The Daily Spin, July 1
Kasabian | West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Today kicks off a special series called Saturday Nights at the Club, in which I review albums suggested by a Discord group of friends. It’ll run for the next few months, so every Saturday, come back for a little fun with each of these.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009)
Artist: Kasabian
Link:
This is the sort of driving rock that fits perfectly in the soundtrack to a sports game, or more aptly, as hype music in an arena pre-game for an event, with an excellent sort of rhythm that gets the heart beating, the blood pumping, and puts your ass into gear.
I appreciate what they try and do with this album, hitting a few different styles and doing them each justice in their own right - I think that slowing down is admittedly kind of a miss from Kasabian, as they’re absolutely at their best when that guitar is allowed to fly free and that engine-like synth takes off, but those moments where they really center on that energy are electric in the best way, the type of sound that jolts your soul a little bit.
It’s good indie rock, better alt rock, and phenomenal stadium jams, the kind of album I absolutely pilfer for my running and workout playlists. Having never heard this before, I’m super glad it was raised to my attention.
Rating: 7.9/10
Best Tracks: Vlad The Impaler; Secret Alphabets; Underdog
Worst Tracks: Happiness; Ladies and Gentlemen