Many people think Kasabian are some sort of sub-Oasis lads' band. This is mostly down to gobby lead singer Tom Meighan. Also Q like them which doesn't help - they're on the magazine's current cover being cuddled by two naked ladies. The Leicester band don't fit the bill. Kasabian are no lame indie band, not that anyone is these days, now that it's terminally unhip. Kasabian, however, never were. One listen to their excellent eponymous 2004 debut album tells you that.
With their first long-player Kasabian combined Happy Mondays' insouciant baggy drug-funk with something dark, electro and self-consciously rock'n'roll. They followed this with an album that dabbled in glam-rock and then an album calculatedly touting alt-rock touchstones, notably Krautrock. Both - especially the latter - sent heritage rock mags into frenzies of frotting but, while the first had a couple of corking singles, the second simply emanated cool references and few tunes. I'm happy to say the new one kicks them both into touch and returns to their early glories. It's very pop but still stylishly away from the mainstream.
Velociraptor doesn't simply repeat their past. The baggy and electro touches are in place but instead of 2004's sneery wannabe rock-star poses, Kasabian 2011 bathe in tie-dye Sixties flavours. Donovan grooves ("La fée verte"), Jefferson Airplane psychedelia ("Let's Roll Just Like We Used To") and George Harrison-esque stoned orchestration ("Neon Noon") bubble about the funkin' percussion. It works well mainly because the quartet have relocated their song-making mojo. For those who want to rave, there's the bangin' "Switchblade Smiles", the title track's an all-out geezer rocker, and lyrics such as "My soul you can have it 'cos it don't mean shit/ I'd sell it to the devil for another hit", demonstate Kasabian haven't lost their Bobby Gillespie-like aptitude for rock'n'roll cliché. Happily the sum of this mixed bag of parts is lively, tuneful and contagious, a welcome success.
Watch the video for "Switchblade Smiles"
Find Velociraptor on AmazonWatch the video for "Switchblade Smiles"
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