Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009)

By Ben Vernel

Kasabian's third album, "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum" (yes, I know, it is a bit of a mouthful), manages to reconcile the perceived stylistic differences between their first two albums while at the same time forging ahead with a new style and sound altogether.

The first two tracks, Underdog and Where Did All The Love Go?, highlight this perfectly.

Underdog is a 'first album Kasabian' song in every way.

A strong backbone of bass and drums, harsh electro pads and Tom Meighan's distinctive vocals call back to songs like Reason Is Treason and L.S.F.

And I'm happy to report that it is just as good.

The ability to recreate (without imitating) their original sound is testament to the strength of the creative direction that Sergio Pizzorno, the band's guitarist and primary songwriter, possesses.

However, all that goes straight out of the window as Underdog fades into Where Did All The Love Go?

It begins with a simple beat that is actually reminiscent of some of the remixes of their songs that I have heard. The beat builds into a brilliant, brooding, humming, catchy song backed by a pounding bass, disco strings, shaking tambourine and ghostly harmonies.

Next up is Swarfiga, which harks back to the drawn out psychouts on their self-titled album (songs like UBoat and Reason Is Treason).

It acts as a bridge between the dynamic Where Did All The Love Go? and the jumping, crunchy, rockin' Fast Fuse.

Fast Fuse isn't a fantastic song, but it isn't a bad song by any measure either. I suppose you could say it is lazy on Kasabian's part in a way.

It is good, but it is tried and true good.

A lot of their music is groundbreaking for some reason or another, be it the meshing of styles, the construction of the songs structure, the vocals and harmonies, or some other fourth reason. Fast Fuse is a fairly typical modern rock / indie song. It is not bad, but it is nothing to get too excited about.

Unlike, say, Where Did All The Love Go?. Can you tell I'm really starting to like that track?

Take Aim has a great trumpet and strings intro, which develops into a really weird song that (despite it's Arabian Nights tendencies) seems to actually work.

It is a mesh of a strange bass riff, Spanish trumpets, the usual Kasabian electronic ambience, a pretty sweet "Take Aim / Take Aim, Now" chorus, and a bunch of other stuff that's a little indescribable.

Apparently, the first single from the album will be Fire. I can see why. It is a bloody good song.

Other highlights include banging electro ode to Dracula, Vlad The Impaler, and the fantastic Thick As Thieves.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

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