influences into something fresh and fascinating. These two songs are more accessible than
Club Foot but no less well-crafted. Great for singing along to and dancing.
Reason Is Treason is a proper foot-tapper as well.
After that, the album delves into slightly more experimental territory. Distorted vocals, electronica-influenced rhythms and many synthesisers add a lot to their sound without making them sound over-produced. On the contrary, the album is very ‘real’ sounding and has a very home-grown talent feel to it, in the best possible way.
LSF is another great single – catchy, mesmerising and has got just that little bit of funk about it. 5 full tracks, 5 fantastic songs so far. The in-your-face catchiness dissipates slightly by the time we get to
Running Battle but that does not detract from the song, it merely draws you in deeper to Kasabian’s cleverly constructed web of hooks and hypnotism.
Test Transmission lives up to its name, you really don’t hear a lot of this played on British radio these days, however influenced you think this band are.
The interludes,
Orange and
Pinch Roller are nice and really flow with the rest of the album, rather than being just wastes of space as is so often the case.
The band chills out a little as they play
Cutt Off, the next single, the beat is still insistent but noticeably calmer and the vocals are almost happy, an emotion that doesn’t really go in to the album. I especially dig the instrumental section of this song, seems an indication of where this band could go next.
The last three tracks are possibly slightly weaker than the rest of the album, but if they were put on weaker albums they could well be flagship singles. They make interesting and pleasant listening and the quality of musicianship remains at the same standard as the rest of the album, which is competent but not extraordinary, although very well suited to what they are trying to create.
The reworking of Reason Is Treason at the end of the album in the form of a hidden track is a decent remix, although you probably won’t end up listening to it on every play of the album. It reminds you how great the original was and does add something to track, but it’s not exceptional.
Pros:
Some truly fantastic tracks
Great overall feel to the album and it does sound like one piece of work
A lot of freshness and excitement in the record
A good quality, interesting sound
Club Foot all by itself
Cons:
Band don’t quite keep their original high standard of song-writing up for the whole album
Debatably quite a heavily influenced album
Summary:
Worth a look if you’re interested in indie rock, Britrock and new talent. A great debut album, I for one cannot wait to see what this promising band do next.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
