Not advisory album title for a potential Hangman player - but still a cracking album (West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum - Kasabian)

Member Name: JakeLedge

Product:	West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum - Kasabian
Date:	21/06/09 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 12 outstanding tracks all varying in style

Disadvantages: It may take more then one listen for you to like the whole album

Kasabian burst onto the music scene back in 2004 with their self-titled album. This featured the anthem ''Club Foot'' and various other top class singles like ''L.S.F'', ''Processed Beats'' and ''Reason is Treason''. The album created a lot of buzz and hype surrounding the band, putting more pressure on their second album. There second album came with mixed reviews. The singles were just as good as the previous, the album titled track ''Empire'' and the extremely catchy ''Shoot the Runner'' both helped the band to gain more chart success and increased their popularity significantly. However, there did seem to be a lot more filler tracks that affected my perception of them slightly and made me a little more sceptical about this forthcoming album.

The smaller success of the ''Empire'' album certainly hasn't put the Leicester lads off and there back with a brand spanking new album. It's called West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Intriguing, I know but like many I wanted to find the true reason for giving an album such a peculiar name. So I did some research and found that Serge - the guitarist - suggested the name because it evoked a number of feelings and really stood out. Apparently, the musical content has nothing to do with the album's title.

Now, one thing that immediately struck me after playing this album just once was the amount of progress the band has made in terms of musical style. It's hard to put your finger on the exact genre these guys go under but you can definitely here a number of musical styles and artists in their music. You would immediately say rock or alternative rock but if you listen carefully you can hear a number of influences that perhaps provoke different feelings regarding their musical style. Some may say indie, some might even say psychedelic punk and one or two of the tracks I can even hear, dare I say a western film influence. Dan the Automator apparently helped to produce this album who was heavily involved in the Gorillaz's success in the early part of this decade with tracks like Clint Eastwood and Dan's influence is certainly evident here to say the least.

Now that Kasabian have established themselves as one of the best British bands going, it certainly seems that they have used this album as a more exploratory and experimental record enabling them to see what works and what didn't for their next album. After listening to the album once through, it's evident what tracks are going to be the singles due to their sing-a-long ability but persevere with the album as a whole as a lot of the tracks certainly grow on you.

The first single released from the album was ''Fire'' which reminds me of both ''Club Foot'' from their first album and ''Empire''. All 3 of them have a similar structure, lyrically also and then more importantly, they are all commercially viable. ''Fire'' is certain to be a crowd favourite at their gigs particularly the chorus with some extremely catchy oo's and ahh's.
The song opens with a sort of horse-galloping rhythm with Tom Meighan's vocal coming through very strong until it suddenly kicks off into that epic chorus. The use of ascending octaves leading into the chorus really adds to the excitement and anticipation of that rip-roaring chorus.

The opening track is one you may have heard of also as it's currently featured on a Sony Bravia television advert that has Kaka - the world class footballer - leading the advertising campaign. The track is called ''Underdog'' and can only be described as epic. A mega guitar riff kicks it off and it continues in the same vain throughout. Tom Meighan's vocals sound as good as they've ever been in this track. Throughout the album backing vocals are also supplied by Serge but they are most evident in ''Underdog'' where he harmonises superbly to add to the atmosphere to the already atmospheric song. The band also has ventured out by including a sort of synthesiser breakdown leading up to the chorus. This is my all-time favourite Kasabian track.

The next track is another potential single called ''Where did all the love go?''. This one is the first sign of any major change in musical style as it sounds to me that the band have adopted a sort of 80's disco beat as well as using a typical disco structure i.e. slow build up, whilst keeping all the other key components for an indie rock song.
This song is the first song since ''Empire'' to feature any string arrangements and they work very well in this song performing a constant sequence. Serge is harmonising again and it really helps the music to flow nicely and shows a bit more diversity within the band.

''Fast Fuse'' may be known by some users of the popular football game Fifa 2009. I believe it was released as an EP which enabled EA sports to snap up the rights to use it on their new football game.
The track itself is a lot more aggressive then some of the other tracks with the vocals coming across as a lot more shouty. I'm not sure if it's just me but I can hear the blues in them particularly in the chord changes. Not forgetting the fast-paced pumping bass line that supplies the ''va va voom'' or oomph behind this track.

''West Ryder Silver Bullet'' is the track that relates the most to the obscure album title and starts with a constant plucked bass which is later joined by a somewhat delicate guitar. The start reminds me of a western film with the slight galloping rhythm that seems to be a regular occurrence in this album. Some parts with the loud single beats -on what sounds like a timpani - remind me of a James Bond soundtrack and the added female vocalist called Rosaria Dawson adds to this effect. The song is very atmospheric with both singers holding on long notes in quite a catchy chorus.

Another personal favourite of mine is the ending track called Happiness. In this song the singing duties are given to Serge who sounds like a more mellow version of Richard Ashcroft; in particular the vocals on the song ''Lucky Man''. The leading instrument is the piano in this song but this seems forgotten once a gospel choir kicks in. Yes, you did hear me right - a GOSPEL CHOIR! Kasabian + Gospel Choir = recipe for disaster. That's what you would've thought had you known the musical devices used before listening but somehow they pull it off. The choir is soothing and the perfect fallback for Serge's mellow vocal. I would like to have known who suggested this rather extravagant idea and the reception they got upon suggesting. Anyway, all I know is that this is a blummin' good song.

These are just some of my favourite tracks off this album as there are plenty more to get stuck into. In my opinion, all these experimental ideas have paid off big time and could only have increased their fan base further. They could've easily just sat back and created a similar album to their debut but credit where it is due; this is one hell of an album despite the risks they have taken being of considerable magnitude. I'm glad they've stuck their neck out of their comfort zone unlike their touring partners - Oasis - who continue to keep knocking out all too familiar tunes. I'm a big fan bands evolving most notably Kings of Leon and The Killers, otherwise you're just short changing your fans. Now Kasabian can join that list and confirm themselves as one of the best British bands of the decade. But sadly, there chart success will be quite limited in terms of singles because most people as it seems would rather listen to a pop song about lesbians. Anyway, that won't change the fact that Kasabian have brought some entirely new musical fusion to the mainstream.

It would be an obvious cliché from me to say words cannot describe this album and considering I'm writing a review about it, it's probably best not. So all I'll say is that this album is perfection.

Summary: Perfection