Kasabian
For Crying Out Loud

Another album, the sixth in thirteen years of career for the Kasabian, and this is news for those who remember them exclusively for officially entering the charts with dance-pop tracks such as "Eez-eh" or the ballad "Goodbye Kiss," among the most brazenly commercial pieces of their not-so-long but intense career. For those who do not know in detail the Leicester band since their 2004 debut marked by the eccentric self-titled album "Kasabian," this return to the scene with "For Crying Out Loud" represents further confirmation, if needed, of the extravagance combined with the shrewd ability to mix that the band led by Serge Pizzorno (as a producer even before a musician) manages to assert through their own identity characterized by a sound identifiable in a mostly personal style.
"Rock is dead," said Serge Pizzorno (not news) in an interview given just before the release of the album "48:13," and I add that with a production that deliberately spans freely across the boundaries of rock, pop, and electronics, Kasabian consciously contribute to this; which does not mean not enjoying feedback that deserves respect.
Ready, set, go, the album immediately unleashes a good part of its rowdy flow, the minimum guaranteed in every work, with the single "Ill Ray (The King)," promoted with a videoclip featuring actress Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister in Game Of Thrones); the track, characterized by a hammering rhythm, seems already ready for a potential dance remix. "You're In Love With A Psycho" had the task of forcefully entering the radio waves, thanks to the melodic flow of an inspired Tom Meighan who rarely misses the mark when it comes to writing something captivating, chic, and intentionally banal. The old-school hammering in "Twentyfourseven" is engaging, which in terms of production harks back to the rhythms of the first two albums, while waiting for Pizzorno to return to doing what he loves, that is, being the prima donna in the chorus of "Good Fight," a good track that despite a cliché bordering on redundant is not unlikable. The fact remains that hearing something already heard after just a few tracks makes one think that the dangers of a dip in inspiration are just around the corner and indeed manifest in tracks like "Wasted" and especially in "Are You Looking For Action?" where even the less attentive listener, if familiar with the group's past, would catch the accelerated re-proposition of "Re-Wired," one of the singles that drove what is considered one of their better-executed works, "Velociraptor!"
Fortunately, Kasabian have accustomed us to not give up and to persevere in listening to the album as, in several cases, right at the end of their discs are some of the best tracks of their career. The acoustic "All Through The Night," while staying within the tried and tested musical perimeter of the Leicester band, sounds good and, followed by a passable "Sixteen Blocks," opens to the probably most interesting track of the entire album; the single with great potential "Bless This Acid House," deviating from much of the album’s compositional structure, offers a winning rhythm and a catchy chorus. Meighan and Pizzorno confirm they hit the mark by speaking the day after the album's release, of songs that want to be rock and sound retro at the same time, and the track in question is one of those that, along with the other single "Comeback Kid," raise the average of an overall decent album.
In "For Crying Out Loud," there is no room for melancholy nor for excessive odes to joy; there is only a veiled positivism resulting from personal experiences, a strong desire to entertain by bringing the tracks live, and a bit of Leicester who becomes Premier League champions right during the recordings.