Empire --- Kasabian --- 2006 (BMG)
So what's all this about Kasabian then? What do you mean, I'm coming to the party a little late? I'm a busy man, you know! But I've heard a lot about these guys --- some people giving them the kiss of death and proclaiming them to be the future of rock'n'roll --- but I've heard nothing from them. Time to put that right. Let's see if these upstarts can measure up to the hype.
This is their second album, and by all accounts sold over a million copies, so it should be good, right? Well, opener and title track doesn't exactly blow me away, in fact I'm sort of left wondering what the fuss is about. Good catchy song, yes, but I've certainly heard better rock songs. Well, it's only the first track, so let's see if it gets any better....
Oh yeah, this is a
lot better! “Shoot the runner” is powerful, catchy and an instant hit with me. Much more cohesive as a track than “Empire”, this has quality stamped all over it. Could have something to do with the fact that lead guitar has been switched from Chris Karloff on the opener to Sergio Pizzorno for this, and it does show. Kind of reminscent of Gary Glitter's “Rock and roll (part one)” in its beat, it's an infectious beat and melody, and the vocals are a little less shouted and more sung this time by Tom Meighan. Great synth work from Pizzorno too. Better, guys, better. Now let's keep it up, eh? “Last trip (in flight)” has a great little bass line carrying the track, and some great backing vocals, though there's a certain punky vibe to the song, kind of similar to Lostprophets, whose album I reviewed a while back. Not bad though.
Pizzorno takes over lead vocals for “Me plus one” and also does guitar, though I think I prefer the vocals of the mainman: Meighan just has a voice that's better suited to this kind of music. As a result, the track is a little bland, a shade forgettable, but a worthy effort, not the last we'll hear from him on this album. The song has a nice little keyboard run which gives it an eastern feel, then we're into “Sun rise light flies”, with Meighan back on vocals and Pizzorno where he is at his most effective, working that guitar. Organ helps the track along, and some nice solid synthwork too, which really, prior to the keyboards breaking in, the song was lacking.
The oddly-named “Apnoea” is just confusing noise really, then Pizzorno is back on vocals for “By my side”, which has some nice guitar and bass, but fails to impress really. A good synth passage about a minute from the end does its best to rescue the song, but it's not enough. Not a bad track, per se, but not a standout by any means, and once it's faded into the background I can't even remember how it went, whereas the melody for “Shoot the runner” is still loping through my head. But so far, that's not only the best, but the only good track I can speak about on this album. Let's see what develops as head into the concluding part of “Empire”.
It's still Pizzorno on vocals as “Stuntman” gets going, but right away this song impresses me. It's got a very cohesive feel, which a lot of the other tracks didn't --- they felt confused, fragmented, half-finished ideas. This is very tight, and works very well, and I have to say Pizzorno does well on the vocals here. I shouldn't be too hard on Karloff either, as I see that on this and the previous track, as well as the title one, in addition to playing guitar he also handles keyboards, synth and omnichord. Talented guy! You can certainly hear his influence on this song, no doubt about that. Second good track I've heard so far.
“Seek and destroy” is a clear, straight-ahead rock song with good use of the keys, and what sounds like drum machines (though drummer Ian Matthews will probably angrily set me straight, if he should ever read this review: yeah, about as likely as me getting six numbers on the Euromillions tonight!), but it's a catchy, almost new-wave song in the mould of Depeche Mode or Tubeway Army, and it shows how good a vocalist Meighan is compared to his guitarist. Speaking of Pizzorno, “British Legion” is his last turn on the mike, and it's a nice little guitar ballad, a nice changedown in pace with some lovely piano too, and a good vocal performance in fairness.
The album closes on “The doberman”, the longest song on the album. It's quite epic, featuring something of a drum solo halfway through and then a mariachi-style keyboard run against choral backing vocals, building up the intensity and managing to finish the album off on a high note.
So, am I blown away? Absolutely not. But am I bored and do I think this album is rubbish? Not quite. There are good moments on it, certainly, and some decent tracks, but it does amaze me that this sold as many copies as it did and made these guys virtually superstars. I would have forgiven the naivete and confusion of ideas if this were their debut album, but it's their second, and Kasabian really should have had it together by now. Not a terrible album, but in no way a classic.
In the end, all I can say is I'm glad I listened to it, so that I could hear what all the hype was about and decide myself if it was deserved (it's not, in my opinion), but this is one album I'll be putting away after this review and it's unlikely to come out again.
Well, maybe to hear “Shoot the runner” a few times, but that's about it.
TRACKLISTING
1. Empire
2. Shoot the runner
3. Last trip (in flight)
4. Me plus one
5. Sun rise light flies
6. Apnoea
7. By my side
8. Stuntman
9. Seek and destroy
10. British Legion
11. The doberman