This came out in 2005 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
They reportedly live together in a commune. They are named after a member of the Manson Family. And they are a decidedly scruffy and hippiefied lot. But if that makes you take U.K. buzz band Kasabian for a bunch of ’60s-acid rock holdovers, prepare to be disappointed. Or pleasantly surprised, depending on your view.
On their debut disc, this Leicester quartet make it clear they owe a greater psychic, karmic and sonic debt to the Madchester sound of Happy Mondays than they do to The Beatles’ White Album. This eclectic 10-song set is driven by funky beats and dark head-nodding grooves, fuelled by big guitars and hooky melodies, and topped with squiggly synths. Essentially it’s Britrock, but with enough druggy dashes of electronica, house, psychedelia and prog tossed into the pot to give the gumbo a distinct flavour and a trippy effect.
That doesn’t necessarily justify their status back home as this week’s Most Important Band Ever — but it does make them well worth a listen.
