Kasabian – Velociraptor! (CD + DVD Box Set)
DVD filmed in The O2 Dublin 27-11-2009
The stomping electro numbers are still there. But they stomp only infrequently (you have to wait until track eight, ‘Rewired’ to really get any bottom end), and when they do appear it’s usually with the ‘stillgoddit!’ air of a band that can’t especially be arsed with this sort of thing any more, but have a reputation to maintain. The barmy Eastern-tinged fuzzpop of ‘Velociraptor’ is too ridiculous to be anything other than good fun (even if it is a bit of a ringer for Blur’s ‘Bugman’) and the strangulated menace of lead track ‘Switchblade Smiles’ is splendid stuff – mad as a box of frogs and menacing as a posse of wolverines. But elsewhere picking are slim in terms of the heavier stuff: ‘Days Are Forgotten’ sounds alarmingly like Shed Seven’s ‘She Left Me On Friday’.
Elsewhere, the band have made the unfortunate decision to write a set of reasonably tuneful, conventional songs that would ideally require a singer with a nice voice. ‘Goodbye Kiss’ and ‘La Fee Verte’ are competent psychedelic-era Beatles homages that’d be pleasant enough (er, well, accepting the latter opens with the line “I see Lucy in the Sky, telling me I’m high”) if it weren’t so excruciating to hear Meighan trying his best at proper singing. The vocals are flat and horrible and totally play against the singer's proven strengths ie, slurring aggressively. ‘Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter from the Storm)’ sounds a little like something epic by Neil Young, only impaled on those doltish vocals, while on ‘Man of Simple Pleasure’ Kasabian finally surrender to the inevitable and try and sound like late period Oasis, sans the saving grace of Liam's voice.
There are some bright patches: ‘Switchblade Smiles’ and the foggy, textured electronic melancholy of ‘Neon Neon’ make for a tremendous closing one two. ‘I Hear Voices’ is poised, effective electropop. And if it outstays its welcome, the skiffled up Bond theme of opener ‘Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To’ hypnotises you with sheer crass strangeness, at least for a while. But for the most part, it feels like either overweening confidence or desire to snare rudderless Oasis fans has led to Kasabian attempting the sort of conventional guitar pop record that they’ve always so successfully avoided making.
Label: Columbia
Country: Europe
Media Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Price tag residue on front box