Kasabian (album)

Kasabian
Studio album by Kasabian
Released 6 September 2004
Genre Alternative rock, electronic rock
Length 53:16
Label Arista, BMG, RCA
Producer Kasabian, Jim Abbiss
Kasabian chronology

Kasabian
(2004)		 Empire
(2006)
Singles from Kasabian
  1. "Reason Is Treason"
    Released: 23 February 2004
  2. "Club Foot"
    Released: 10 May 2004
  3. "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"
    Released: 9 August 2004
  4. "Processed Beats"
    Released: 18 September 2004
  5. "Cutt Off"
    Released: 3 January 2005

Kasabian is the debut album by the British rock[1] band Kasabian, released in 6 September 2004 through BMG Records subsidiaries Arista Records and RCA Records. Four singles were released from the album; the highest chart position on the UK Album Chart was number 4.

Different geographical regions had different colours for their album cover. The British version is black and white, the European import is black and red, and the American version is black and blue. The Japanese "Ultimate Version" is silver and white. The UK limited edition version is a double-sided DualDisc and has a glow-in-the-dark cover. The DVD element contains a making-of documentary and several music videos.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. In the United States and Canada it uses the MediaMax CD-3 system.

The Canadian version of the album does not contain the songs "Orange", "Pinch Roller" and "Ovary Stripe", with the exception of digital releases.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 65/100[2]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [3]
The Austin Chronicle [4]
Drowned in Sound (3/10)[5]
The Guardian [6]
NME (7/10)[7]
Pitchfork Media (5.2/10.0)[8]
PopMatters (6/10)[9]
Q [10]
Rolling Stone [11]
Stylus Magazine B−[12]

Kasabian received generally favourable reviews but music critics were mixed on the band's mixture of alternative rock and electronica. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, based on 21 reviews.[2]

David Jeffries of AllMusic praised the album for its take on different rock genres and labelled them positively to The Stone Roses and Tangerine Dream, saying that "Painting them as rock's saviors just makes the overly ambitious moments of the album look all that much bigger."[3] Paul Moody of NME praised the album for its aggressive instrumentals and space rock sound resembling that of The Libertines. He signaled out "Test Transmission" as the standout track, calling it "an indication that once they've purged the violent tendencies, a future as space-rockers in the Spiritualized mould awaits."[7] Betty Clarke of The Guardian praised the album's overall sound for resembling baggy music, saying that it "sums up Kasabian's affection for experimentation of every description."[6]

Tom Edwards of Drowned in Sound criticized the album's songs for lacking any hooks and nuances to grab the listener's attention concluding with, "Sure this album may well sound awesome if you’ve just snorted a metre of charlie or recently breakfasted from a menu of 'shrooms and LSD, but for sober ears it’s enough to drive anyone to drugs."[5] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone criticized the band for filling the album with half-baked ideas based on influences from Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, saying that "Kasabian make the mistake of trying to be revolutionary by quoting revolutionaries."[11]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Sergio Pizzorno and Christopher Karloff. 

No. Title Length
1. "Club Foot"   3:34
2. "Processed Beats"   3:08
3. "Reason Is Treason"   4:35
4. "I.D."   4:47
5. "Orange"   0:46
6. "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)"   3:17
7. "Running Battle"   4:15
8. "Test Transmission"   3:55
9. "Pinch Roller"   1:13
10. "Cutt Off"   4:38
11. "Butcher Blues"   4:28
12. "Ovary Stripe"   3:50
13. "U Boat" (with hidden track Reason Is Treason (Jacknife Lee Version)) 10:51

Personnel

Adapted from the Kasabian liner notes.[14]

Charts

Chart (2004-05) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[15] 70
Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 22
Japan Albums Chart 17
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[17] 72
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 4
US Billboard 200[19] 94

References

  1. ↑ Kasabian's Serge: I'm no indie boy
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Reviews for Kasabian by Kasabian". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jeffries, David. "Kasabian - Kasabian". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "SXSW Music – Kasabian – Music Review". The Austin Chronicle. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Edwards, Tom (10 September 2004). "Kasabian – Kasabian / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Betty Clarke (3 September 2004). "CD: Kasabian, Kasabian | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Moody, Paul (4 October 2004). "Kasabian : Kasabian – Album Reviews". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Kasabian: Kasabian". Pitchfork Media. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Davidson, John (10 March 2005). "Kasabian: Kasabian". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "Q Magazine | Music news & reviews, music videos, band pictures & interviews". Q4music.com. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Walters, Barry (10 March 2005). "Kasabian: Kasabian". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Edwards, Mark (12 January 2005). "Kasabian – Kasabian – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  13. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Kasabian-Kasabian-LSF/release/4745912
  14. ↑ Kasabian (liner notes). Kasabian. Arista. 2005.
  15. ↑ "Kasabian – Kasabian". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien.
  16. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 4, 2005". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  17. ↑ "Kasabian – Kasabian" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien.
  18. ↑ "Kasabian | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  19. ↑ "Kasabian Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Kasabian. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

External links