Kasabian – For Crying Out Loud

While Kasabian came up in the British indie music upswing at the start of this century/millennium, they never really belonged among them....
Kasabian : For Crying Out Loud
7.7 Columbia
2017 

Kasabian : For Crying Out LoudWhile Kasabian came up in the British indie music upswing at the start of this century/millennium, they never really belonged among them (and didn’t like to be categorized as such). Their upbeat, danceable rock of the Leicester group hewed more towards the nearby ‘Madchester’ scene of the late eighties. New album For Crying Out Loud doesn’t change anything about Kasabian, but does largely deliver what you’re looking for.

From the strong press start of opener “Ill Ray (The King)”, Loud is a dance record, with strong backbeats – but also guitars. “You’re In Love With a Psycho” and “Are You Looking for Action?” most closely feel like the Madchester style of old (including extended jam finish to “Action”), but there’s also the harder beats of “Twentyfourseven”, wry cheer to the following “Good Fight”, and group dance-sway “Sixteen Blocks”. Kasabian can get downbeat – witness the anti-summer song “Wasted” – but are still best when on the brighter side, like the highly enjoyable good times of “Bless This Acid House”.

For Crying Out Loud doesn’t exactly break new ground for Kasabian, and will certainly be cited for that in the hypercritical British music press, where their fame breeds distaste. Yet as long as you can get over it being ‘just another Kasabian record,’ it is another good Kasabian record.

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