- Artists:
- Kasabian »
- Label:
- 369 Music »
As a year of re-evaluation and ultimately re-invention, 2009 has left perennial ladrockers Kasabian in something of a quandary. Do they pursue the tired old direction that, whilst shifting several thousand units in the process and assuring them a lifetime of endorsements courtesy of the Gallagher brothers, is hardly enough to see them remembered in the future as anything more than astute copyists of better artists of yore? Or, as The Horrors have proved already this year, can they flip the coin of expectation completely on its head and come up with something totally unexpected and unlike anything else in their sadly predictable back catalogue? Well, I guess you could call West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum a bit of both really because, while at no point does it manage to re-invent the wheel - despite the spurious claims of its creators - it does possess the odd moment of inventiveness that occasionally steers it away from the derivative chasm most post-Britpop influenced acts seem to become ensconced in all too often.
For starters, it's perhaps worth mentioning that the majority of the songs on this record are almost two years old, which would suggest a slight air of trepidation on behalf of both the band and their record label towards releasing West Ryder... against such a changing musical tide. Secondly, the decision to invite producer extraordinaire Dan The Automator - himself an expert of turning the most pedestrian of sounds into eclectic, beat-driven masterpieces of sort - into overseeing production duties here was undoubtedly a brave and potentially rewarding one, although in some instances one does wonder what kind of sow's ear he was given to work with in the first place.
Although the album's oldest - and arguably best - track, 'Fast Fuse', was initially released as a limited-edition fanclub single nearly two years ago, the first widespread public airing of anything attaining to be connected with West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum did not bode well. The song in question, 'Vlad The Impaler', sounded like nothing more than a Black Grape b-side, Tom Meighan's vocal even more pseudo-Mancunian pastiche than ever, and if anything a million miles away from the band's insistence that this, their third album, heralded a marked departure from all things 'lad rock'. Quite simply, if their first, self-titled long player was their Screamadelica and follow-up Empire was their Second Coming, this threatened to be their Be Here Now; an album so shrouded in its own self-belief and bravado you could imagine it coming wrapped in its own throwaway plastic bag, traces of a certain white powder still evident in despatches. Surely the progression they'd been harping on about for so long wasn't just another false dawn? Or, maybe, for a band so steeped in all things Britpop to reach 1997 after starting off so boldly in 1991 two albums beforehand is considered to be something of an achievement? Whatever, it would be fair to say that expectation levels for the rest of West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum weren't particularly high, so it came as something as a surprise that parts of this record actually justify the hype.
Take the already mentioned 'Fast Fuse'. Despite dating back to 2007, it suggests that maybe the tale of 'musical differences' between songwriter Chris Karloff (who left during the recording of Empire) and the rest of the band were accurate after all, as this sounds like a collision between the Rolling Stones post-Altamont and early T-Rex, Meighan's revelation "I'm like Lucifer's child" sounding incendiary and believable, his parting shot of "Heaven may call but I won't be there" menacing and brutal. Over the course of its four minutes, Kasabian really do sound a million miles from the Stella-swilling, Hackett-wearing yobs they tend to attract. Likewise psychedelia-tinged ballad 'Ladies And Gentlemen, Roll The Dice', which once again nestles itself in amongst the big players of the late Sixties, the Stones once again prevalent alongside less-feted proteges such as the Chocolate Watch Band and the Pretty Things, suggesting Kasabian's record collection - or guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno's at least - stretches way beyond the golden era of Madchester after all.
There are other moments too, albeit briefly, where Kasabian make a claim to ridding themselves of THAT tag once and for all. 'Secret Alphabets' has a mournful, somewhat dissipated tone about it, sometimes meandering, others quite mesmeric in its delivery, while current single 'Fire' is like being smothered in marmite and being made to decide on the spot; an ambitious two-songs-in-one dose of musical schizophrenia or dull-as-dishwater trad-rock plodder with clever samples and a nice bassline? Your call I guess, but I'm sticking with the latter option.
Unfortunately, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum suffers in the most part for being so predictable. You can almost imagine the look on Dan The Automator's face when Sony presented him with the demos to the likes of 'Underdog' and 'Where Did All The Love Go?', the former spitting out "Kill me if you dare" over the same old insipid Oasis riffs while the latter's pretense at being late-period Beatles loses every ounce of kudos by the end of its opening couplet, Meighan asking "Ever took a punch in the rib cage, sonny?" to the obvious delight of numerous boneheads up and down the land, if not Mr Automator. Musically, it tries its damnedest to be a 21st Century update on the fab four's 'All You Need Is Love' and the Stones' '2000 Light Years From Home', but ultimately huffs and puffs its way towards being a stable mate to Noel and Liam's 'All Around The World'. The album's two mid-point strummers, 'Thick As Thieves' and 'West Ryder/Silver Bullet', also sound half thought-out and severely lightweight, the former aping The Kinks 'Sunny Afternoon' badly while the latter, despite featuring actress and one-time Outkast collaborator Rosario Dawson on backing vocals, is nothing more than aural wallpaper, as in debt to Ocean Colour Scene's back catalogue as The Small Faces, and as brutally inept.
Bizarrely, had West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum been Kasabian's first excursion into album territory it may have been more acceptable as an entire piece of work. However, having witnessed the band's growth through turgid, heard-it-all-before monstrosities such as 'Empire' and 'Shoot The Runner', not to mention their unforgiveable posturing, one suspects the end product here may have had more to do with the record's producer than its creators, and as a result, this album is as unconvincing as the band's hollow assurances that they're open to embracing new horizons.
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Kasabian
Shoot The Runner and Empire are great songs!
the predictability of it doesnt bother me, kasabian are never going to do anything interesting, theyre just fun
im off to listen to shoot the runner
I disagree with almost every element of this review
The comparisons to Oasis are tired, and as the band say, the product of lazy journalism.
I certainly don't know when Oasis have had an 'insipid riff' that sounds even remotely like Underdog. That just doesn't make sense.
I find it almost unbelievable how the fat little goblin that squeezed this review out of its backside
even tries to attempt snobbery.
"the Stella-swilling, Hackett-wearing yobs they tend to attract"
Yawn
This just reads like a continuation of the hate-fuelled campaign that DiS had for Kasabian back in 2004-05, when not only did the debut album receive an unjustly scathing review but EVERY DAMN single release too. West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is leagues ahead of the lad-rock tag that could be attributed to the lesser likes of Oasis or The Enemy and the only real duds here are 'Vlad The Impaler' and 'Happiness.' Otherwise the rest is a celebration of musical diversity and vibrancy, it's hardly "predictable" when practically every song sounds different from what was heard prior to it. A wonderful album, the acclaim it's receiving from many publications elsewhere would confirm that.
They're
rubbish then and they're rubbish now. Without meaning to sound trite, do the math.
A lot of Be Here Now...
Certainly the more upbeat tracks like 'Its Getting Better Man' are very, very similar.
And the main reason Kasabian are compared to Oasis are purely down to Tom Meighan's vocals, which at best are mostly nothing more than a 'Stars In Their Eyes' imitation of Liam Gallagher.
I don't think that's lazy journalism, more like fact!
Four tracks on this record definitely rise above
the stereotypical ladrock guff for sure, but that still leaves eight other generic, if admittedly well-produced pieces that just don't convince me that this band have an original creative bone in their collective bodies.
Just having my first listen now
It's not as overblown or as in your face as I was expecting, especially after Empire. I think it's better than that, but still too many plodding moments.
I actually quite like Vlad The Impaler. Fast Fuse and Take Aim are the other two tracks I thought were better than the others.
Where is Chris Karloff now?
I miss him.
..
I couldn't stand Empire, not simply due to the insipid gash on offer, but also for its predictability, as their debut offered snippets of hope and experimentalism given Serge's claims to being a huge Tangerine Dream/krautrock fan.
But this record at least attempts to mix it up a bit (without ever producing anything to really make the mind spin) and there's plenty of decent rock & roll tracks too.
One aspect I always find amusing when reading reviews about records deemed 'post-Britpop' is the dismissive or condescending tone towards these bands who are hardly 'ladrock' - just simply classic British rock following a long line of bands from The Who, Kinks, Stones lineage.
Of course few match their songwriting quality but since when was British classic rock such a bad thing?
Good review
My slightly less vitriolic version: http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/albums/51157/Kasabian---West-Ryder-Pauper-Lunatic-Asylum
So Dom Gourlay,
how does "the Stella-swilling, Hackett-wearing yobs they tend to attract" provide any particularly meaningful insight into the music? Smacks of cheap sixth-form snobbery, and I don't even like Kasabian.
I doubt that
the fact that a lot of this sounds like a Stars In Their Eyes version of what would be regarded as quite a good Oasis album bothers "Stella-swilling, Hackett-wearing yobs" one little bit. Within it's limited parameters, this is a pretty good record. If the comparisons are always the same, well duh, there's a reason for that. Kasabian's insisting that they are breaking new ground has the same hollow ring as Gordon Brown saying that he's a fit Prime Minister.
first line of lyrics
couldn't help but notice that quote's used in the slaying of the album were within the first line or two of the songs in question! Wondering whether or not it's been given a 'proper' listening to?
Personally, can't see many comparisons with Oasis on this album or the previous two, although i accept that their attitude in magazine articles etc is on a par.
From a live performance perspective they deliver almost every time unlike their mentors!!
Kasabian are the ultimate in indifference for me.
I realise this is pretty much a waste of a comment.
Hate to say it...
Hate to say this because I actually like their first album, but this album is absolutely terrible. Worse than the last even, and I thought that was impossible! I wanted so badly for it to be good, but aside from maybe one or two tracks it really is BAD!
Just keep listening...
this album is a definite crap fest from the first listen, but stick with it and it's un-lad-rock and brilliant colours shine through. Tottaly agree with 'Acquiescence' here too. This is a lazy review form a great site, but also one that is quick to dismiss acts such as Kasabina without 2nd thought. P.s. there last two albums were awful!
WHAT!?!?
Why highlight all the good things about the album and argue that the band actually has progressed only to give it a 5/10? Why is it so hard for this website to be complimentary about anything the least bit uncontroversial or unobtrusive? Good to see the reviewers are sticking to company policy at least
Britain's worst band
Nail.
Head.
Read the review bigfeet24
and you'll notice that every song gets mentioned! Or maybe you just stopped reading after the first couple of paragraphs...?
I like Kasabian
A lot, this album is nowhere near as immediate as the first and second, maybe it'll grow or maybe its just shite. I don't know yet. But there's a lot of snobby comments in this review. Bit unfair, sounds like you went into it wanting to hate it....
DiS are'nt musical snobs.
With this review they've proved once and for all that they're musical fascists!
Really?
I thought this album blew all there other albums away, I'm totality in love with this album and have no song I really dislike. Also yeah they have stupid 'Oasis'-type fans, but why should I care? I don't live in the UK, this is just like dismissing rap music because you don't like the whole culture, le sigh
I like Kasabian BUT
This album is really not good at all. The lyrics border on moronic and the songs are all way too long and boring. The whole album is all a bit flat and I get bored to tears listening to anything much past the first two songs. Underdog is quite a good track, not their best, but definitely the best on this album. I just think overall this album lacks excitement and I would definitely have to agree that it is their worst effort to date. Just an opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. I actually think that the Drowned In Sound review for the album was better than I expected!! I would have only given it one star since there is only one good song on the album!
'Lad rock' isn't really a genre though, is it?
It's surely a description of fanbase as much as anything, and you can't deny Kasabian have pretty much gone out of their way to court that fanbase. They've never really made any bones about wanting to be a band of the people, certainly.
phill86
I'm so glad that my review prompted you to sign up and contribute as an active member off DiS for the very first time!
Please stick around and enjoy the rest of the site!
That cover
is classic. Is it something to do with Mighty Boosh?
I actually liked their first album and live shows. Haven't heard the second one but the atrocious name and cover are making me want to check this one out.
What is it with the reference to Mancs all the time?
Their from Leicester for fucks sake!!! Hello?!
This is a solid record and one of the best of the year so far along with The Horrors and Danan.
"Their from Leicester for fucks sake"
Exactly, so why does the singer go out of his way when speaking in interviews to try and sound like he's from Manchester?
two things
1) nobody in Leicester sounds like they come from the same city as Tom Meighan
2) this turd came from the same band that made me think perhaps they were ok cause over 50% of their debut was actually pretty good.
fair enough.
but partly judging a band though on their fanbase is a bit...wrong, right? and I'm not even a kasabian fan, never were and never will be. what counts is the music - and that alone. for me anyway.
Exactly
This review has just reviewed their fanbase and their influences rather than the music.
And another newbie joins the site
thanks to this review.
My work is truly done.
Welcome to DiS "The_Del", the next time I review a band with "piss poor lyrics" (your words, not mine) I'll ignore the fact and just remember there's always fanboys like you to pander to instead.
Three posts in 24 hours
and still not a coherent argument in sight.
Well done "The_Del".
PS. Are you going to introduce yourself to us all rather than hide behind the cowardly pseudonym, or would you rather I did that for you?
I concur
Spot on snow_bridge
May I also suggest
you learn to read before posting your ridiculous comments here "The_Del", particularly paragraphs 4 & 5 which demonstrate this record was approached with a very open mind.
As for your suggestion that you aren't a fan, then please enlighten us all as to why you only chose to join the site in response to this particular review (which you blatantly haven't even read!), then make personal - if incoherent and occasionally contradictory - attacks on the reviewer rather than convey a valid argument.
Incoherent
would be a more appropriate username "Derrick" or "The_Del"...or should that be Mark?
Anyway Mark, its good to know that you can jump to the conclusion that a review is "obviously begrudged" by not reading it! I guess its time for you to return to The Approach and continue listening to your favourite bands who're obviously influenced by Leicester's "finest"....give some people enough rope and all that....(sigh).
fanaticism v metaphrase
I would suggest that two poeple dislike your piece under the The_Del pseudonym. As the last comments sound like they were posted by somebody with a far smaller IQ maybe even dare i say it than 'an idiot'.
Or probably just the same fool that sang "Coldseal Windows are the best -- 221155"
Mark ? are you a paranoid person per-chance ?
Questioning yourself Mark/Derrick? or should we simply address you as a Stella-swilling, Hackett-wearing Tom from Kasabian sycophant that suffers from Schizophrenia?
Mr Del
You really haven't done yourself or your radio station any favours. You paint yourself as some kind of bastion of new music yet one glance at your most recent playlist/podcast tells its own story. You - or dare I say it certain friends of yours - may not agree with my appraisal of bands like Kasabian - after all, they do sell records in the same way Crazy Frog, Alexandra Burke and Lady GaGa do - but that is why DiS has been so successful on a nationwide basis over the past eight years and other publications aren't, simply because the writers here (and we don't always agree with each other) have an individual rather than collective mindset that sets us apart from the majority of other publications you or your friends would care to mention.
As for the "seldom_seen_105" user, maybe that individual felt the need to comment due to the abhorrent crassness of your initial post?
Food for thought, eh...
96 Trent fm!!! I shall explain once more for you The_Del
Dom is an editor at DIS therefore has access to every user isp address if im not mistaken? Therefore if YOU are registered under the same isp that obviously highlights who YOU individual is. Also which Radio station they work for not exactly Rocket science!
Moron
Drowned In Sound > Trent FM.
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