Kasabian

This album begins like an angry 16 year old's wet dream, full of stomping beats, chunky discords and rebel yells. The more you listen, however, the more grown up it sounds - there are hints of Stone Roses, flourishes of The Clash, and then, surprisingly, echoes of Air, that ultimately give the album a transcendent retro-electronica feel, but with grenades! Tunes like Cutt Off, Processed Beats, LSF and Running Battle all vie for best track honours, but there are several more that creep up on you after further listens. What is this? I ask, as I become more and more addicted to its incomparable vibe. Like the best albums of all, it changes with your own mood - too punchy to be prog rock, but there are times when I think Radiohead, or, no... hang on.... Genesis!?! (Peter Gabriel years of course). When U Boat, track 13, fades away in sythesiser bliss I want to go straight back to track 1 and think it all through again, but before I get the chance a hidden track that reprises Reason is Treason attacks the ears and leaves you breathless - Wow! Not a Sunday afternoon album, but who cares: the best yet of 2005. 9.5/10 Kx