Overly Processed Beats

After years of playing 'smaller' London venues such as Brixton and Somerset House, this November saw Kasabian finally graduate to the big time as their bought their mix of psychadelic indie-rock to the prestigious Wembley Arena.

Their most recent offering, 'West Pauper Ryder Lunatic Asylum' is undoubtedly one of the best releases of the year, and heavy hitting songs such as Fire, Vlad The Impaler and Underdog are more than capable of working the crowd up into as much of a frenzy as their older tracks do. Yet the buzz surrounding their impressive progression since the last record has apparently caused lead singer Tom Meighan's ego to substantially expand, and it's far from an attractive trait. I'm not saying that the band shouldn't be proud of the way their sound has developed or the fact that they write some bloody good songs. But they have openly declared themselves ready to take over Oasis' position at the top of the UK musical food chain and in the process, Meighan in particular seems to have inherited Liam Gallagher's unsavory attitude.

I am not adverse to swearing in conversation; it can often add a bit of spark to the somewhat dreary monologue of life. However, Meighan has introduced it into his repertoire to such an extent that it sounds artificial and contrived; quite the opposite effect I presume he intends it to have. Whilst bandmate and head songwriter Serge Pizzorno stays silent, cutting a bitingly cool self-assured figure to the left of the stage, Meighan struts about only to stop and pose frequently in such a stereotypical head-down-arm-up-in-the-air pose, it's as if he was reading a 'How to be a Rock God' manual before he came onstage. Instead of portraying himself in a rock and roll fashion, he comes across as a imprudent lout who uses football matches as a reason to start fights and excessive alcohol usage as a reason for justifying said outlandish behaviour. In turn, the crowd react in a similar manner and before you know it, it's turned from a good ol' singalong of Cutt Off to men violently shoving each other about and throwing beer and other unidentifiable liquids over the surrounding audience.

Kasabian used to have an endearing confidence that saw Meighan banter with the crowd and jump about the stage like a kid on a trampoline. Fast forward a couple of years and the kid has been replaced by a surly teenager who appears to be acting a certain way in a vain attempt to try and impress his mates. Meighan should realise by now that he doesn't have to shout and rile everyone up in order to create a reaction; the music will do that by itself.