‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ is the third offering from the U.K.’s finest exports since The Stone Roses, and well, maybe it’s time I stopped referring to them as “the U.K.’s finest exports since The Stone Roses”.
After two brilliant albums that were filled with balls and gusto, it’s a shame to hear their third offering.
Nietzsche once said that the worst crime you can commit against an artist is to compare their latest work to their earlier works, but surely another ‘Club Foot’ or ‘Shoot The Runner’ couldn’t have hurt?
Instead we’re confronted with the sometimes interesting, but rarely exciting bundles of meh.
‘Where Did All The Love Go?’ is along the lines of a dreary Oasis b-side remixed by the dregs of the electronica scene and is actually one of the more exciting tracks on the record.
The band drift off into acoustic pop ditties reminiscent of the countless attempts of musicians over the years to sound like The Beatles; the most criminal of these being ‘Thick As Thieves’ and the grand finale ‘Happiness’ where singer Tom Meighan pronounces “I never wanna see those tears again/When will you realise that you make me realise?”
It’s not a dead loss though, ‘Vlad The Impaler’ has oodles of epic studio wizardry that made these guys so good in the first place. It has an epic sound that their amazing live shows thrive on and even Meighan’s unthoughtful lyrics (written by guitarist Sergio Pizzorno) such as ‘Get loose get loose’ repeated over and over serve to stimulate the masterful live sound they are so good at.
I have listened to this record at work, at home, in the car and on the ipod in a desperate attempt to like it, but I’m sorry Kasabian, I just can’t. Here’s hoping they can still pull off those incredible live shows they were renowned for!
Underdog
Where Did All The Love Go?
Swarfiga
Fast Fuse
Take Aim
Thick As Thieves
West Ryder/Silver Bullet (feat. Rosario Dawson)
Vlad The Impaler
Ladies and Gentlemen (Roll The Dice)
Secret Alphabets
Fire
Happiness
