Lestah group continues with a pop-dynamic in eighth.
When frontman Tom Meighan departed the band in 2020 after his irrefutable assault allegations that all but tarnished his career, the long-standing fans of Kasabian shunned out the reprised role Serge took on. The mob mentality became a deafening wall of noise on a band who just wanted to move on. While it may not be the same with Meighan’s frenetic personality as a frontman, Kasabian still managed to earn, deliver and blunder their way through – even if its the bluster of certifiable anthems that was dragging them through it. Their recent billboard secret set at Glastonbury was a fine showing of that.
20 years since their debut album and two years since their last Pizzornio-led record – the dismal Alchemist’s Euphoria in 2022 – today marks the return of the band with a giddy in their step walking to a new musical territory.
Clocking in at just under half hour, it sees the band pivot from an all-black irk to swanning in a technicolour trench coat. Perhaps finally relieved to step out of that massive Meighan shadow.
Much unlike its precedent, the eighth one here doesn’t try too hard in its make-up. Inspired by the visceral unpredictability of live music and how it makes us feel, Happenings is a sturdy flamboyance performance as pop piano chords, acoustic jibes and eclectic energy packs an album to the rafters. It has the hall-markings of sounds new and old, as pensive Italian Horror perhaps can be seen navigating the Empire landscape while Algorithms delivers something else entirely; a simple-in-design sing-a-long in the sun. Darkest Lullaby meets melancholic expectations as we’re swanned into a funky reimagining of Call – a call-up for a future FIFA (rip) soundtrack is surely on the cards. The slower by-and-by Passengers is a nice moment of pause but Hell Of It is so far from the rest of the record, it will more likely just be seen as out-and-out filler in an album that’s remarkably, not seen as forgetful.
“We’re not here for a long time .. Just here for a good time.”
manvmusic.com 
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