Release date: 05-08-2022
Kasabian never really made in the Netherlands as a mainstream band, their first major hit Underdog, went down as well, an Underdog. This song was my first experience with the band, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum will forever remain as one of my favorite albums of all time. This being already their 3rd album, before came the self titled album "Kasabian" and "Empire". Their chaotic indie rock sound is hard to describe, Fire remains till this date my favorite. Since then they have been steadily putting out albums, in 2020 the lead singer of the band, Tom Meighan, left the band, due to personal issues. The lead vocals were taken over by Sergio Pizzorno, the gitarist and already occasionally doing vocals. It seems to be a logical choice.
When I started listing to the album I thought that I might have clicked on the wrong album. I thought for a moment I selected the new Imagine Dragons album or something. Then I checked, nope I had the right album selected. I think the band has reinvented themselves, the sound is totally changed from what we are used to. There were always a couple of songs on their albums that were bordering on the high electro sound like for example 48:13's "treats". But every album has been consistently filled with rhythmic beats, and lots of guitar riffs.
I was very surprised by this album, where are my chaotic sounds? It sounds so clean, no raw edges. The first song of the album, reminds me of something else, from another band, I can't figure out what it remains me off. With the intro of the second song "SCRIPTVRE" I was like, yes this sounds more like Kasabian, but the heavy bass does not stick around in this song, and is replaced by violins. "SCRIPTVRE" reminds me a bit of Pendulum's Witchcraft.
By the fifth song the albums starts sounding like a proper Kasabian album once more. I am skipping the fourth "STRICTLY OLD SKOOL", it is horrible. It drags, that is all I have to say on it. Back top "ALYGATYR", yes that's it that is what I want to hear on a Kasabian album, exactly this song.
The Wall is a beautiful ballad, that feels out of place in comparison to the rest of the album. I wish I could say that I liked the rest of the album, and that it gets back to what we have come to expect from Kasabian but unfortunately, I cannot be too enthusiastic about the rest of the album. I feel that they have lost touch with their inner Kasabian, the album feels incoherent. Like they picked bits and pieces of music that inspired this album and thrown it all together in a mismatched pile. I don't give ratings on music, but I am just not feeling it with this album.
Let me know what you think, the album is posted here below. Curious to hear what other Kasabian fans think of this album.
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