Kasabian
For Crying Out Loud

The previous "48:13" for Kasabian was a half misstep.

Not so much on a commercial level (the band's fifth consecutive number one in the UK), but on an artistic level: in fact, amidst many valid tracks ("Bumblebee", "Stevie", "Treat", "Bow"), there were just as many lost in a perhaps too pronounced and chaotic electronic push. Probably, this is where guitarist and composer Sergio Pizzorno's statement arose from, that the new work would be a pure guitar rock album.

And so it has been: in this new "For Crying Out Loud", the guitar of the Italian-origin leader is more present than ever. Despite the misleading choice of selecting a track like "You're In Love With A Psycho" as the first single (a hammering pop with a somewhat deflated chorus, which in fact is the least incisive thing on the record), the pace is almost always swift, and Pizzorno's pen seems inspired like in the best moments.

The opening track "Ill Ray (The King)" is as fast as a bullet, a sort of "Blue Orchid" by the White Stripes, less crude and more danceable. After the aforementioned single, the rock charge remains unchanged in the solid "Twentyfourseven"; no trace of the (more or less background) electronics dispensed in previous records, and it will (almost always) be like this until the end of the work.

"Good Fight" is a splendid pop rock with ancient Morricone echoes, "Wasted" is a fine Britpop that brings to mind the underrated Kula Shaker (but without their typical oriental influences). "Comeback Kid," another blazing and direct rock piece, is a good thing already featured in the soundtrack of the FIFA 2017 video game.

The only lull comes with the slower tracks, well-constructed but sometimes a bit too conventional (especially "The Party Never Ends" and "All Through The Night"). "Are You Looking For Action?", on the other hand, is the best thing on the album, and in its generous eight minutes, dips liberally into Happy Mondays, Charlatans, late seventies disco fascinations, and acid house. A feast, finger-licking good.

All this just before the album, at the end, allows itself the truly most rock and direct piece with "Bless This Acid House," a stunning straight-to-the-point Brit track that almost feels like an outtake from the essential "Performance & Cocktails" by the Welsh Stereophonics. It closes with great and self-satisfied epicness "Put Your Life On It," between Oasis and solo Lennon.

An undoubtedly derivative but impactful album, this "For Crying Out Loud." A work British in spirit, as well as a return to the excellent form that the four from Leicester demonstrated with the splendid "Velociraptor!".

Best track: Are You Looking For Action?