Kasabian: "Velociraptor!"

So, you are on the verge of international success, go into the studio to record your fourth album, what do you do? Do more of the same, the expected? Take your music in a different direction? Let the hype-machine dictate what your next move should be? What I can say is that Kasabian has always impressed me, and considering that they have a heavy dose of (neo-)psychedelia (which I typically opt against), says a lot to me about the band’s ability to write alluring music. This could not be truer of their paleontological named fourth album, “Velociraptor!” (16 September 2011 in the UK, 27 September 2011 in the USA), but there is so much more at work on this album than ever before. Kasabian is one of those bands that really devotes an excruciating amount of attention to every little detail; there is not a single sound or note or word that was not belabored or carefully thought out. This is not about genre or some label; rather Kasabian is inviting you into a world of nuances that thread intriguing songs.



The lead single of the album is “Switchblade Smiles” – perhaps not the obvious single on the album, but definitely the best choice. This is the kind of song that is hard to define, but what Kasabian accomplishes with the single is set the tone for the expectations: this is not “West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum” (2009); this is something new. With that said, I do not want to imply that “Velociraptor!” is a complete departure from what they have done in the past; the best way to think about the album is that Kasabian threw all of their old tricks into a bag, used them in new combinations, and added a few new flairs for effect. From the expected indie tropes and silly background vocals, to a bit of Spanish Flameco and hip-hop, “Velociraptor!” is an ingenious album.

I am stuck on two tracks, the first of which is “Days Are Forgotten.” Tom Meighan sings, “Cos I’m taking back what’s mine, I am taking back the time. You may call it suicide, but I’m being born again… I’m waiting.” Cryptic? Yes, but there is a bit of universal truth in song when later Meighan sings, “I am not here, I’m just a silhouette you will never, ever, ever forget. Days, days are forgotten, now it’s all over. Simply forgotten how to disappear.” Suicide is not just the physical act of killing oneself, but also the act of forcing yourself to be forgotten, just as days become so, to become spiritually or socially non-existent. The song, though, has some perverse humor in it to counterbalance the headiness: “You was at home chewing on monkey brains.” (If you are thinking scrotum and testicles, you are right.) The other track I am stuck on is “Re-Wired.” This is one of these tracks that I just do not have much, if anything, to say about other than it works. It really works! This is the most infectious moment of the album, closer to new wave than any other song on the album.

The breath-taking, heartstring pulling moment of the album comes early on, in the third track, “Goodbye Kiss”: “Doomed from the start, we met with a goodbye kiss…” But it is not the lyrics that really get you; the strumming acoustic guitar, string keys, and vocal melody are as emotional as it comes. When Meighan sings, “I hope someday that we will meet again,” it is the music, not the lyrics, which you are reacting to. The most eclectic moment of the album is “Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter from the Storm).” Let all the allusions come to mind about Turkish baths…. They all conventionally co-exist in this song set to a subtle psychedelic arrangement and arabesque keys. And the album even has an unexpected, out-of-the-box anthem: “Man of Simple Pleasures”: “With dyslexic eyes I’m seeing very clearly. "By the way, I’m on my way, but all of my life, I’ve been treated like a fool. But I’m no one’s fool.”

I have done my best to curve my ire at the consistent comparisons that Kasabian gets with one nameless Manchester band. Those are lazy, hackneyed, and misleading comparisons. Like many other bands, Kasabian has been influenced by some of the UK’s most renowned acts – and lately even by some of the current indie pop trends. And this is when I have to return to the album’s title and the concept of nuances. Velociraptors were small dinosaurs (usually under seven feet), with large heads, apparently with plumage. This is a perfect metaphor for the album: human-size, heady references to the past, garnished in feather… those feathers being the nuances, the details that make this album very distinct. If Kasabian is groundbreaking, it is in their ability to continuously use (boring) overused musical references to create something new, relevant, urgent, and infectious. The devil is in the details, those nuances, and Kasabian can tempt away.

Track Listing:
1. Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To
2. Days Are Forgotten
3. Goodbye Kiss
4. La Fée Verte
5. Velociraptor!
6. Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter from the Storm)
7. I Hear Voices
8. Re-wired
9. Man of Simple Pleasures
10. Switchblade Smiles
11. Neon Noon

Keep up with Kasabian at their homepage, MySpace, and Facebook.

Here is Kasabian’s video for “Switchblade Smiles” from the KasabianVEVO Channel.

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Videos - Round 1

Here is the first of two rounds of videos that have caught my eye over the last four weeks or so … Enjoy!

Tom Vek’s “Aroused” from the TomVekVEVO YouTube Channel.



IAMX’s “Bernadette” (English version) from the iamx YouTube Channel.



The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s “The Body” from thepainsofbeing YouTube Channel.



The Chapman Family’s “Burn Your Town” from thechapmanfamilytv YouTube Channel.



St. Vincent’s “Cruel” from the 4ADRecords YouTube Channel.



Kasabian’s “Days Are Forgotten” from the KasabianVEVO Channel.



Charlie Simpson’s “Parachutes” from the charliesimpsonmusic YouTube Channel.



White Lies’ “The Power and The Glory” from the WhiteLiesVEVO YouTube Channel.

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Back to Videos

Here are some new videos, and a few I thought we should catch up on. Enjoy.

Yeasayer’s “Ambling Alp” from their MySpace video page.


Ambling Alp

Yeasayer | MySpace Music Videos

Delphic’s “Halcyon” from their YouTube Channel: delphicmusic.



Serena-Maneesh’s “I Just Want To See Your Face” from the 4ADRecords YouTube Channel.



Class Actress’ “Journal of Ardency” from the TerribleRecords YouTube Channel.



Signer’s “Languidly Toot” from the CarparkRecords YouTube Channel.



Bananarama’s “Love Don’t Live Here” from their MySpace Video page.


BANANARAMA - LOVE DON'T LIVE HERE

BANANARAMA | MySpace Music Videos

Melissa Auf der Maur’s “Out Of Our Minds” from the RoadRunnerUK YouTube Channel.



Keane’s “Stop For A Minute” from the KeaneVEVO YouTube Channel.



Toro Y Moi’s “Talamak” from the CarparkRecords YouTube Channel.



Kasabian’s “Vlad the Impaler” from their YouTube Channel: KasabianTour.

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Videos, but First a Few Words and X:THC

As the year is coming to a close, the amount of releases of new music is starting to slowdown, and that is part of the reason why we have not posted as consistently as in past months. But Juju and I have been listening to stuff that got by us during the year or were just not able to give time to, and compiling a few CDs for review that we feel really feel we need to give attention to. Nevertheless, we plan to refrain from posting in the last two weeks of December (unless something of great importance comes up), but we do plan to return in early January with our Best of 2009 list – including our favorite albums, tracks, album cover art, and videos. We’ve booked some time to listen to music together, watch some videos again, and then collectively vote, so that our list is not the opinion of just one person, but rather compiled from the input of all five people who have reviewed music. We welcome any comments or opinions of what you thought was the best of 2009.

Lastly, I want to remind anyone in the NYC / Brooklyn area that X: THC is playing at Monkeytown tomorrow night – Wednesday, November 25. For more information about the show and the upcoming CD, please check out the posting on the album review (link) and an interview with the band’s vocalist Michael Nova (link).

Enjoy the videos.

Little Boots’ “Earthquake” from her YouTube Channel: littlebootsvideos.



The Twang’s “Encouraging Sign” from their YouTube Channel: TheTwangTV.



Two Door Cinema Club’s “I Can Talk” from their MySpace Video page.


Two Door Cinema Club | I Can Talk

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | MySpace Music Videos

Wetdog’s “Lower Leg” from the angularrecords YouTube Channel.



The Golden Filter’s “Thunderbird” from their YouTube Channel: thegoldenfilter.



Kasabian’s “Underdog” from their YouTube Channel: KasabianTour.

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Catching up with the Lightning Seeds, Wave Machines, and Kasabian

Here is my attempt to bring myself up to speed, or at least try to. I wanted to give time to some CDs that I did not miss, but just did not have the time to dedicate to them when they initially were released. But as it is the summer, and typical of July and August, the rate of new releases has slowed down a bit, I finally have the opportunity to go backwards a bit. Though I am sure that some of this may be old-ish news, I still wanted to post a few words about these three albums. I have been listening to Lightning Seeds since 1989 (dating myself a bit, ah?), Kasabian since their since their debut, and recently came across Wave Machines when a friend made me listen to them. On face value, it seems odd to be writing about these three bands together, but actually there is one common thread between them: they offer up music that is not a repetition of everything else out there. These three albums are by far distinct and great alternatives to what is the “indie” mainstream.

The Lightning Seeds: “Four Winds”

This is the sixth studio album for the Lightning Seeds, the first since 1999! Ian Broudie (vocalist, guitarist, song writer, and creative mastermind behind the band) has taken his time releasing a proper solo album and producing the works of other bands. Now back with Lightning Seeds, “Four Winds” was released on 18 May 2009 in the UK, and available as an import in the US. And the time away from the music scene has helped to evolve the band’s sound substantially, though not to the point of being unrecognizable. Though the pop sensibility is there, also present is a melancholic, moody feeling throughout the album. This is definitely the Lightning Seeds album that has the most emotional depth till date.

This is not to say that what you get isn’t straightforward pop; what you get out of the Lightning Seeds is pop with more introspection than before. Right from the opening track, “4 Winds,” a sorrowful pop song, Broudie sings, “I guess you got those blues, and when you get those blues there’s nothing you can do.” The mood of the music and the lyrics do not “lighten” up for the lead single, “Ghosts.” A 60’s inspired ditty, miles away from past singles like “Pure,” the song works because when it verges on being just another pop song, the ingenious production (with little sound effects) makes the song fresh and intriguing. My favorite track on the album is “I’ll Be Around,” and not because it is familiar, closer in sound to older material. Lyrically one of the Broudie’s strongest, musically the song is best described as one long sigh. What makes the song is the mismatched elements of the music: from an 80’s beat, to contemporary almost eerie synth sounds, psychedelic guitar playing, and dead pan vocals. But that is Broudie’s talent as a composer and producer – his ability to create a song out of variant threads of genres and ideas.

Broudie has always been criticized as just another producer who wants his fifteen minutes of fame behind a mic. But considering that his track record as a producer is with indie rock, and not obviously Beach Boy influenced music (like “I Still Feel the Same”) with electronic elements, Broudie and the rest of the Lightning Seeds have always offered up something that is distinct and different from the everyday fad. “Four Winds” is no different. The Lightning Seeds avoid all the current clichés (post-punk revival, synthpop, nu-shoegaze, etc…), and instead deliver on their own brand of pop music. Ten years definitely gave them the perspective of going in another direction, and though some old fans are going to scream, “This is not what I expected,” the unexpected is very delightful.



Track Listing:
1. 4 Winds
2. Things Just Happened
3. Ghosts
4. Said and Done
5. Don’t Walk on By
6. The Story Goes
7. On a Day Like This
8. I’ll Be Around
9. All I Do
10. I Still Feel the Same

Keep up with the Lightning Seeds at their homepage, MySpace, and Facebook.

Here is the video for “Ghosts” from the fcowen123 (Universal Music TV) YouTube Channel.



Wave Machines: “Wave If You’re Really There”

Wave Machines is a relatively young band, formed in 2007, out of Liverpool. Releasing their debut album “Wave If You’re Really There “ on 23 June 2009 and really deliver a distinct brand of electropop. As compared to most of the artists out there working on electropop, the album is much more sedate (mature maybe) in sound. Incorporating more guitars in their brand of electropop than most others in the genre, the album may not be a standout against the other electropop releases of the year, but definitely offers a valid, well constructed alternative to the radio ready electropop being produced.

Opening with “You Say the Stupidest Things,” the elementary electro sounds are accompanied with one of the funniest lines of the year: “The day is wasted if you’re not wasted.” In tempo, the song really never picks up its speed, but the song has that Talking Heads quality that gets you to stop and listen and admit, with some guilty pleasure, that you like what you are listening to. The same goes for the rest of the album. “Keep the Lights On,” with its disco overtones, gets you bobbing you head, while “The Greatest Escape We Ever Made” may get you onto your feet. Like many of the synth and electropop bands of the 80s, the music isn’t dance ready but danceable. But what is impressive about the sound here is that there is no attempt at a very “electronic” sound. This is very bare recording, bare production, which allows the melody of each song to speak for itself.

Already, I imagine, the press is slacking them off (I will be googling in a bit to see what is being said), but the reality is that this is perfect lounge music. Ignore the press if they are slacking them off, in the least what you get with this album is a great, head bobbing experience. At most, if you are willing to give into it, you will get whisked away into a quirky world that is entertaining and carefree. Not all music has to be heady, and not all music should be bombastic. Sometimes, quite often, music should just be an enjoyable, carefree experiences that you can repeat over and over – and “Wave If You’re Really There” can deliver that experience again and again.



Track Listing:
1. You Say the Stupidest Things
2. Carry Me Back to My Home
3. I Go, I Go, I Go
4, Keep the Lights On
5. Punk Spirit
6. The Greatest Escape We Ever Made
7. Wave If You’re Really There
8. I Joined the Union
9. The Lines
10. Dead Houses

Keep up with Wave Machines at their homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

Kasabian: “West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum”

Out of Leicester, Kasabian has impressed me since moment one and have never disappointed. They released their third album, “West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum” (5 June 2009 in the UK, 9 June 2009 in the US), after teasing us with two singles, “Vlad the Impaler” and “Fire.” Audiences were teased enough to launch the album to #1 in the UK upon release. Though the album’s title evokes the idea of insanity, the band has explained that they chose the title for aesthetical reasons – they simply liked the way it sounded. However, the music is pretty erratic, incorporating rock and electronic to various degrees. I can sum up the album with one phrase: treasure trove.

The biggest surprise on the album is the track “West Ryder / Silver Bullet.” It is a duet with Rosario Dawson. The track is more neo-psychedelic than anything else, what really got me was that I could never imagine Dawson’s voice along side of Tom Meighan’s. The song is eerie, scary even, but it works. (Thumbs up to Dawson for doing such a track!) The rest of the album will keep you as entranced, with a few more surprises. The opening track, “Underdog,” will not ease you into the listening experience – it is going to grab you and throw you into it. “Take Aim,” with its urban beat and building urgency after the orchestrated opening, is perhaps the most hypnotic, infectious song on the album. As a listener you never know what world you are, either the 60’s with tracks like “Fast Fuse” or a spaghetti western with tracks like “Fire.” And as you’re being tossed back and forth between styles, getting more and more erratic, you end at “Happiness.” Avoiding that rock ending, but definitely offering up an anthem, the song is laden with tinges of gospel.

Come to think about it, the album is a bit lunatic, schizophrenic. Kasabian could have played it safe, reproducing the sound and exact style of the past two albums; they could have produced a series of radio friendly songs ready to conquer the pop charts, but thank God they didn’t! “The Wet Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, until they take a good listen to it. It is very hard not to like this album… love it even. What you get here is an adventure through an unexpected, cliché free soundscape that is mesmerizing.



Track Listing:
1. Underdog
2. Where Did All the Love Go?
3. Swarfiga
4. Fast Fuse
5. Take Aim
6. Thick As Thieves
7. West Ryder / Silver Bullet – featuring Rosario Dawson
8. Vlad the Impaler
9. Ladies and Gentlemen (Role the Dice)
10. Secret Alphabets
11. Fire
12. Happiness
13. Runaway – Live, Japanese Bonus Track
14. Cunny Grope Lane – Japanese Bonus Track, iTunes preorder
15. Road Kill Café – Japanese Bonus Track

Keep up with Kasabian at their homepage, MySpace, and Facebook.

Here is their video for "Where Did All the Love Go?" from the KasabianTour YouTube Channel.

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Some Videos on a Cold Rainy Day

What’s up with the weather in the New York City area? It can’t make up its mind at all. At least I got to spend some time viewing some cool videos. Here are the results.

Kasabian: “Fire” (From KasabianTour YouTube Channel.)



Cursive: “From the Hips” (From SaddleCreekRecords YouTube Channel.)



Maccabees: “Love You Better” (From TheMaccabees YouTube Channel.)



Ebony Bones: “The Muzik” (From EbonyBonesofficial YouTube Channel.)



Franz Ferdinand: “No You Girls” (From DominoRecords YouTube Channel.)



The Answering Machine: “Obviously Cold” (From AnsweringMachineBand YouTube Channel.)

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