John Doe
CRITIC
Empire
The sum of a band's ambition is usually expressed in the shape of a predecessor that the band hopes to emulate. The name gives an indication of the band's direction and possibly how good it is or at least want to be. So, for instance, when a band aspires to be the new Beatles, you have to admire the goal which the band has set for itself. The Beatles are, after all, one of the greatest four-piece bands ever. The pop greats who popularised the two-guitars, bass and drum combo. Trouble brews when, well, the target that a band aims towards ain't that great in the first place.
Kasabian has, more or less, always aspired to be the new Oasis. Now, there is nothing wrong with proletarian populist rock and roll. The only problem is that Oasis was the creator of a vastly promising debut, a follow-up that only partially fulfilled that promise and numerous shite records that came after those. In effect, while Oasis might be a good band, it isn't a great one. If you only set yourself out to be adequate, what does it say yourself?
Unique to themselves, Kasabian appears to be the only band right now trying to revive 90s baggy. Its self-titled debut contained sounds borrowed from the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and countless alumni of Madchester. Personally, I never had a problem with that (although innumerable critics seem to despise Kasabian for that - why?). Every band is derivative. What separates the wheat from the chaff are those who can take their influences and match its best stride for stride or transcend it, producing something better and/or different. Kasabian, true to the members' implied ambitions perhaps, never come close to this.
Empire, the band's sophomore album, begins with its title track. It is a song that aims for the stratospheric epic with booming beats and strident syncs wrapped around a half-decent chorus. In truth, it is not bad...the problem is...the album tumbles headlong downhill from here onwards.
Shoot The Runner marries Gary Glitter glam-rock bombast with syntheised beats and handclaps, but it has a melody that even tone-deaf people would be hard-pressed to appreciate. Sun Rise Time Flies so blatantly rips Primal Scream off their XTMNTR album that it is a wonder why Bob Gillespie does not sue. Indeed Gillespie should really sue for damages, Sun Rise Time Flies sounds like a reject from XTMNTR that would never have been released for fear of tarnishing Primals Scream's good name (not that the Scream didn't manage that on their own already). Much of what follows can, at best, be described as depressing.
Apnoea sounds like a diluted approximation of the Chemical Brothers-Noel Gallagher collaboration Setting Sun and Setting Sun wasn't even that good a song to start with so it is a wonder why they chose to copy it then. And everything else that comes after this song repeats the modus operandi...all syncs and beats fury without the tunes nor words to match. British Legion might offer a respite with its acoustic balladry, but when it comes to melodic hooks, it still doesn't have a leg to stand on. This is a comment that could possibly be applied to many of the eleven tracks housed in this record. How an album can get by with such tunelessness is quite astonishing.
Empire isn't a good album, not even close to it by a million miles. Yet Kasabian might possibly still shift truckloads of this record, but...maybe that is the sum of its ambition...to sell large quantities of unimaginative loutish booze rock. Oasis kinda did that, so why can't they? But be careful what you aim for because you don't know where you might end up. Where is Oasis now?
3.5/10
John Doe criticised on 2:21 PM.
